Armando Mejorado is an entrepreneurial restaurateur who opened and operates Armando’s Gallery House in Redding, California. He describes the Gallery House as emerging from his creative thought processes; hence, it is part restaurant, part art gallery, art studio, cabaret, lounge, and educational venue. This is the place where he creates as a fine artist, interior designer, chef, dancer, actor, writer, photographer, and teacher. Armando has been producing art since he was 5 years old, so the Gallery House is the latest, ongoing version of his creative work.
Please describe some of the work an expert typically does in your field (you can interpret “field” to mean either your artwork, or your work with the restaurant, or both).
Being that I have a restaurant and also an art gallery in the same space, I have to be both an artist and entertainer on the dining room floor. In the kitchen, I have to be a chef and create food that is both delicious and artistic. I create an experience for my guests from the moment you walk in to the moment you walk out.
What kind of knowledge, skills, and dispositions (attitudes, personality characteristics) are required for success in your field?
The knowledge and skills needed in my field are quite simple. You have to care about your guests, and be able to read them so that you can get to know them. You need a personality that makes it easy to engage with your guests, to ask questions, make jokes, be sincere and be vulnerable. Give your guests a chance to get to know you.
And of course, there are the more technical skills. Being a chef, you have to have the passion for food. When I teach cooking classes, I always start by telling my students to respect your ingredients and use the right tool for the job. You don’t want to use a cleaver to cut a tomato, because now you have an angry tomato and that will show in your food. Use the right knife and you keep all the juices in, and you have a happy tomato and delicious food. As an artist, I teach you that you have to be yourself in your work. You have to let the viewer see who you are, be real and let people see the happiness alongside all the pain. That’s how you will create your best artwork.
What kind of education/training is required for the development of the necessary credentials and expertise in your field (academic degrees or licenses or internships or apprenticeships, etc.)?
Personally, I only have a high school education, but I wish I would have gone to college and taken a business course. If I had done that I would have saved a lot of time on the ins and outs of building a business. It took me a year of research and planning and trying to figure out all the permits and licenses needed to open my business. For my particular line of work, there was nothing like it in my city, so there were no guidelines to follow. Am I a restaurant, art gallery, art studio, wine and beer bar, school, cabaret, retail shop? The answer is yes, I’m all that and much more. But not having just one category to follow was difficult and time consuming.
As far as training, there are programs that can teach you hospitality, cooking, art and acting, and I believe this would help. However, I think you are born with these skills, and ultimately it has to be an instinct and something within you to truly be a master of all crafts. For me, my brain works very quickly and I am available to change like a chameleon in real time. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like a spark in my brain that tells me to adapt.
Can you think of a teacher or mentor who helped you prepare for success in your field? How did this person help you develop the knowledge, skills, dispositions, or motivation that contributed to your success?
There have been many people in my life who in a sense have been my mentors. I’ve been self taught in all my fields, but I grew up with great teachers who encouraged development. Picasso, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, and Frida Kahlo have been some of my biggest inspirations. I relate to Frida Kahlo more than anyone. Even though I have never met her, knowing her life, her struggles and her passion for art and doing what her heart told her even with all the roadblocks that were put before her, her stubbornness and drive to never give up have been part of why I remain true to my craft. I would rather fail than live my life with the regret of never trying. That’s why I believe a creative mind will push harder than an average Joe. I always say that when standing on a cliff, the difference is a creative person pursuing something will jump off the cliff without knowing what lies at the bottom, where the average Joe will stand on top of the cliff thinking and analyzing what’s at the bottom, and wondering “should I jump or stay?” A creative mind will jump.
Describe a typical work day for an expert in your field. If there isn’t such a thing as a “typical” work day please explain why that’s the case.
There’s no such a thing as a typical day in my life. My brain never shuts down. From the moment I wake up, I start to think about everything—what artistry will I create today, what food will I cook, what table settings and china will go with it, what kind of experience do I want my guests to walk away with. For me, the goal is to evoke all senses from the moment you walk through my doors until the time you walk out of them. I want to create something that will take you to another place. At the same time, because my brain works this way, I’ve always had obsessions, insomnia, and my brain never shuts down. Even when I go to sleep, I never fully go into a deep sleep—my brain constantly thinks about what I’ll do next, what colors to use, what will I cook, what will be the next experience I create?
Think of a challenging initiative or project in which you were involved. What barriers and opportunities arose throughout the development of that project? How did you overcome the barriers and/or capitalize on the opportunities?
