My Art Museum Is A Panera Bread

While I was in college, I studied fine art. I've always considered myself an artist. I am always seeing the world from an artistic set of eyes. In college, we were encouraged to visit as many art museums as possible. For art students in a small West Virginia town in the state's eastern panhandle, that meant that we should take full advantage of school bus trips to Baltimore or Washington, D.C. Though I enjoyed seeing museums in Baltimore, Washington, and even New York City, I must admit I wasn't truly inspired by the art I was taking in. Don't get me wrong. I appreciated classic paintings at the National Museum of Art and even some of the SoHo district's contemporary installations. It's just that I felt those particular pieces didn't reflect the type of artwork that I found appealing.

As time has passed since my days at Shepherd College, I have become aware of the art that motivates and inspires me. I have found this art in the designs of CD covers that I look at when I'm at Target or Borders. I've found this art on movie posters outside the Kerasotes theater. I find myself wanting to read certain books simply because the cover art is so engaging. This is the art that appeals to me.

This past week I found myself finding an art museum in an unusual place—a Panera Bread in Wheeling, West Virginia. My wife and I stopped at this Panera for a quick lunch on a long trip back to our home in Indiana. It was a new Panera store, and the large seating area and décor immediately reflected this when we entered. As I sat down with my food, I noticed some charcoal pencil drawings framed on the wall. They were rough sketches of a Panera bread-baker at work, kneading dough, icing scones, preparing desserts, and so forth. I thought the sketches' minimal use of detail provided a perfect amount of intimacy and beauty. After our meal, as were were walking around to refill our drinks, I saw a sepia-toned photo of a loaf of bread. It was shot in such a way as to highlight the detail of the bread in a very charming manner. I was impressed at how a photograph of bread could be so attractive. I then noticed a quilt hanging on the wall. It wasn't that it was a quilt so much as it was a rich display of autumn colors, each square of the quilt possessing its own portion of the season. As a graphic artist, I appreciated how those different colors complimented each other. As one single color, they are not very impressive, but to combine them shows their true beauty and significance.

As I think about it more, I realize that art museums sometimes intimidate me. There's a feeling that if I don't understand the work that I'm viewing, then maybe I'm not really an artist at heart. Shouldn't an artist enjoy art museums? Art, of course, is everywhere. I found my art museum at a Panera Bread. It took finding it at Panera for me to realize that art is always subjective. I relate to art that reflects my faith, my heart, and my passions and I will continue to enjoy finding it in the most unlikely places.