As shared by Sue Peterson January 2023

Sixty one years ago, in 1962, I was a senior in high school and found work at the Seattle World’s Fair selling souvenir programs and guidebooks hoping to earn enough money for my first year of college.  During my breaks, I would go to the East Gate of the Fairgrounds where there was a booth called People to People.  It was small and insignificant compared to all the other exhibits but the attraction for me was that I could meet young people like myself from all parts of the world.  I loved this interaction and looked forward each day to meeting and sharing ideas with people that I thought were different but when talking with them I discovered they were actually very much like me.  Surprisingly, I later found out that the organization People to People was founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower a 5-star general in WWII and later a US President.  His experience in the military convinced him that war was not and would never be a path to lasting peace.  Instead his conviction was that peace could be achieved only when we are able to broaden our network of friends and have meaningful dialogue. I too was convinced of this.

Seven years later, I was introduced to Nichiren Buddhism whose goal is peace through a flowering of culture and education.  The Buddhist philosophy taught me the importance of treasuring my own life and to value and treasure the lives of all people especially the person right in front of me-- through meaningful interaction and dialogue. These are the primary skills I possessed when I started my journey as a gallerist in 1996.  Did I have an art gallery back ground? No.  Did I have a visual arts background? No.  Did I like art?  Yes.       

I did have a performing arts and teaching background.  Close enough?

Fortunately, a woman living on Queen Anne out on a walk asked what was going into the space which was undergoing major renovation.  One of the construction workers said art and furniture.  She got my number and we were soon in contact.  As it turned out, Kate Joyce was just leaving Davidson Galleries as director for 12 years.  She was going out on her own as an art consultant and also designed and built furniture.  She became my mentor for about 18 months teaching me the gallery business until she left to focus on her growing consulting business. From that point on my art education came from interacting with the artists and the clients.  Greeting gallery visitors was the best part of the job and made each day unique and fun.  I made sure to learn each person’s name both first and last, making sure I could spell and pronounce their name correctly.   I was able to build the mailing list from 0 to over 5000 individuals in the 20 years I staffed the Gallery.

Although I am not in the Gallery nearly as much, I still make sure I know who visits.   When a purchase is made, I want to know which artist, title of the art and how to spell and pronounce the patron’s name.  This is unchanged.  The spirit to know, interact with and respect everyone who comes in the door is the Spirit of Fountainhead.

I truly appreciate the artists, patrons, staff and all others who have visited the Gallery and patiently shared their knowledge and love of art.  Fountainhead will continue to connect with and treasure each person as we all Revive, Nurture, Inspire one another.