the Power

exactly one year after the Bishop Arts gallery and shop’s closure. The gallery replaced Makers Connect at an unassuming strip mall near Audelia Road and Northwest Highway.

Sparks sells her work at the shop, but Jack has replaced creating pieces with running the shop’s day-to-day operations.

“I prefer to give other people space to sell their work,” he says. “I’m done. I can die happy. I achieved more than I ever imagined at Artisan’s, so I’m good.”

Jack and Sparks acknowledge that an art gallery isn’t a high-demand business, but they say giving the neighborhood access to local art is worth the risk.

“They need it whether they know it or not,” Sparks says.

By BRENT MCDOUGAL