Nine years ago, before Castle in the Air moved to Fourth Street, it was a little shop and studio I had about half a mile away on San Pablo Avenue. One day a beautiful woman, about my age, came in and showed me a line of greeting cards she had painted -- would I like to carry them in my shop?
I instantly recognized a kindred spirit, an artist who was bringing her work out into the world for appraisal. Even the simple act of walking into a store with one's art and asking for an opinion is putting a lot on the line. Fortunately, not only did she have the courage to do this, but her work was enchanting. I said yes, and Castle in the Air began selling greeting cards by Bella Bigsby.
Bella's quiet landscapes and portraits had the power even then to transport viewers to gently haunted worlds. Over the years a real friendship has grown between us, and I've been able to watch Bella focus her work and keep at it, and how this has made her already wonderful art better and better. Talking with her this afternoon I realized how this same focus has allowed her to grow her whole life around her art and what a blessing that is.
If you'd like to see the work of Bella Bigsby for yourself, make sure you stop by her open studio this weekend.