I am one of 15 founding owners/members of the HGA that we established in 2006. It is a vibrant commercial artists owned and operated fine art and fine craft gallery, meaning we do all aspects of the business. We now have 21 professional artists who are owners/members. Artworks include Paintings, Furniture & wood art, Pottery, Blown Glass, Enamels, Jewelry, Photography and Textiles.
You can find a rotating selection of my original work there as well as prints and cards.
LOOKING BACK AT 20 YEARS
As one of the 15 founding members, I ask myself, where did the time go? Twenty years ago Hillsborough was not the bustling artsy town it is now. But here we are, 20 years later and it continues to be a vibrant and successful art gallery. Unfortunately, Pat Merriman, the woman who brought us all together to create a unique artists owned gallery, passed away just weeks before this show and milestone she looked so foward to celebrate. I remember our first meeting at the Ashe House, her home in Hillsborough. We were a group of excited, curious and a bit apprehensive artists, not having a clue about what we were getting ourselves into. Pat had the vision of an artists owned gallery. The spark grew into a unique art business different from a typical co-operative. We were a group of artists with a dream and energy that we pulled together….and formed ’HGA’ … and the model has apparently worked. It was wonderful and fun and hard and, boy, what a great time we had getting it up and running! It was a leap of faith to invest in opening an art gallery, especially one owned and operated by artists in 2006. Our idea was to acknowlege we were artists and as artists we would be on a journey of growth and exploration.That meant we would be given the freedom to explore where our hearts would take us and members would encourage each other. We were and are a family related by art.
The gallery has become more than a business to run for me. It’s a home to enjoy and talk about art and life with other artists. It is not just what I do, it’s who I am.
