For years, I'd wanted a 'friends & family" gallery wall in my entry – like my friends Kate and Marc. They're both artists, and was fun to see how they grew it over time. And – until their family started growing – I liked that my favorite pic of Kate & me had a home on their wall. But, there's only so many squares inches on the wall. You know how it goes...

Anyway, back in 2003, I set out to finally get it done. 

I couldn't find enough matching frames in stores, so I bought some online. I had to assemble them and add the hardware, but they were a good price. Picked up the glass at my local glass store, and a couple of sheets of creamy white mat board. Spent at least one evening creating the 'ideal' layout on my Mac. I'm a graphic designer, so that was the easy part,

I'd already gathered a stack of great photos... From both sides of my family – old black & whites from Iceland and Ireland. Favorite funny photos from childhood, family, friends, and my oh-so-photogenic pup, Frankie. I was determined. I spent an evening (maybe two?) measuring, re-measuring, leveling, and hanging the empty frames. You know... To see how cool it was going to look. All that was left to do was pick the photos...

In my defense:  As a wannabe artist, I knew what I was in for. I'd matted dozens (hundreds?) of watercolors, drawings, prints and photos... This was going to take a good chunk of time. And space. Clearing an area for the near-surgical task of cleaning the glass, matting, taping, and assembling all the pieces/parts. I also dreaded the inevitable frustration:  Getting it all assembled, flipping it over, and finding a spec of lint under the glass. Aarrgh. Start over. (Tell me this doesn't happen to you, too.)

But, really – mostly, I think – I just couldn't decide on the photos. I had dozens of wonderful photos, but room for only 12 pictures. And I KNEW that once I did this, I wasn't going to change them.

It was easier to 'think about it tomorrow'... 

The solution to my little dilemma came to me (literally) in the middle of the night. The next day, I made a prototype in my kitchen, and whaddya know? It worked. 

I showed it to my sister, and after several rounds of "wait, what?!?" (and a lot of laughs), I knew I'd happened upon a 'better mousetrap'. Not long after, I boarded the longest, craziest roller coaster ride of my life.  More than eight years, one production run on MAJOR store shelves (see "The 5-Second Story"), and one emptied nest egg later, Change of Art is finally ready to roll.  Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed...