Its always been in an office or at a mall lunch table. I have always dealt with having to answer questions and be put under a microscope but he and I just talked. It was at that moment I knew I’d be comfortable at Gallery Aferro. I was set to come in next wednesday and start.

I came in that wednesday and saw many new faces, quickly learned the layout of the building and I was already starting to settle in. I introduced myself to Juno, Emma, Evonne, Mary Claire and Remina. Mary Claire and Remina are two interns here as well so it was good to have camaraderie.

I was then given the task of helping Evonne make the trophy for our “Come as You Are” auction award ceremony. She took me up this old freight elevator to her workshop. It reminded me a lot of my grandpas garage when I was young and I was hit with nostalgia. We started polishing the railroad ties and soon they looked as if they were made of silver. It felt good to get my hands dirty and the day flew by and I was excited for the next.

Thursday came and I was directed to cut wood to make trays for our carts. The auction brings in many people and we needed a lot of food. Evonne trusted me upstairs alone so I got to work sawing wood and sanding it for the trays. Teamwork is very rewarding, however, doing a solo project gives you a good opportunity to reflect on things and I noticed that I was welcomed in very quickly and never felt like I was an outsider working here.

The day of the auction arrived and I came in at 2 in the afternoon to help prepare. I started by making signs for the auction and it was a generally quiet morning, I was honestly expecting more stress. We set up the art wrapping stations and Mary Claire and I got to work setting up our upstairs station as well. The auction was great and I won a set of oil paints, something I have been meaning to take back up. Overall it was a wonderful night and I realized the importance of art in our communities.

After the excitement of the auction I was helping to clean up and we wrapped the art to give to the buyers and some back to the artists. It was a lengthy process which was a learning experience for me. I did not know how much went into keeping art preserved in transport and storage. over those two days we wrapped and sorted the art.

We were always busy, but always made time for each other. Shortly after the start of the Gallery Curator turnover we had a nice pizza lunch, due to all the craziness we never sat down and ate with each other at the same time unless you went out to lunch with someone. It was really fun learning more about each other and seeing sides to people that you normally didn’t see on the business end. We also celebrated Emma’s birthday toward the end of my internship and gave her a mini surprise party.

Although I was just interning, I never felt like just an intern. I felt like I knew these people for years and we all clicked and flowed so well. Each person’s role was important to keep the gallery flowing and working well. They enveloped me in that sense of community that is wonderful to have in a place of work. I sadly could not attend, but they they hosted an Intern Appreciation barbecue for us.

My experience with Gallery Aferro was absolutely amazing and I hope I can work with them sometime soon in the near future.