Why a docent?

 

So, what is a docent? Well, depending on where in the world you live it could be many things.  In the United States, I take the public on free museum tours. I prefer children, but I have given tours to adults. I have to say I would rather take a group of wild kids on a museum tour than adults. Adults have greater expectations. They just assume that I am an expert. I know everything about every piece of work at the museum. That is not how many museums work. I was trained to talk to people about art not shove information down their throats. Some people like that it is easier to receive information about the piece than it is to have to talk about it. It can be intimidating. Art is for everyone and you can feel however you want about it. Many times an artist will have a deep meaningful message about a piece. Sometimes the message is way over my head...so we just don't visit those pieces. Docents don't always give the same exact tour. It is always fun to follow them around for great ideas. If people asked me what my dream job would be? It would be a docent at a museum and get paid for it. It's a volunteer job and the only real qualification is you need a passion for art and you can communicate with a variety of people. Many times though with adults or nosey teachers I get frustrated and anxious and I feel like I have given a terrible tour. I have had some teacher stories especially when it isn't the tour they had in mind and they want to take over. I have been stopped on a tour once because I wanted to talk about a painting that had Jesus in it. Yes, if you want to go to a museum and see older paintings...like really old paintings. They are going to have Jesus, Mary, and Saints. 

Paolo Giovanni Fei,  Madonna and Child with two Angels St. Francis of Assisi and St. Louis of Toulouse, 1375

Here is a great example! I was assigned to talk about this piece in my training class for my test. I know all about it. It is from 1375 and painted by Italian artist Giovanni Fei. 20 years ago I would have just walked by this piece and spent two seconds on it and walked away. Do I want it in my house? No, but it is a beautiful piece, and it is in such wonderful condition. The teacher who stopped me from talking about it was concerned that I was trying to preach religion to her students. I rolled my eyes and I felt like telling her that I was an atheist. I could have told her 15 things about this piece that had nothing to do with faith. Seriously, one of the questions I ask the kids is " Are these people you would see at Target?"

Anyway, I love entertaining kids. I want them to come to the museum. I want them to walk away feeling excited, that art is for everyone, and that they want to come back again. Being a docent has given me a great deal of confidence and has taught me so much about the world. I wish I lived in a major city so I could be at museums all of the time. Also, having unlimited amounts of money would be helpful to see museums all over the world. I have only seem museums in the US, France, Germany, England and South Korea. The museums I would love to see are in St. Petersburg, Russia, Italy, Greece, China, and Austria. 

So, Why art ?

 

Star Hits Magazine 1985 

Yes, it all started in 1985 with this copy of Star Hits. I cut out the article and have it in my scrapbook. If you know me you know that in the 80's I was a huge Duran Duran fan. Like maybe a little over-the-top fan. Super obsessed and they dominated my life. It makes perfect sense because I thought I was an idiot so being obsessed with a band was much easier than algebra. Anyhoo, Nick Rhodes sharing with pubescent teens his favorite art. If Nick likes art I am going to like art too. Truly it was his liking Andy Warhol. I too started to like Andy Warhol. This lasted for many years ...just the Andy Warhol. As  I matured I moved on to other art. In 2015? I decided to take a trip to London on my own for about 3 weeks. Just wanted to figure out what I really wanted from life.

 

Edward the Confessor's Chapel at Westminster Abbey 

I met Mrs Fitzgerald a docent at Westminster Abbey. I was wearing a bandana on my head because I swear first from my head and I don't want people seeing my sweaty hair. I have fairly pale skin and it was cold. So, I appeared really sick.  She inquired what I was doing there that day and I told her that I wanted to see where the old kings and queens were buried. I have a thing for British History. So, she took me to Edward the Confessor chapel in the Abbey and sat and was ready to explain to me the history of King Edward, but a group suddenly came up for a private tour We had to leave promptly. It was then that I decided I wanted to be a Docent and learn everything about art and art history.

 

The High Museum of Art  Atlanta, Georgia 

I returned back to Atlanta and signed up for classes be a docent at the High Museum of Art. I have returned to college to get a degree in art history and well... probably do nothing with it. I will have a degree in something that I love. Lots of  "I wish that I knew then what I know now." Instead of feeling like I could do nothing but retail.  I was terrible at retail too. I like to serve people, and help people but I am a terrible salesperson. So, yes, my inspiration to pursue art? Nick Rhodes and Mrs Fitzgerald. 

Memories of my childhood and writing

 

It seems when you are featured in front of a bookcase you look a thousand times smarter. So, thus the picture. You are in fact in front of a brilliant human being. No, I do not really feel that way about myself, but when you watch videos, TikTok, YouTube, etc highly intelligent people get the books behind them. The books behind me...I have read some of them but not all of them. I accumulate books I want to read, but then I don't. Saving them for my dream vacation of sitting on some beach somewhere under an umbrella and reading them. Like a real vacation with no agenda doing whatever I want. So, my reason for blogging? Well, I need to start documenting, sharing my feelings, and writing. 

I have always been a writer. I had a rather emotional childhood. I was and still am extremely sensitive. Did not take much for me to cry. Which was a great target for bullies. Practically anything anyone said to me would send me to tears. You know what happens when you are young and your brain is developing and classmates would send your brain nasty messages...it stays. You remember the bad stuff and no matter how kind people are, they apologize, you read self-help books, you see a therapist, etc. I have never gotten over those messages. So, in my childhood, I would read, sing songs, and write. When I got into high school I wrote stories for my friends. I wrote poetry and letters. I would journal in big books and now regret it and have destroyed that shit. My kids don't need to read my misery. They know I was very unhappy and some of that remains. 

Sure, I would love to be a writer, but I really need to engage in journalism classes. A few months ago an author, journalist, and editor of a rather famous newspaper asked me to write an essay (actually I never knew what exactly he wanted) on food waste in South  Korea. I was stunned because I just thought he was super cool and followed him on Instagram and he followed me back.  I wrote a fairly short essay about my experience in South Korea and what they are doing to fight food waste. I researched online and read articles about it in the New York Times, etc. I looked at data etc. I thought the article could have been huge but again wasn't sure exactly what he wanted. So, I decided to keep it short and sweet. He told me he loved it and was not sure if it went into the garbage or put in a file under "ideas for future articles". Which was fine because the fact he asked me to write and send him something went straight to my self-esteem. 

I am not a journalist or a professional writer. I have no business being in a newspaper in London, UK but the thought that so many people work and work and get rejected I was completely fine with "Love this". Maybe there will be more opportunities. I wish that in his very busy life, he would have time to assign me topics and I would write and he would say "Gretchie this is what needs improvement". What would I write about? Oh probably art, it's sorta of circulating in my brain. Actually, for a while now it has circulating .it's a sign. One of the reasons I was teased in addition to being super sensitive It's a thing click here... was also having ADHD which makes me a better target for bullying. Teachers couldn't figure out why I would float off into space and would not pay attention to what was happening in the classroom. So, there I was getting terrible grades thinking that I was an idiot when actually I wasn't. I am drawn to art and it has stayed there for a very long long time. 

This blog is a journal about me and art. Also, any adventures along the way that I think are cool and will share. It's not going to be about Korean Dramas, my family, my friends. etc. It's not me bragging about materialistic things. Just things that excite me and make me happy. You can read and laugh or not.