The November/December 2008 edition of "The Alcalde," a publication of The Ex-Students' Association of The University of Texas, offers a feature that salutes the entrepreneur.

This month's selection is Lampasas artist and 1992 UT graduate Nancy Gray.

From her Fourth Street Gallery she operates Nancy Gray Art Consulting and serves as an "aesthetic matchmaker," writes the feature author Lynn Freehill, helping buyers find the right artwork for their homes or businesses.

In the article, Ms. Gray recounts her earliest memories as a ceramic artist's daughter: smashing dried clay with a hammer while still in diapers. Her mother would put the pieces in a vat of water to soften and recycle the clay, she said.

As finances were tight when she entered college, Ms. Gray said she started at community college and then later transferred to UT. She worked as a printer, waitress, ad rep, barmaid, signmaker, graphic artist and legal aide, taking first night classes and then day classes.

She ultimately changed her major from finance to fine art but studied on her own to learn the business side to art. "Every artist has got to have business," she told the publication. "You can't just hang a work up and hope somebody comes by on the off chance they like it and are prepared to buy it that day."

Her work in outfitting Parade of Homes showplaces led to a highprofile project this fall, Ms. Gray told "The Alcalde." She was responsible for finding art for a 5,500-square-foot luxury home that San Antonio Spurs forward Robert Horry built. The home will open for tours next year, then be sold for charity, she said.

But her art interests also have been manifested here in Lampasas. Ms. Gray initiated the Lampasas Association for the Arts, and she has been instrumental in development of the Hanna Springs Sculpture Garden to help develop the city as an art destination.