Holiday Treasures and Gift Boutique to run through Dec. 24, will mark final show in Oxide’s short run
It’ll be a bittersweet holiday season for Oxide Gallery of Fine Art in downtown Sanford. December will bookend a two-month Holiday Treasure gallery featuring winter- and holiday-themed works from local and regional artists — many of them experiencing their first inclusion in a public gallery.
The down note on an otherwise joyous display — when the event ends on Dec. 24, it will also mark the end of Oxide Gallery, according to co-owner Heath Buckmaster. Opened earlier this year with the backing of Lee County Fine Arts Inc. — a nonmembership, nonprofit organization that “fosters a thriving visual arts community in Lee County that educates and benefits the region — the gallery was intended to be a support center for local artists and their creative growth. While the response from the art community was “extremely positive,” the gallery never found its footing with the rest of the community (specifically, those interested in purchasing local art).
“As the gallery comes to a close, we’re reevaluating the role of Lee County Fine Arts in terms of continuing to support and promote local artists and the things they want to do,” Buckmaster says. “Unfortunately, we put a lot into this gallery. For some artists, this was their very first exposure to having work in a gallery or in a curated show. They were able to learn how to prepare and present their works for public display, and we’ve been able to mentor new artists to provide them with some of the guidelines, which hopefully sets them up for any future gallery they might choose to work with.”
This month’s Holiday Treasures and Gift Boutique — planned long before the decision to shut down — will at least give Buckmaster and business partners Karen Tatum and Karen Rushatz an opportunity to go out on a positive note, selling art to gift seekers during the busiest shopping month of the year.
“Holiday Treasures and our Gift Boutique celebrates the spirit of the season in small works,” Buckmaster says. “Guests can enjoy early holiday shopping for everyone on their list, with a wide collection of unique artwork including glass and ceramic ornaments, woodworking, art note cards and journals, small paintings and so much more. The Gallery has also decorated our front window display in an enchanting holiday theme.”
The “small treasures” wall features three works on small 8-by-8-inch canvases from several local artists who were asked to create something that represented the holidays in any medium they were interested in. Local artist Jake Brower did a fun polar bear series, while artist Alison Charchar did seasonal themes featuring children. The artists were then asked to do a fourth panel that would become give-away prizes in a holiday raffle that will be held on Dec. 7.
“Small treasures is actually based on a show that I’ve done at other galleries, because the artists kind of get a lot of artistic freedom and expression, because they can choose whatever kind of theme that they want for the series,” Buckmaster says.
The gallery, located at 148 S. Moore St., will be open for a First Saturday public reception from 4 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 7. Otherwise, the gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays throughout the month.
The last day to see the collection will be Christmas Eve from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
— by Billy Liggett