Champion for artists

SHE IS

Supporting the owners, sales people and the artists of Miranda

Galleries and Miranda International.

THE WOMAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Behind the glass doors of Miranda Galleries is a treasure trove of

contemporary art. A fluid, seemingly weightless bronze sculpture by

Tuan stands before a lyrical painting of Aphrodite sitting under a

crescent moon. Jazz plays softly in the background. And in the back

office, Lynn Crittenden masterminds all of the logistics that gives

the gallery its appearance of elegance and creativity.

For two years, the 33-year-old Crittenden has juggled ordering,

shipping, mailing, event planning, database updating, computer

doctoring and, most recently, Web site designing.

“It’s different every day,” she said. “I love that no two days are

alike and every day is a challenge.”

She is the backbone of the galleries, ensuring that new art is

installed and that clients who come from all over receive their

pieces undamaged and on time.

In spite of her nonstop schedule, Crittenden feels privileged to

be part of the gallery.

“Shawn and Robert Miranda [the owners] create a strong family

feeling here,” she said.

“We support each other in ways that don’t always happen in a

corporate environment.”

CHANGING GEARS

When Crittenden moved to Orange County four and a half years ago,

she didn’t foresee that she would be wearing sandals and a denim

skirt to work in a gallery.

Dressed in suits and pantyhose, she worked in the accounting

department of a finance company based in Costa Mesa. But with the big

paycheck came the big pressures.

“When you’re working all the time and having all of the

responsibility of someone else’s business on your shoulders it

creates a pressure that isn’t conducive to good parenting,” she said.

Fate intervened when, in March 2000, a colleague took her aside to

confide that the company was having financial trouble and it might be

time to start looking elsewhere. Crittenden applied for the

operations manager position at the gallery and the day she arrived

for her interview, her predecessor announced that she had fired her

nanny and needed to leave immediately.

“It was meant to be,” Crittenden said with a shrug.

A few days later Crittenden and her colleagues were given their

lay-off notices and that same afternoon she received an offer from

the gallery.

She never looked back.

“It worked out perfect for me,” she said. “Life just shifted the

balance and suddenly I moved with my children from Irvine to Corona

Del Mar.”

A FAMILY AFFAIR

One of the perks of her job -- in addition to being surrounded by

art -- is that the Mirandas are flexible in allowing her children to

come to work. Matt, 10, helps out by gluing envelopes and running

them through the postage meter while Rachel, 11, greets guests at the

artist receptions and special events.

“One sales person told me that my office is like romper room,” she

said.

Crittenden is especially thankful her children have the

opportunity to not only be exposed to art, but also to meet the

people who create it. Spanish painter Royo gave her daughter a

special gift as a thank you for the work she did at his reception.

“She now has an original Royo drawing and she’s only 11,”

Crittenden said.

-- By Mary A. Castillo