- A dream of mine came true.

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I work as a server at a restaurant on a property with a gallery space. The reason I decided to work there was to feature my art in the gallery and to serve nights at the restaurant.

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3 years ago that was only a dream. At the time, I turned down a serving job 10 minutes away from my house to instead work at Post Ranch in Big Sur as a busser, which requires an hour+ commute there and another hour back each day. I worked double shifts at first, arriving at work at 7:30 am in a blue shirt for breakfast & lunch, then changing into a black shirt to food run until I left at 9:45pm. Eventually I was promoted to lunch service and instead worked from 10:30am to 9:45pm. Then I picked up my first dinner shift 6 months later when someone called in sick. I’d cover every single dinner shift that was put up by my coworkers until finally they began putting me on the schedule to work nights.

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While I worked my way through the ranks, I was also continuing to paint in my free time. I created a 6 piece collection for a restaurant in Carmel. Once the new restaurant opened with my artwork on the walls, I began picking up 2 shifts a week there while continuing my usual work load at Post Ranch. I somehow managed to keep painting between the 2 restaurant jobs.

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I pestered Post Ranch to feature my work and was turned down incessantly. I didn’t have work that fit with their aesthetic so the no’s became a weekly habit for an entire year...so I stopped reaching out and quietly continued painting in my studio.

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2 years after my initial hire at Post Ranch, the art curator at the property approached me and inquired about my latest work. He asked me to bring it in and he placed it on the walls immediately. I sold 3 pieces so a couple months ago he asked me to put together a show.