It's difficult to say whether the paint on Amanda Robinson's hands is from putting together a store in the gallery in the Virginia Fire and Police Museum, preparing the gallery space for an upcoming show or working on her own art (when she has time, often — ahem — when other folks are getting some reading done).

Almost a year and a half after opening the doors of Gallery5, Robinson doesn't look like she's any closer to getting a full night's sleep. Maybe it's because she's constantly adding another element to her artistic circus. With those paint-flecked hands, she's juggled putting the work of young artists on the walls (a first stamp on their resumé) with no budget, hosting live music, executing a nude art show (for which she spent the most money she'd ever spent on a show: $200 for the materials to build boxes for the models) and organizing a show of Russian art whose November opening will bring in the Russian ambassador and other notables.

Speaking of juggling, there's the October show to think about, a Carnival-themed affair with a freak show, burlesque and taxidermy. And though Robinson has a loyal board to help with the planning and interns to put the big shows together, it's likely that those hands won't be pigment-free anytime soon.

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