8 minute read
The Lemonade Art Gallery: Let Art Inspire You
BY CHRISTINA RUOTOLO PHOTOS BY DEBORAH GRIFFIN
It’s a crisp, fall day in downtown Washington, N.C. The newly renovated Main Street is dotted with patrons drinking beer and eating at outdoor dining tables. Couples are walking their dogs, donning shopping bags and peering into storefront windows, searching for the next perfect gift. Many of these quaint shops are flled with treasures, both past and present, from artisan gifts such as handcrafted soaps, pottery, furniture, jewelry, artwork, and antiques, making the shopping adventure more like searching an ancient map for buried treasure.
One such shop is The Lemonade Art Gallery, located at 201 W. Main St. Inside you will fnd such items as unique art and gifts, jewelry, watercolors, woodwork, pottery, wall art, photography and custom pens. Walls are adorned with tapestries, paintings awash with color and black and white photographs that showcase the beauty and livelihood of eastern North Carolina, from beach scenes to felds thick with crops. Swarovski crystals from handcrafted jewelry cast dancing prisms of vivid colors in red, green, and yellow across the bright, open gallery. Each section houses art and showcases the talented craftsmen that call North Carolina their muse. The gallery also ofers classes in watercolor, jewelry making, scratch board, and pine-straw weaving.
Once you open the doors, the cute store mascot, a black and white dog named Lola, runs around the corner and looks up welcoming you. Here, art intimates life, and you can’t help but be immersed in its immense serenity and beauty. The front of the gallery houses a variety of items including paintings, wall art and jewelry from necklaces, earrings, and rings. Walking past the front display, you will fnd a back nook adorned with watercolor paintings. There are wooden barns nestled into forests, farm animals, birds, fora and fauna, an artist’s kaleidoscope.
What better gift to give than a handmade one, such as a painting or piece of jewelry brimming with that artist’s vision, hard work, sweat, and craft. You can feel the artist’s vision in the grooves of a pottery bowl, the slick, liquid strands of silver wrapped around freshwater pearls, or how when you look into a painting of a fox in a snowy feld, you can almost hear the wind howl through the bare trees, or feel the cold on your cheek. Art is expansive. It allows the viewer to go beyond its initial layer. And when we buy handmade products, we are helping to support local artists, allowing them to continue and thrive through their chosen craft.
Co-owners Sue Beck and Carol Mann have been the proprietors of The Lemonade Art Gallery since they opened eight years ago. These entrepreneurs and artists bring color and vitality to their store that is brimming with art and color in all its beautiful forms. They love supporting the arts community and being a part of the metamorphosis of downtown Washington.
Sue started her artistic career when she moved to Washington back in 2005. “Not until I retired, moved, and settled in my new home, did I realize I needed to fnd some projects to keep me busy,” she said. “I began to experiment with wire wrapping and became enamored with it. I’ve taken several courses in various techniques, but am mostly self-taught. My
background in dentistry has provided me with many skills which could be applied to jewelry. I also dabbled in numerous forms of jewelry design and techniques.”
Sue is certifed as an instructor in precious metal clay, a malleable clay, which when fred in a kiln, becomes a fne (99.9% pure) silver (or numerous other metals) piece of jewelry. She’s done Russian fligree, fused and dichroic glass art, resin art, designed and completed numerous memorial jewelry pieces using cremains. She uses sterling silver, 14-karat gold-flled wire, Swarovski crystal and semi-precious gemstones to make rings, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. “Many of the tools I use are those I used in the dental ofce, as well as others specifc to metal work and jewelry,” she said.
The frst piece of jewelry she made was a bangle bracelet, which she still has in her jewelry box. Since she started she has created more than a thousand projects. When asked what fve words that come to mind when she thinks of art, she says passion, creativity, purpose, satisfaction and accomplishment.
Carol is a watercolorist who uses paper and brushes designed exclusively for her specialty. Her work is varied and she enjoys painting many diferent subjects. When asked what fve words that come to mind when she thinks of art, she says beauty, color, texture, mood, and life. “I consider myself a realist, in that I prefer to paint what I see and want my work to look more like a photo than an interpretative approach,” she said. “I love bright colors and am known for my strong colors. I don’t like ‘wishy-washy’ watercolors and will use several layers of color to achieve a rich result.”
