In years past, the art scene in Casa Grande was something of a blank canvas. Now its vibrant with color and expression, but it didnt paint itself.
Creating that art scene took a community of dedicated advocates. They got behind the Casa Grande Art Museum. They pushed for Art in the Alley, a monthly open-air gallery for local artists and artisans. They formed the Casa Grande Valley Fine Art Association.
Any number of people deserve credit for bringing culture to Casa Grande. One of them is Gloria Smith. Last week, she met a reporter in the lobby of the Casa Grande Animal Hospital. She had no pets for the vet, but her paintings of horses were on exhibit there. She was one of three artists to turn the lobby into something of mini-gallery. Her work shared the walls with paintings by Diane Wehr and photography by Jim Parkin.
Smiths work will be up until May 8. Parkins has since come down.
As people came and went with their dogs and cats for shots and exams, Smith, 70, spoke about her art and her drive to boost the arts in Casa Grande.
Art holds a community together, she said. Art, music, all the cultural events make for a better community.
Shes easygoing, matter-of-fact as she speaks. Her voice is low-pitched, smooth with a hint of gravel.
Art in the Alley … that kind of brought everything into focus, Smith said.
Smith didnt start Art in the Alley. Much of the credit for that goes to Marge Jantz, former Main Street director. Jantz says it got off the ground sometime in the early 2000s. But Smith recalled that the downtown Alley scene itself called for, well, art. She started it off, she said, by painting a scene on a pink door.
It was the first thing painted, she said. Nobody would step up to the plate.
She painted Pearl Hart.
She was the first woman ever put in Yuma prison. She robbed a stagecoach, Smith said.
As an aside, Hart was arrested in 1899 by Pinal County Sheriff WC Truman. Smith herself came to know a lot about the history of the area as director of the Casa Grande Valley Historical Society and Museum. It was one of her first jobs after moving to Casa Grande 20 years ago. Before that, she rarely ventured this side of the Mississippi or the Ohio, for that matter.
Living in New Jersey, she had a series of jobs. If they didnt all relate to fine arts, they at least had their creative edge. Among other things, she worked on industrial-training films for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, commonly known as OSHA. They were primers on workplace safety.
Slips, trips, falls that kind of thing, Smith said.
Working for a division of McGraw-Hill, she illustrated and did graphic design for book covers.
In addition, she said, I used to do needlepoint canvases for a shop in Haddonfield, NJ Theyd be cats, or the typical needlepoint thing youd see. I used to do a lot of sailboats, too.
While her career nibbled at the art worlds margins, she found time to paint. It was not a new pursuit. Smith has been painting since she was 12. She had formal training at the Art Institute of Philadelphia. But painting is only part of her creative side. She writes poetry and published two books with grants from New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Much of her poetry is a reflection of her painting.
They work hand-in-hand, Smith said.
Smith brought her creativity to Casa Grande after first coming out to visit her aunt. She moved here to stay, she said, after a series of winter storms on the East Coast.
I came between the 17th and 18th ice storm, she said.
As a painter, she goes by the name of Gran Ma Gigi, a name given to her by her grandkids. But newspapers when they do stories about her insist on using her full name, she said. Its not quite a complaint. Smith doesnt complain. She simply continues to invest herself in the community. Not just in the arts, but in other ways as well. Shes a long-standing member of Zonta of Casa Grande Valley, part of an international club of women professionals. Zonta works for the betterment of women.
In Casa Grande, Zonta has raised money for Against Abuse Inc., Stanfield Medical Clinic and scholarships for Central Arizona College. The big fundraiser has been an annual wine taster at Francisco Grande Hotel amp; Golf Resort preceded weeks in advance by a pre-tasting to get the right wine with the right food. But a different type fundraiser might be in store for the future, Smith said. The time and effort involved was beginning to take its toll.
We said were not doing it again, Smith said.
As for the arts, theyve come a long way. With the Art Museum, galleries and even a spacious veterinary lobby, there are more places to show art. And Smith adds, it has been a group effort. In the lobby, she pointed out a woman seated in the next row, waiting with a well-fed dog to see the vet. She was Mary Marrinan-Menchaca, a CAC professor who started a creative writing group and promotes community arts through the college. A man stood at the counter. He was Parkin, the photographer.
He does the newsletter for the art association, Smith said.
More remains to be done, she added. The association wants to have a large permanent gallery, a co-op where members can show and sell their work. There are obstacles. Finding a place. Finding the money.
Its all a matter of time, Smith said, adding: Whats that? a 20-year overnight success?
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