There’s so much dazzling, beautiful, unique art on display at The ARTery, 3913 14th Ave., Rock Island, it’s hard to know how to pick something for those on your “nice” holiday list.
It’s a big weekend for the Quad Cities art gallery – as today (Black Friday) is its monthly Final Friday, with an opening reception (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) with featured artists Corrine Smith and Tony Cavallo, and live music by Chris Stevens, plus complimentary snacks and drinks.
On Saturday (Small Business Saturday), you can browse and shop small from not only these two talented artists, but the 20 local creatives who regularly offer paintings, jewelry, clothing, pottery, stained glass, cards and prints.
Local professional artist, instructor, and entrepreneur Carolyn Krueger operated The ARTery, a gallery offering fair prices for local artists to exhibit and sell their work, in downtown Rock Island on 2nd Avenue, for 11 years until 2020, when the ARTery was forced to close due to the loss of MidCoast Fine Arts.
The ARTery 2.0 was revived this summer with artists Jenna Isbell (The Short Potter, Print + Clay) and Tara Malnar (Art by TL Malnar, FireSprite Pottery), at the former Bike & Hike store just off 38th Street. Steve DePron ran Bike & Hike and suggested Krueger take over the building this past August.
“I kind of grew up with Steve’s kids. He’s got a daughter my brother’s age and his son Luke is my age and we met at South Park Presbyterian Church back in the day,” Krueger said. “Every bike I’ve ever owned has been from him, including my very first bike. He’s a pillar in this community. I think it’s a shame that we’re losing Bike & Hike quite frankly, but when I saw it was closing I kind of had that lightbulb idea that that building is pretty cool.”
Malnar and Isbell help manage and coordinate artists and activities for the gallery. The new gallery space is technically smaller than the downtown space, but they now have a good-sized studio — where classes are held and the former bike repair shop was.
They hold classes (mainly ceramics) four or five days a week, and Krueger does private pottery lessons.
Monthly events
On monthly 2nd Saturday and 3rd Thursday events, they have non-ceramics activities (like pumpkin painting and button making). In December, they’ll make ornaments.
“We were looking for a location for a year and a half, and Steve out of nowhere just said, ‘I’m closing up shop, do you want the place?’” Isbell said Tuesday.
The ARTery had three weeks from when he closed to their opening in August.
Artists pay a monthly fee to rent space to show and sell their items.
The new featured artists are rotated every two months, and Cavallo and Smith are just the second featured artists. The first (August through October) were Tony Seabolt and Carrie Clark. The artist reception is always the final Friday (6-9 p.m., where they have food and live music).
Smith (abstract collages) and Cavallo (lots of horror themes) were up by the first week of November. The business isn’t usually open the first week of each month. The past four artists have been chosen by The ARTery after they reached out to ones they knew.
Artists that permanently display can restock and refresh their space, after things sell.
They not only showcase a wide variety of art — from paintings to stained glass to jewelry and clothing — but a broad range of price points, between $3 to $2,000. Isbell said on average, pieces are very affordable, between $20 and $45 each.
“Art galleries are great, but we want to be sure we’re very approachable to the public — not snooty,” she said. “This is art you can bring home and live with.”
The gallery is typically just open for the monthly events and by appointment, Malnar said.
The 2nd Saturday (11 a.m.-6 p.m.) and 3rd Thursday (5-9 p.m.) have activities, free to the public. “We want art to be accessible to literally everyone,” Isbell said. “We want people to come in and experience creativity themselves. It’s something we really need in the Quad Cities, and cost really is a barrier for people.”
‘Anyone can make art’
“People think art is this thing they can’t do, unless you’re necessarily good at it,” she said. “There’s someone at our last event who said, ‘I can’t make art but I can appreciate art.’ Anyone can make art, and it’s here and come make it.”
Those days offer people a chance to see if they like making art, and gets them interested in taking regular classes.
This Final Friday is Black Friday, and Saturday is Small Business Saturday, a national effort to encourage people to shop local, independent businesses.
Isbell and Malnar both have day jobs — Jenna works both at Augustana College (studio art assistance) and at Bettendorf Public Library (a youth clerk), and Tara works as an insurance claims adjustor.
Isbell works mainly in ceramics and Malnar does a lot of things, including painting, ceramics and jewelry. Jenna majored in studio art at Augie (2009), and Tara studied art at Northern Illinois University (2007).
The ARTery only charges artists a 15% commission, to give as much as possible to the artists.
“We’re trying to get art in the Quad Cities,” Malnar said.
“The three of us sell our work,” Isbell said. “We’re lucky to be able to offer that space and there’s no point in being like ‘We made it, push everyone else off the boat.’ We all sell our own work here.”
Malnar said there’s a great need for more gallery space in the area. Everyone displaying at The ARTery lives in the metro QC area.
“Our mission is, local Quad-City artists,” Isbell said. “If you want to find someone who is literally part of your community and you want to support your community, this is where you come. That’s why we’re The ARTery — you can’t have a town without artists.”
In addition to the trio of female owners, the current ARTery ARTists are Jon Burns, Nathan Parr, Maria Gilbruith-Clements, Paula Teel, Sam McFarland, Anna Davis, Erica Parrott, Pam Kaufman, Karolyn Williams, Leonard Metallo, Caleb Roe, Karen Klingborg, Tom Erhart, Karen Stewart Casper, Molly Hunter, and Tony Seabolt.
For more information, call 309-781-7668 or visit its website or Facebook page.
Check out a slide show of ARTery offerings below.
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