The very frst thing Carol ever painted was an apple. “That’s a pretty basic subject, for sure!” she said. “But it wasn’t as easy as one might think….trying to make something not look fat is a challenge. And colors running together (as watercolors are apt to do) can often turn to mud.”
For Carol, painting was not always at the forefront of her mind. It was a serendipitous experience. “I never dreamed of being an artist…it just happened for me,” she said. “I was writing a cookbook and decided to take art lessons to perhaps enhance my book. The lessons worked out, and I found myself loving to paint. I was asked to paint for others, and eventually it became a business that I had never planned on. I have absolutely no
formal education in art but have taken watercolor classes from a few people and attended some workshops. But at this point, I am pretty much self-taught (by trial and error!).” Carol has completed hundreds of paintings in the 11 years since she frst started and usually completes two to three paintings a week.
She enjoys painting pet portraits, particularly to memorialize animals for people who loved them. “I also had the pleasure of painting a watercolor of Jimmy Bufet’s boat, which was built here in Washington,” she said. “Jimmy called and purchased the original, and numerous prints have been purchased by many Parrot heads.”
The length of time for completion of her painting projects varies depending on the request and subject matter. “I can’t put a time on any project….mostly because I paint several things at one time,” she said. “With watercolors, I have to let things dry a lot, so I move back and forth between projects so that I don’t waste time waiting for paint to dry. I teach watercolor classes to beginners and intermediate students as well. I teach four classes per week of 14 students, and have several private students as well. So I interact with over 60 students per week….. this keeps me pretty busy.”
For Sue, the most rewarding part of the job as gallery co-owner/keeper of the art is to see people’s faces light up when they see a piece of jewelry Sue has created based on the concept they gave her. “Many times, it’s a repair of a special piece, or reconstructing an heirloom piece so it will be worn, rather than sit in a safe-deposit box. I get the same satisfaction when I help a customer fnd the perfect piece of art for their home or the perfect gift they are searching for,” she said.
Carol agreed. “I’ve been asked to paint scenes, dogs, and people. When the client has tears in his/her eyes, I know I’ve hit the mark!” she said.
Sue and Carol have built an exciting business that celebrates art, and they hope that their art, as well as the handmade items they sell in their store, will infuence the younger generations of artists. Sue says she would love to inspire young people to use their hands and minds to create something that brings them a feeling of happiness and accomplishment. “In my classes, I have enjoyed seeing teenagers get excited about making beautiful jewelry for themselves and gifts for special people in their lives,” she said.
Carol hopes their business and art and craft will infuence the younger generations of artists and encourage younger people to put their electronic devices down occasionally and observe the beauty which surrounds them. She tells her students to paint what they see, not what they think they see. “If one stops and studies the world that surrounds them, the beauty is everywhere and can be captured on that piece of white paper or in a personalized piece of jewelry, or captured in a photograph, or glazed and fred in a kiln,” she said.
No matter what the subject matter or avenue in which art is presented, The Lemonade Art Gallery will support and house art in all its beautiful splendor. Make sure next time you are in Washington, that you stop in and fnd your own unique treasure.
For more information on The Lemonade Art Gallery, call (252) 495-3141 or visit the website www.thelemonadeartgallery.com. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday.
MEET THE LEMONADE ART GALLERY VENDORS:
Sue Beck – Co Owner And Jeweler Carol Mann – Co Owner And Watercolor Artist Ginger Gehres – Scratchboard Artist Teresa Cole Rogers – Painted Glass Artist Jim Adams – Organic Sculpture In Wood And Metal Carolyn Daly Shedd – Sea Inspired Pottery David Powers – Turned-Wood Artist Sandie Marino – Encaustic Wax And Resin Artist Pat Carlson – Quilts And Fabric Artist Matt Gibson – Pottery Pat Holscher – Watercolor Artist N And C Farms – Local Canned Items Lora Jordan – Decorated Oyster Shells Hans Johnson – Woodwork Artist Diane Adams – Friendship Beanbag Frogs Barbara Vanvliet – Acrylic Artist Larry Boyd – Photography Bill Walker – Oil Artist Bruce Jordan – Pottery Jj Jarvah – Alcohol Ink Artist Jon Sadler – Custom Turned-Wood Pens
