Gallery 107

This is the member’s gallery of the Nanticoke River Arts Council, which seems to be basically an art league, although I’m not sure if there’s some distinction that kept them from calling it that. I’d read about it on Facebook for quite a while now, and finally made time to drop in and see it in person. As far as I know, they don’t have an actual website yet, but they do have two FB pages (one for Gallery 107 and one for NRAC) that they update regularly. It won’t let me put the FB page in as their website here in the business entry, so here’s the link:
The gallery was very full, and the hosts were very welcoming. So welcoming, in fact, that they weren’t too far from going over the line into overbearing, but they didn’t get there, and it certainly wasn’t unpleasant, it was just a little… overwhelming. There wasn’t any pressure to buy, only to consider joining, which I was *already* considering, and still am. I went in to check out the art in the gallery, but one of the first things the first woman who approached me asked was whether I was an artist, and when I said I was, they were a little overly enthusiastic about trying to recruit me. She did tone it down, though, and I was able to browse through the incredible variety of art they had on display. Most of the prices seemed very moderate compared to what I’ve seen in other art league type galleries.
Some of the work was also more amateurish than what I’ve seen in other art league type galleries, but those pieces were definitely in the minority, and it was actually kinda nice to see them there — this place is *not* pretentious, and I mean that as a compliment. They’re a bunch of creative people who love making and sharing their art, and it shows. And the variety was amazing. They had everything from professional quality oil paintings (including John Schisler, whose work I was familiar with from other galleries) to handpainted china and carved decoys. There’s also stained glass, glass bowls, pottery, lighthouses, jewelry, and pretty much everything else you can imagine except sculpture, which I only noticed because one of the hosts pointed it out.
They also offer classes through NRAC, although I didn’t inquire about those, so I’m not sure about the details.
There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of other stuff in the immediate area, but this gallery struck me as the sort of cornerstone an economic revival could be built around for this charming little town. I’d highly recommend stopping by if you’re in the area and an artist or arts supporter.