Announcing the opening of my Wildflower Art Gallery!

Sometimes you just know when its right. That simple statement pretty much sums up how David and I felt in late January when we decided, pretty much on a whim and within about a 72-hour-window, to open a gallery in Wimberley, Texas, to showcase my wildflower paintings.

WELCOME TO WIMBERLEY!
In case you've never heard of or been to Wimberley, the little village is known for its quaint-and-walkable downtown "square" filled with shops, art galleries and restaurants. Wimberley is located in the heart of Texas, a short 45-minute drive southwest of Austin and about an hour and half north/northeast of San Antonio. With beautiful Texas Hill Country drives and some cool wineries and even a lavender farm in the area, it's the quintessential "day-trip" destination. And it's also well known for its humongous, monthly Wimberley Lions Market Days.

HOW THIS NEW VENTURE BEGAN
The seed for the idea was first planted on a Saturday when we drove over from our home near Fischer to visit Art on 12, a beautiful, new gallery featuring many of our artist friends from the region that opened in Fall 2014. We parked a few yards from the gallery's entrance in front of Olde Towne Plaza, a collection of quirky buildings that, without a doubt, has seen its better days. Being the coffee lovers that we are, I have to admit that it was the "fresh roasted coffee" sign on one of the shops that first caught our attention. We made our way past a brightly painted green vacant cottage to Fisticuffs Coffee Roasters where Jed, the owner, gave us a friendly welcome. David spent some time "talking coffee" while I wandered around, looking at the mostly-empty buildings and thinking of how it must have all looked so cool when they were filled with shops and displays. In addition to the Fisticuffs, the only business currently in operation was Broadway Paul's Antiques. In the back of my mind I wondered if a gallery would work there but didn't really talk with David about it. We walked about some together and then made it the gallery next door.

After a nice visit with our friends at Art on 12, we drove around a bit and then headed back home. We didn't discuss it the next day, but on Monday David asked what I "thought" about that little green building next to the coffee roaster for an art gallery. Since it was now up for discussion, we made another trip to Wimberley to look it over again and, if we were still interested, to get the phone number on the for-rent sign.

Photo of future Wildflower Art Gallery taken just before we rented building.

REVISITING... WITH A PURPOSE
After considerable time looking in the windows and walking around the complex of old buildings, we spent some time walking the Square, which is only a block from the little green cottage and Olde Towne Plaza, looking at the other shops and getting a sense of the place. While there were a few other for-rent signs up here and there, no other building or location spoke to us the way the little green cottage did. I think it was about then that we both decided that, if the terms were something we could work with, we'd soon be in business.

We called the property manager the next day, got the scoop, batted around the idea, slept on it, and the following day David made an appointment to see the building on Friday afternoon. By 6 p.m. and only 6 days after first seeing it, we were exchanging a check for the keys to the little green cottage.

MAKING IT A REALITY

Over the next few days, we put a plan into place. First, a name and we settled on: Wildflower Art Gallery. Since it will be mostly for my work, my full name will be used with the business name on most marketing materials. So you'll often see: Linda Calvert Jacobson Wildflower Art Gallery.

I set about creating a quickie logo so I could order some signage and business cards. Meanwhile, David began what would be two solid, non-stop weeks of cleaning and painting, concentrating on the interior first, in order to open as soon as possible.

After joining the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce, I found out about the Wimberley Second Saturday Gallery Trail and made contact to get on the map so we could be included in the February event.  That made it official: the Wildflower Art Gallery would have a soft opening on Saturday, Feb. 14.

TRYING TO DO IT ALL. WELL, ALMOST ALL.
Just in case you are interested or you're wondering, we are still planning to show my wildflowers at fine art shows around the nation, continue to work with my existing out-of-state gallery representatives and secure additional galleries. In fact, we'll be heading to New Mexico next month  for the Las Cruces Arts Fair on March 13-15. Then in April we are planning to be in the Texas Panhandle for the Lubbock Arts Festival on April 18 and 19th.

I'll also continue to teach and coordinate classes for Casa de Linda Art Studio, located upstairs at the New Braunfels Art League Gallery. I've had this studio for more than a decade and its still going strong! Soon we'll be planning our popular Children's Art Camp program.

With our busy schedule and travels, when possible we'll have a fellow artist keeping the Wildflower Art Gallery open to greet visitors and to accommodate buyers and collectors.

HOURS OF OPERATION, MAPPING THE DIRECTIONS
For now, we'll have "winter" hours on weekends only and will be open from 12-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and by appointment. Come Spring (mid March), we'll increase both the hours and number of days we'll be open and will be posting the details soon. If you are making a trip specifically to see the gallery and/or to visit with me, please e-mail lindaswildflowers@yahoo.com or call David at 830-730-7880. Since I'll still be teaching classes at the New Braunfels studio as well as painting every chance I get, David will managing the gallery. But I suspect you'll find both of us there most weekends!

As for the location, we're in Olde Towne Plaza and the street address is 13801 RR 12. If you GPS or Google the address, some maps will place us far north of Wimberley, out in a cow pasture. Don't you love technology?

So here's a bit more information to help you find us. We are about a block or so "south" of the Square. In addition to it being a bright, really bright green, there's the frame work of an old plane "flying" out front. Mounted on a pole, it rotates around when there's a breeze. Really kinda cool. Other land marks to look for: We are between Art on 12 and The Boot Whisperer and across the street from Santa Fe Connection.

For a quick visual, here's a drawn map of where you can find us.

THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!
As always, I so appreciate that you have taken the time to read this blog post and that you've taken an interest in my "life as a artist" story. This is just one more step in a new direction for both David and I. If you are ever in the area, please let us know and plan a visit! We can be reached by e-mail at lindaswildflowers@yahoo.com or you can call us at 830-730-7880. To see more of my work and what's currently available, please visit www.LindasWildflowers.com.