Carriage Factory Art Gallery

     A week ago I visited the Carriage Factory Art Gallery with my mother and grandmother. The gallery did indeed produce carriages at one point in time, but it has since been converted into a space where local professional artists can showcase their work. The main floor of the gallery featured a series of paintings by Joseph Longanbill of scenes around town. Having spent many a Friday in the adequately sized town the pictures depicted, I enjoyed seeing how he transferred familiar scenes onto canvas with pain and brush.

     In the upper portion of the gallery another piece caught my attention. It was a painting done by Ethan Patrick Harris called The Vibes. Most of Harris’ work displays grotesque fantastical creatures, but this one was of a tree with what looked like pink bubbles of bubble gum on its branches. This gave it a lively and joyful appearance. However, on closer inspection I realized that the tree was dead and the ground around it was barren. This greatly contrasted with the bubbly appearance of the tree’s foliage. I wondered what had inspired Harris to paint the pretty bubbles on a dead tree and what the piece meant to him personally.

     Unfortunately for me (and for all of you) the gallery prohibits photos of its artworks, so I don't have any pictures of the paintings to go along with this. I planned on getting a photo of the front of the gallery as we left, but I forgot. However, we stopped by an outdoor Stutsmans greenhouse to pick up some pansies and admire the multiple mums. And these I do have a picture of!