Dear wonderful blog readers and gallery enthusiasts,

I am happy and sad to announce the closing of the Teal Art Gallery. I got an offer from another company to take over my lease and I  accepted.  I had had a rough winter and was not looking forward to slogging through summer. I feel sad that I can no longer provide Breckenridge with what I believed to be a fun and different place that provided art and a social aspect. Thank you everyone for being apart of the gallery, to coming to a show, hosting an event, buying art, being an artist, and just having a good time.

Many people are asking what I am doing next.  I am not really sure.  I have several ideas and they all include starting something new.

Onwards and Upwards,

Stephanie

Some of you may know that I have been encouraging co-working here at the art gallery.  We now have several regular coworkers that join the working environment once or twice  a week.  Two new people in town are looking at the gallery as a full time (Mon-Friday, 9:30-5:30) co-working space, and we hope to get a few more people to join this winter.

I’m writing about this because initially, we marketed this co-working space but we used the word office.  But it has turned out to not be an office in any traditional sense of the word. It has turned into much more than that. It has become:

• A professional social community, where you can discuss similar work issues, like frustrating clients or perhaps great victories.  No need to worry about boring your friends about work talk any more because it gets out of your system here.
• A social source for all of the people that work at home and just don’t get to socialize with people anymore. We socialize here, get lunch, and drink beer.
• A comforting place to work that isn’t lonely. Talk on your phone, break out into song, or just be quiet, you can expect that people will get their work done anyway.
• A retreat from your family or cat or cleaning or whatever.  I know you love them (except maybe cleaning), but it is nice to get away and just get work done.

I offer this blog so that people can get a feel of how our co-working has developed over the last year and to welcome you to join us this winter.  Our website has prices and schedules and other information, or you can just come in and visit.

Nothing revitalizes like a vacation full of art, nature, food and wine.  Teal Art Gallery is back and getting ready for a spectacular line up this summer.

Art Classes – Silverthorne, Breckenridge

1- Mark-making: Designing your style. June 6th, 4:30

Teal will be hosting three series of art classes primarily at the Cup in the Corner in Silverthorne.  On Sunday evenings, a group of art devotees will get together to learn about art, practice, and have fun.  The first one will be at the Cup in the Corner inside of Alpine Earth Center

Mona Fraiman – Saturday, August 7

It’s what is on the inside that counts.

When people go shopping for art pieces to go in their house or office, they are obviously very concerned with how the piece looks.  People who don’t care probably don’t go shopping for art.  I understand the need for the aesthetic of the piece to be appealing to he purchaser.  However, more goes in to choosing art than finding what’s ‘pretty’.

Buying art is like committing to a long term relationship.  You have to be able to live with it.  Mostly, a happy relationship is based on much more than just looks.  It has much to do with substance.  You could say I am a matchmaker of sorts.  I find art with substance that has depth, is intriguing, and helps the relationship grow with time instead of withering and dying after a few months.

My job as a gallery owner includes helping people see the depth of the painting as well as the aesthetic beauty.  There are may examples of art in Teal that need an explanation to be understood and then appreciated.  While some people are eager to discuss views and meanings of art, others shy away.  I would like to personally invite anyone to come discuss art with me.

It is a personal goal that having this art gallery in Breck will help show people art they have never seen before.  While, of course, the gallery makes a business of selling art, I try to make a business of getting to know people and helping people feel more comfortable with modern art whether for education or fun.

This is one question that covers all manner of curiosity.  Lately I have found this directed at me more often than before with the gallery in mind.  To answer: it is going well.  I have a gallery up here in the beautiful town of Breckenridge.  I am showing art that I believe in and will stand behind.  Teal is up 100 percent in sales from last year, and more and more new people are curious enough to stop by and see what is new in the old town.

Relatively speaking of course,  business is appalling around the world, and that is getting every one down.  Fair enough.  But for every down there is an up.  People really need to start thinking more positively about the fact that everything really has gone as low as it can go.  In the not too distant future, things will turn around.  Right now the best thing to do is to enjoy the good things in life.  Take a day off.

I brought my oil painting stuff in to work.  It was nice to do something different.  Today I am going to finish Eat Pray Love and then go home and do some wood-working.

One thing I would like to recommend is the Second Saturdays that we are hosting in Breckenridge.  Wine, cheese, cookies and good company are hard to come by in bad economic times, but you can find it all here on Second Saturdays.  The participating galleries are on a neat map.  All of us (the galleries) are interested in just having people in to have some fun and chat.  Visit the website www.breckgallerywalk.com to see what’s out there.

Life can still be good when it is not expensive.