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VALUE NEWS, MAY 2010

Gallery of Local Working Artists

Water Street Art Gallery opened its doors one year ago in a quaint area of historic downtown Sapulpa.


Julie Miller and Betty Dalsing are two of the working artists who own and operate Water Street Art Gallery in historic downtown Sapulpa.




By Duane Blankenship


Water Street Art Gallery opened its doors one year ago in a quaint area of historic downtown Sapulpa. It is owned and operated by enterprising working artists with a mission to serve the Tulsa metropolitan area. The main gallery of Water Street exposes an 80-foot brick wall plus a vintage pressed tin ceiling. Off the main gallery are smaller display areas and a classroom where classes and workshops are held. In addition to showcasing beautiful fine art by regional artists, this artistic co-op provides a location to teach. Classes are offered in painting, portraiture, drawing, photography, jewelry and mixed media, with demonstrations for adults and children.

Water Street Art Gallery delights the palette of imagination and offers quality pieces by professional artists expressing themselves in diverse mediums including oil, acrylic, ceramics, jewelry, pastel, pencil and ­photography.

Water Street Art Gallery publicly celebrated its one-year anniversary this April. The following is just a hint of some of the scheduled activities they will be bringing to you this year.

The second annual Route 66 Six-By-Six Art Show will kick off with a reception on Wednesday, June 3 from 6 to 9 pm. Artists and the public are invited to attend. Artists will be submitting 6-inch-by-6-inch canvases to the gallery. Each work of art will be on exhibit and may be purchased for $66 each beginning June 3. Fifty percent of each sale goes to the artist, 25 percent to the gallery, and 25 percent to a local charity to be announced. The event will run in conjunction with Sapulpa’s Route 66 Blowout and will conclude July 4.

Oil painting classes are held each Monday afternoon and evening. Other Monday classes feature palette knife techniques. The focus for Tuesday classes is oil impressionism. On Saturdays you will find classes offered in just about any medium. And there are scheduled workshops throughout the year that focus on popular mediums including collage, fabrics, acrylics and watercolor.

Several artists will be featured in workshops this year, including Heather Sleightholm from Sapulpa. She creates mixed medium whimsical art using watercolor, fabric and collage techniques.

Water Street Gallery will be hosting a Trunk Show featuring Debbie Vinyard, an artist and designer who celebrates “Happy First,” the first of each month, by sending emails to each of her clients.

The first Wednesday of each month includes a gathering for coffee and conversation. Anyone is invited to attend and enjoy coffee and rolls, along with an art demonstration from one of the gallery’s artists. The third Thursday evening of each month features a professional artist doing a demonstration. April’s featured artist was Anne Spoon, who did a still life demonstration in oils.

The philosophy of Water Street Art Gallery is simple: To be artist- and community-friendly and to provide a place for local working artists to sell their art.

Please visit Water Street Art Gallery’s website, www.waterstreetartgallery.com, for information about featured member artists and to see some of their artwork, as well as learn about upcoming events, classes and workshops. You will also enjoy linking to the gallery’s daily blog from the website.

Water Street Art Gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You are invited to visit the gallery often and just linger and enjoy the beautiful works of art, take a class, or take part in one of the frequent workshops or events.