Sunday, May 3, 2009
On a recent, roasty Saturday, a crop of large blue umbrellas popped up over the tables of artists and artisans at the weekly ArtWalk at Goleta’s Camino Real Marketplace. Some vendors found other, naturally shady spots under small trees or the vegetation of the planters in the amphitheater between Borders bookstore and the Metropolitan Theatres’ multiplex.
Under the tree, Brent had hung a double clothesline full of distinctively detailed acrylics. Below her umbrella, Candy Blue Eyes (as she calls herself) worked on a new portrait in oils. Carol displayed a colorful stack of handmade handbags at her stand. All of these artists are locals, but especially Candy, who only has to bicycle a few blocks from her home to the ArtWalk or its nearby sponsor, The Goodland Gallery, where she paints portraits on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Goodland Gallery
Thought to be Goleta’s first arts and crafts gallery, The Goodland Gallery is a creation of artist-entrepreneurs Shelly Szekely and Mike Champe. It aims to give artists “a place to display their work every day, and you don’t have to be there” to serve customers, Szekely said. “You can be in the studio creating things.” Of course, there is nothing wrong with artists selling the products of their talents outdoors at places like the Camino Real ArtWalk, which Szekely organizes each Saturday between February and November.
Often found behind the gallery’s counter, Champe is a cartoonist who draws animals that comment on human behavior. He first met Szekely while volunteering at the Yes Store in Santa Barbara, and was impressed with her innovative marketing skills as well as the fused glass vases she created. They became partners after her earlier Art Walk at La Cumbre Plaza came to a halt. But Santa Barbara’s loss became Goleta’s gain.
The Goodland Gallery opened in November next to Angl clothing shop and this week, on May 6, will celebrate its sixth month in business. Yes, Walker A. Tompkins’s book Goleta: The Good Land inspired their choice of name, and no, it is not your typical gallery.
For starters, the 35 artists and artisans who currently sell their work on consignment, and who populate the ArtWalk, also are members of the enterprise. Everyone donates 5 percent of gross sales to support the nonprofit Girsh Park, south of the marketplace. They’ve also agreed to contribute a set number of hours each week to helping run the business. But the names on the lease are Champe and Szekely.
One membership benefit is that the artist gets dedicated space in the ArtWalk (each providing her or his own stand) while nonmember applicants pay nominal fees for the day’s space. Each month, a featured artist is selected from among the members, and introduced at a party that includes wine and finger-foods—particularly Szekely’s cookies, which were the essence of a business she ran at South Lake Tahoe.
“This is a great venue,” she said with a gesture that encompassed the amphitheatre and the Santa Ynez Mountains. “And the [marketplace] management has been very supportive. They understand we provide a community service as well as a business.”
The gallery has pictures, and details about workshops on its Web site, plus an application for upcoming ArtWalk participation. It also runs a free, monthly online raffle for a $25 gift certificate, good for gallery items.
Reflecting on the economic gamble that she and Champe, and the other artists, have taken, Szekely said, “That’s why we have a broad selection of local, handmade items at affordable prices, not just fine arts. People can still buy little pieces of art.” She added: “I’ve been in the area 19 years, know a lot of arts and crafts people, and we wanted the gallery for all of us.” As a fellow artist, she said, “I understand what they’re suffering; they’re happy to be a part of this group.”
And how goes the business so far? “Well, we could afford to repair the air conditioning when it broke last week,” she laughed. “I guess you could say it’s paying for itself. We know the recession won’t last.”
President Obama would be proud of this scrappy bunch of optimists.