Confession

I get really nervous about contacting potential graduate advisors. I think this stems from a lack of response by professors when I've applied in the past, but whatever the reason, I just get myself all worked up that I'm not going to get a response.

However, I found a wonderfully reassuring article today. Being the good Google user that I am, I was trying to find something about the best way to contact a potential professor. I was hoping to find something like "address this point, this point, ask this question, and say thank you."

Instead, I found this:
As a former professor, I promise that most, if not all, professors will be delighted that someone is interested in their work and happy to hear from someone who wants to work with them. Now, if you are contacting the supreme expert at MIT or Yale or something, they might have inboxes full of these requests, but most professors who aren't the grand poobah of their fields are thrilled when people are interested. Occasionally you meet a stinker, but most will be complimented rather than annoyed. So keep that in mind. 
And remember, you haven't lost anything by expressing interest! Everyone likes to hear that what they do matters. You will get some no-replies, some wankers, and some great replies...just like any other situation like this, regardless of field. I think it is great you are following your bliss here, and don't let worries of sounding dumb (which you do not) scare you away from reaching out and making some new contacts. I think you will be very pleased at the conversations you are starting, and you should ignore the insecure blowhards who act like they are too important for you. After all, where would they be without students? They need you!