Former cattle and buffalo barn serves as a gallery for local artists
For nearly 60 years, the non-profit organization Artisan Alliance, originally known as the Village Art Club, has supported the arts in the Bentonville/Bella Vista, Ark., area.
In the mid-1980s, the club leased a three-story former cattle/buffalo barn on the edge of Bella Vista.
“It was owned by a big real estate agency that developed Bella Vista as a retirement community,” Pearl Williamson explained. “The barn had been donated to the Village Art Club, and they could use it for as long as they wanted, as long as it pertained to art. It was stipulated for 10 years, but after about 40 years, the deed for the land was put into the Art Club’s name.”
Since taking possession of the barn, the club has transformed the structure into the Wishing Spring Gallery.
“We have 45 exhibitors, members of our art club, as exhibitors,” Pearl, who has been the director of the Wishing Spring Gallery for six years and a club member for seven years, said. “Everything in there is hand-made, hand-painted, hand-crafted. We have hand-made sewn items on the third floor. On the second floor, there is pottery, paintings, and many different things. We have woodworking, jewelry, mosaics, and just so much. I love the pottery and the glass plates and things; they are just gorgeous. And who doesn’t like jewelry?”
Because there is such a vast variety of items, the gallery has something for every taste.
“We also have little crocheted animals for kids, dolls and doll clothes,” Pearl added.
The media is as different as the club’s members.
Pearl was a photographer but decided to try something new, which led her to the gallery.
“I had heard about the gallery, so I applied,” she recalled. “I was in for a year or so as a photographer. I eventually dropped my photography because I was getting bored. Now I do wind chimes and mosaics, sewing and different things.”
The artists pay a monthly fee to display their items. When a piece sells, the gallery receives a commission. Thanks to the fees and commission, the gallery can support itself.
The gallery also has The Clay Studio, where people can take pottery classes.
“You can be a novice and not know what you’re doing, or you can be an expert and still have fun at the studio,” Pearl said, adding that the classes are very popular for club members and non-club members alike. “A handful of people put their pottery in the gallery.”
Pearl said The Clay Studio has only been open for about four years and is proving very popular.
Classes are offered in the gallery for watercolors, jewelry making and color coordination, and other media.
For decades, the Wishing Spring’s Art and Craft Festival would draw large crowds to the grounds, but the event came to a tragic halt after COVID-19. However, Pearl said they have started having smaller spring and fall festivals, which have been successful. The 2024 Fall Wishing Spring’s Art & Craft Festival is Oct. 17-19.
Giving artists a place to showcase their work is only one of the projects undertaken by the Artisan Alliance. The organization provides scholarships to graduating seniors in Northwest Arkansas majoring in visual arts in college. Since the mid-1960s, scholarships have been awarded to graduating high school seniors or first-year college students from Northwest Arkansas majoring in the visual arts. Those selected for scholarships may receive $1,000 for up to eight semesters.
All staff members are volunteers and artists. There is no admission fee for visiting.
In the summer, the gallery is open Wednesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays include a demonstration from 1 to 4 p.m.
“We have a lot of people come through in the summer,” Pearl said. “We have a lot of tourists and people who visit their parents; this was a retirement community, so we have people who have been here for years, so their families come to see us too.”
