If you go ...
Green Chicks Studio and Gallery, at 1606 11th St., Suite 2 (upstairs), is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. The Green Chicks will host a grand opening celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. April 5.
MONROE - Everything about Green Chicks Studio and its gallery is unique - the artwork, the space, the proprietors.
Green Chicks Studio and Gallery in downtown Monroe features the work of local artists Suzanne Miller, Nikki Cooper, Nikki Saugstad, Jennifer Rikkers and Marcie Frehner, and all five women use recycled and up-cycled materials in their one-of-a- kind and affordable creations.
"We're all drawn to looking at something and giving it new life," said Rikkers.
These artists are also running businesses, working jobs and juggling all the rigors of family life. Each is a mother - or mother-to-be, in Saugstad's case.
The women are pooling their resources, utilizing their talents and sharing in the time required to run the studio and gallery.
"Without each other, it would be impossible," Rikker said.
Their raw art materials, which could be anything recycled, and their cooperative arrangement "keeps it affordable" for art lovers and gift buyers who are not always able to pay what an artist puts into a work of art, Saugstad said.
Miller and Cooper provide their whimsical paper and fabric mache creations. Saugstad adds her record art and practical gifts created from vintage and found fabrics.
Frehner and Rikkers, owners of Serendipity 7, bring their unique upcycled and repurposed home décor and furnishings. Frehner and Rikkers ran Serendipity 7, a boutique open only a few weekends a month, in a brick home near the Monroe Public Library. It was a challenge "to make enough pieces" between those weekends to sell, Frehner said.
Intent on having an active studio located on the Square, Miller, Cooper and Saugstad worked diligently last summer to bring the studio space to life.
A beauty parlor at one time, the little shop had sat empty for many years above the Green Door on the Square's south side. Across the hall was an old apartment, also in need of much repair.
Miller saw the potential for an art studio and gallery and believed sharing the space with Cooper and Saugstad was a natural fit.
"Fortunately, I first looked at the place through Suzanne's eyes," Cooper laughed.
The spaces needed a lot of elbow work to remove layers of old wallpaper and a few coats of paint but "had wonderful light and a perfect view of the courthouse and Square," Miller said.
When Green Chicks Art Studio opened in November, the three artists moved their art supplies out of their home studios and into their new space. They also set up a small selling area until the gallery was completed. The gallery opens today, Feb. 4.
The artists said they have supportive spouses, but they also mused that family members might be enjoying the extra space at home.
Frehner and Rikkers expect to continue most of their work at home yet, but Green Chicks Studio does allow visitors to see an artist at work.
Green Chicks Studio and Gallery in downtown Monroe features the work of local artists Suzanne Miller, Nikki Cooper, Nikki Saugstad, Jennifer Rikkers and Marcie Frehner, and all five women use recycled and up-cycled materials in their one-of-a- kind and affordable creations.
"We're all drawn to looking at something and giving it new life," said Rikkers.
These artists are also running businesses, working jobs and juggling all the rigors of family life. Each is a mother - or mother-to-be, in Saugstad's case.
The women are pooling their resources, utilizing their talents and sharing in the time required to run the studio and gallery.
"Without each other, it would be impossible," Rikker said.
Their raw art materials, which could be anything recycled, and their cooperative arrangement "keeps it affordable" for art lovers and gift buyers who are not always able to pay what an artist puts into a work of art, Saugstad said.
Miller and Cooper provide their whimsical paper and fabric mache creations. Saugstad adds her record art and practical gifts created from vintage and found fabrics.
Frehner and Rikkers, owners of Serendipity 7, bring their unique upcycled and repurposed home décor and furnishings. Frehner and Rikkers ran Serendipity 7, a boutique open only a few weekends a month, in a brick home near the Monroe Public Library. It was a challenge "to make enough pieces" between those weekends to sell, Frehner said.
Intent on having an active studio located on the Square, Miller, Cooper and Saugstad worked diligently last summer to bring the studio space to life.
A beauty parlor at one time, the little shop had sat empty for many years above the Green Door on the Square's south side. Across the hall was an old apartment, also in need of much repair.
Miller saw the potential for an art studio and gallery and believed sharing the space with Cooper and Saugstad was a natural fit.
"Fortunately, I first looked at the place through Suzanne's eyes," Cooper laughed.
The spaces needed a lot of elbow work to remove layers of old wallpaper and a few coats of paint but "had wonderful light and a perfect view of the courthouse and Square," Miller said.
When Green Chicks Art Studio opened in November, the three artists moved their art supplies out of their home studios and into their new space. They also set up a small selling area until the gallery was completed. The gallery opens today, Feb. 4.
The artists said they have supportive spouses, but they also mused that family members might be enjoying the extra space at home.
Frehner and Rikkers expect to continue most of their work at home yet, but Green Chicks Studio does allow visitors to see an artist at work.