This question couldn’t have come at a better time. By the time this is published, I should have moved my business from one location to another. Human nature is very predictable.
As an artist, I have shown my work in 33 different countries, and I was the youngest artist to show at a San Francisco world renowned museum. Within the first year of opening my business, I was named Business Person of the Year by my community. I have been a community servant for over 20 years. With that said, I find myself moving from one place to another and facing some challenges. At some point when you are in the public eye, you will also find yourself falling from grace. It will seem that everything you have accomplished meant nothing when one negative thing was said about you. The trick is to find your way out. Finding a way to rise above it is the tricky part. I have seen it time and time again; when you are at the top of your game, there will always be a fall. How you pick yourself back up is what will matter. Doing well will allow you to move on in life. Having the determination to pick yourself back up with grace is how you do it. Be graceful, have dignity, and at times it means being the bigger person and having the passion and drive to move forward.
To what extent does success in your field emerge from individual work versus teamwork? Does the field push you toward one or the other or is there some balance between the two?
Success in my field relies on teamwork. I describe what I do as a symphony. There are many team members on stage all playing their instruments, where I am the conductor. It is my job to make sure everyone plays their part in order for everything to go as planned. If one instrument is out of tune or falls behind, the whole experience for my guests will not be what I created. Before I open my doors, I give each team member a role to play. However, something I still have to figure out is the balance. In my head I know what I am creating, I know how everything is supposed to sound, taste, feel. Something that I have to find balance on is letting my whole team know what the entire symphony sounds like instead of just giving each member their part. Even though I know what every little detail is supposed to be, I need to find a way to let everyone know everything instead of just giving each team member their own music sheet.
What are some things about your work that you find most rewarding?
Some of the most rewarding things about my work are meeting all my new guests who come to my business. I love to give my guests a unique experience that makes them happy, an experience they will take away and never forget. And, of course, being able to create what I describe as living art—being able to bring things out in my guests they had no idea they had. But ultimately it’s being given the opportunity to inspire someone to chase a dream.
What advice would you give to a gifted, talented young person who is interested in pursuing a career in your field?
Be patient. Things do not happen overnight. Be flexible to change. Don’t get stuck on one idea that you think will work. Be open to change if something is not working. Don’t be stubborn trying to make the same idea work. If it’s not working, change, adapt, and listen to those around you. It doesn’t mean that you have to do what others are telling you to do, but be open minded. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket—have other ideas or you will be stuck in the starving artist category.
Is there anything else you would like to discuss that we haven’t yet covered?
Thank you for this opportunity to share a bit of myself. One thing we have not sufficiently touched on is the stressful part of being a creative person. Time and time again I have seen it—having such a passion for a craft takes a toll on your mental health. I have been doing what I do since the age of 5 when I knew I wanted to be creative.
I have poured myself more than 100% into everything I do. As a creative person, there are numerous challenges that many people can’t understand and maybe never will. When you are a creative person, you give more to your craft than people realize. When I say I live and breathe what I do, I mean it. I will give you more than most will ever understand.
Having the pressure of people around you can take it out of you mentally. I don’t know if this is the reason why many creative people before me and many people after will most likely face the same mental challenges, like addictions, suicide, obsessions, loneliness, and pressure to be more, and at times not being good enough.
Like many creative people before me, I feel I may have the same fate—people will never understand me. I have attempted suicide five times and I don’t necessary feel that it’s because life is tough. For me, it has been because my brain never shuts down. It never stops thinking and I give it my all, and I feel people will not understand me. Being depressed, obsessive, passionate, overdriven means that addiction, suicide, depression and heartache at times seem to be the only way to shut our minds down just to get peace. I’m 42 now and I’m lucky enough to know that I hope that’s not my fate, and that this world will give me the chance to reach my potential. I feel I’m living my life creating a painting that I will never see.
In summary, I have a passion for being creative. I have been doing art since I was 5, and art has always been my escape. When someone says they live and breathe something, creating is just that for me. I opened Armando’s Gallery House and can only describe it as the inside of my head: part restaurant, part art gallery, cabaret, lounge, art studio, schooling. This is the place where I create, and have found myself. I am a fine artist, interior designer, chef, dancer, actor, writer, photographer, teacher. I get asked a lot, “What type of artist are you?” I simply say, “I collect hobbies.” If there’s something I want to do, I figure it out.