Reflections of a first-time art commissioner. Contributed by James Mion.

Over the years, my wife and I have bought a dozen or so works of fine art for our homes—from watercolors to photography to oil paintings to etchings; some old, some new; some inexpensive, others not so much. When we moved from Summit NJ to Princeton in May 2022, we knew pretty quickly we wanted to purchase a large piece, to define a dining area and also to radiate from that area to the adjoining sunroom and living room. We went to a few galleries and a few shows, and we met Erika Rachel.

It’s hard to say if we felt more connected to her or to her art. We thought many of her paintings were spectacular, and their impact on us grew even stronger as we talked to Erika about her art and her life—and our ideas about what we were looking for and our lives. And so we began one of the most amazing journeys: commissioning Erika to create a piece for us. Although we deeply trusted Erika and had a very strong feeling that we would be happy at the end, we truly didn’t know much at all about the process. We could not have asked for a kinder, more confident, deeply understanding person to explain how things would unfold and then to hold our hand every step of the way.

We talked about the artwork Erika would create from every possible dimension—not just size, color, line, depth, and focus, but also in larger terms of how art is part of our life, especially music, and how her painting would capture our feelings about creativity, passion, and connectedness.  Sharing this with Erika was intensely joyful, and her immersive collaborative spirit was personal, sensitive, and profoundly moving. We will remember the journey as one of the best things that has ever happened to us.

The steps of the journey were really a lot of fun, with no tension or pressure. Erika made everything easy--from bringing different-sized pieces into our home so we could see what would work best, asking us again and again about our hopes, creating a custom-stretched canvas and frame, and then presenting a near-final “draft” for us to consider together for any additional elements.

The painting itself is breathtaking. It is a defining element of our new home. We see it every day, throughout the day, and we love it more each time.  We are so grateful for having the opportunity to do this and so happy to have it and Erika as a part of our lives.

James Mion