That was a very challenging time. For two years I did an art fair in December in Miami in coordination with a well known art fair called Art Basel. In January 2008, I did an art fair in LA and it didn’t go as well. I opened Julie Baker Fine Art in New York in May 2008 and thought I could run it from Nevada City. Then Lehman Brothers closed, and because the art market in New York was so dependent on the financial market, I decided to close my gallery in 2009. I found myself at another crossroads in life. We had bought a new house and I thought I could do art sales by appointment, but the art market continued to on its downward turn. The phone wasn’t ringing, so I had to get a job. I called my old boss at Tristream to let him know I needed a job, and he asked me to come back. There I was,10 years later, back in the same cycle again.
By that time my husband was President of the Center for the Arts Board in Grass Valley. I watched him grapple with the organization, and he kept saying that the Center needed to do something different. The Center felt seemed like a business I could run, and I was hired to do marketing. I quickly learned that the Center had no management. Knowing the arts world and how artists operate, I put my hat in the ring for the position of Center Executive Director. I was hired and have been there for a year. While I served on several nonprofit boards here over the years, this has been my first experience running one. And I love it. The Center has turned around, is humming with activity, and is serving the community exceptionally well. This summer we have had kids making art all day long, a writing workshop, and dance practice all going on concurrently. We’re also bringing business to downtown Grass Valley, and this feels really good.
I am highly motivated and committed to my passion. And my career has reflected the role that I played growing-up in my family. I was the youngest by six and eight years. My middle brother was really smart but not socially able to manage well, and my oldest brother had issues and hadn’t done well either. Due to these dynamics, a lot was put on me by default. I was the only girl, and the only child who was thought able to take over the family business. It’s interesting to reflect on this now that I am a mother. My oldest son is very bright. He’s the oldest grandchild, and there are a lot of expectations on him. I can talk to him about those feelings because I understand from my own experience.
4. Is there a history of community service in your family background? Briefly, how would you describe it?
My parents were incredibly hard working. I do not remember them doing volunteer work, but my mom began volunteering as a mentor for small businesses after her retirement. I recall in my senior year of high school that I had to do some work study, and I volunteered at a literacy program in Harlem. But my real volunteer work began in college. I felt it was important to volunteer, and I also liked being busy and being stimulated. I liked learning something new and liked to solve problems.
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