Art group relocates and offers events
The Rainbow Springs Art in Dunnellon gallery has moved and is hosting a Trunk or Treat, new art show and more.
Linda Reitz is an acrylic and resin artist at Rainbow Springs Art in Dunnellon gallery and also a popular instructor. [Photo by Margo Wilson]
From the low-slung green building in Dunnellon’s historic district, with flowers curling around the edges and flamingo and octopus canvases perched in the yard, the Rainbow Springs Art in Dunnellon gallery (RSA) is settling into its new location with the goal of becoming a heartbeat of the community.
Gallery members are anticipating a Nov. 1 grand opening, including a fall art show. They also are looking forward to offering many classes, as well as a Halloween Trunk or Treat and costume parade for kids and pets, as well as many other activities.
Over the summer, the approximately 30 members of this artists’ cooperative moved their paintings, sculptures, jewelry, photography, macramé, woodcarvings, mosaics and other artwork one block north from the gallery’s former location into a building at 20826 Walnut St.
Gayle Miller is an acrylic and watercolor artist and one of the founders of the Rainbow Springs Art in Dunnellon gallery. [Photo by Margo Wilson]
“I love it,” said board member Linda Reitz. “It’s unique. It was a lot of hard work and we’re still working on it.”
The 2,175-square-foot building includes the gallery, a classroom and a kitchen. Plans call for a pottery kiln in a new shed, and festivals and other events on the grass.
The gallery not only displays art but offers classes and sponsors public events. The classes range from watercolor to pine needle basket weaving.
Rowena Murillo, an abstract artist who coordinates the classes and also teaches, said instructors “love what they are teaching.” She said the classes are small and varied and students receive personal attention from the artist-instructors.
Sally Saxton is a glass artist and jewelry-maker and longtime member of Rainbow Springs Art in Dunnellon gallery. [Photo by Margo Wilson]
“I can see it in their faces,” she said.
Gallery President Kathy Sage, also an acrylic artist, said the theme of the fall art show, which opens Nov. 1, is “What Does Family Mean to You?” Information is on the gallery’s website, rainbowspringsart.com, where you also can find information about the Oct. 31 Trunk or Treat and Costume Parade.
The Tunk or Treat is from 6 to 7 p.m. with trunk set-up at 5:30 p.m. Advance registration is requested for those who’d like to offer treats from their car trunks.
The Nov. 1 open house is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a pop-up art festival on the lawn and an artists’ reception from 2 to 4 p.m.
Every “First Saturday,” the gallery participates in the Dunnellon downtown market by that name from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The gallery hosts an “Open Studio” every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., during which members of the community are invited to drop in and make art.
“Gallery Night” is the third Friday of the month from 5 to 7 p.m., and the Dunnellon Poetry Society meets at the gallery the third Sunday of the month from 2 to 4 p.m.
Tom Kinney is a wood artist at Rainbow Springs Art in Dunnellon gallery and shows his great blue heron, carved from a cypress log. [Photo by Margo Wilson]
In March, the gallery will present “The Wonders of Wood,” to which wood artist Vic Lehner will bring a wooden replica of a ship. The gallery’s wood artists also will participate.
Sage said she’d like the gallery to become “a showplace … an art center that’s not only about the art that’s on display, but also about a place where you can create and be engaged.”
Longtime member and glass artist Sally Saxton said one thing she likes most about the gallery is that, “It’s a place to do stuff.”
And longtime member and wood artist Tom Kinney said he likes “the diversity of media” the gallery offers and that “the gallery promotes sharing with the community at large, as well as with the artists.”
Gayle Miller, an acrylic and watercolor artist who is one of the gallery’s founders, said, “I love the new location and am excited about the future of RSA. Come join us …”
As Sage sees it, the gallery is “beginning to gel. We have a nice little art tribe. We have people who support each other and support the community and we’re doing things that I don’t know that the gallery ever has done before. We’re finding our stride.”
The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The phone number is (352) 763-4048. The gallery is seeking new members and volunteers.
Approximately 30 artists are members of the Rainbow Springs Art in Dunnellon gallery and are part of an art cooperative. They not only sell their work at the gallery, but work and teach there. [Photo by Margo Wilson]
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