Gallery Opening

Recently I took the family to a friend's gallery opening.  J's Gallery is a small gallery featuring the talent of local artists.  It's owned and operated by Jay Bowen, an artist and jewelry designer (a Master Silversmith), it pulls double duty as not only a gallery but also an art school:  The LaConner School of Art.  Jay hosted an open house at his gallery and decided to invite all his family and friends to share in his newest joy.

The gallery is tiny, which provides a warm and intimate feel to your visit.  However, it isn't exactly conducive to an open house - where parking was scarce and room to move around was even scarcer.  But for your every-day visit (and possible purchases), it's the perfect size for viewing and comfort.

I admit, I became obsessed with the wood ceilings.  They were the coolest! Not only that, but I adore Jay's clever way of maximizing the display space by using wire fencing and arching it to the ceiling.  If you look in the background of this photograph, you can see how he did it and used it to display the artwork.

Here's Mum chatting with Chuck.  Of course, she's sitting in front of a piece of art that features one of her all-time favorite birds:  the heron.

Though space was tight, Jay even managed to do a display piece featuring some original Native American photographs.  I love how he pulled in his ancestry into the gallery.

Even his work space had a gallery feel - hanging two works from the ceiling.  People congregated everywhere - even near the very work bench he spins his metal magic - chatting and admiring the talent on display.



And, of course, no visit is complete without a photograph of Mum and Dawn.  This image was taken by Jay's sister, who captured them with her mobile phone camera.  Not bad for a mobile phone camera - though I admit I tweaked it a bit.

So, if you're in La Conner, Washington - don't hesitate to swing by J's Gallery.  You won't regret the visit, and you may even find yourself purchasing a treasured piece of brilliance.