A walk around the small town of Langley on South Whidbey Island offers many delights, including a variety of independently owned businesses. Many of these are located in Langley Village, but If you don’t know where to look, you might walk past the entrance on 2nd Street. Once you turn into Langley Village, a short walk takes you to Artworks Gallery.
Artworks Gallery offers a variety of art using different media, from basketry to ceramics to painting to weaving to jewelry. A total of 23 artists are currently part of the co-op.
Gaylen Whiteman is president of Artworks, and she enjoys telling people about the variety offered at the gallery and showing them around to see what is there. She also enjoys sharing the history of how the gallery came into being.
Artworks originally started at the Greenbank Farm, but when the opportunity arose to be part of the Langley community, there was agreement among the gallery participants that this would be a good move.
The move to Langley has helped introduce more people to Artworks. The gallery draws many locals who love to bring their visitors, as well as tourists who discover Artworks while walking through Langley.
Gaylen notes “Each artist expresses their own connection to their subject,” which is why there is so much to see and learn when walking through the gallery. She adds: “It is rewarding for me to share my talent with someone who appreciates my art.”
As a member of this cooperative art gallery, each artist is expected to spend some time working at the gallery and contributing in whatever ways are required to keep Artworks in business. The members of the gallery are juried to be accepted, pay monthly dues, and work a couple of days a month at Artworks.
Gaylen adds, “I am happy to be President of the gallery, and I enjoy seeing how much people appreciate walking through Artworks and seeing the variety of art.” Gaylen will be showing her bird art at the gallery during August.
Artworks Gallery is located in the courtyard at 221 Second Street in Langley (across from Ultra House). You can phone ahead to ask a question: 360-926-1001. You can check out their website.
Hours are 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
