This is the second in a two-part series discussing the post-COVID-19 recovery of the Fountain Hills art community.

With many art communities faltering across the nation, some artists are experiencing quite the opposite. In Fountain Hills, those communities include independent artists, artist cooperatives and complementary art businesses.

Fifteen years ago, 30 local artists gathered to create the Fountain Hills Artists Gallery. Painters, quilters, sculptors, silversmiths, ceramicists and photographers all share a unique space on the Avenue to promote art. In return for display space, members agree to run the shop one or two days a month.

“There are some fees attached to being a member, but we pay basically with our time,” Mike Isenbergsaid, a photographer and founding member of the gallery.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Isenbergsaid despite closing for a few months, traffic into the gallery didn’t suffer all that much when they finally reopened. Even with social distancing and mask mandates in place, shoppers could still browse and try on jewelry.

“When you look at our sales numbers, somehow we managed to keep selling stuff even during the off-season,” Isenberg said.

Manager of the Fountain Hills Artists Gallery, Margaret Sullivan, attributes its success to a longstanding customer base who have supported them since its founding. A sewer and a quilter, Sullivan says the gallery is popular with new and returning patrons.

“We did very well through and after COVID,” Sullivan said. “The artists in Fountain Hills support us well. Anytime they have guests in town, we are on their list.”

According to the gallery’s Board President, Vicki O’Connor, the gallery did not apply for a PPP loan because it did not see the need to.

Evolving taste

Fountain Hills resident Ken Peterson has been a scenic oil painter for over 30 years. Now retired, Peterson said there’s a perpetually evolving taste in art. Finding that sweet spot isn’t exactly a science, but Peterson says some artists are faring better than others.

“People go out and they want to see something different,” he said. “People making it out there now do sculpting, they’re doing quite well. And jewelry always does well.”

Sudha Achar is one such sculptor who co-owns Sudha’s Art Gallery & Books in Fountain Hills with her husband, Patrick Freehill.

Both retired, Sudha and Patrick have filled three conjoined units on Colony Drive with Sudha’s art including metalwork, stone sculptures, silks, paintings, jewelry and ceramics. She also curates her own art exhibit that rotates once a year.

In a space that used to store vehicles, the three combined units now hold over 70,000 used books.

“I think we have more books than the local library, but we don’t circulate as much,” Freehill said, who sells wholesale to other booksellers and anyone interested in books.

Sudha says that during the recent Fountain Hills Tour d ’Artistes, she sold art from each type of medium.

“I just make things that I think people might be interested in,” she said.

Whether due to a wide variety of art and books at Sudha’s and Patrick’s hidden gem or their dedication to art, the pair are fulfilling their passions and surrounding themselves with beauty.

Jigsaw jackpot

Before Gridleys office/art supply closed in 2017, Michael Gallagher worked in the framing department at the back of the store.

“When they closed, they were like ‘Hey, do you want to take over the framing stuff?’” Gallagher said, who jumped on the opportunity and opened his own framing shop at Plaza Fountainside in 2017, complete with an art gallery showcasing his personal art.

After a few years of finding his footing, in the summer of 2020, Gallagher moved from the North to the South side of the Plaza, where foot traffic was more business-oriented compared to park walkers and window shoppers.

Like flipping on a light switch, in 2020-21, Gallagher saw a 40% jump in sales. In 2021-22, he saw another 40% jump. As of May, Gallagher said he is projected to have another banner year.

Gallagher thinks his year-over-year success through and after the pandemic is partly due to his new location and also due to a tidal wave of people with new, home-based hobbies.

“A ton of people were making puzzles and framing them,” he said. “People that are into sports, too, I do a lot of sports memorabilia.

“I have tons of people that come in that just happened to be in this parking lot for whatever reason. I even have people occasionally stop in the middle of the street and run in and see what’s going on.”

With the amount of business he’s receiving, Gallagher is considering expanding into the adjacent office space.

Hang ups Picture Framing Studio is the only other custom framing business in Fountain Hills. It’s owned by Thomas Meyers, who recently took over the store in September of 2022. While not owned long enough to get a full snapshot of his business post-COVID, Hang ups is busy, providing framing services to artists from Fountain Hills to Texas.

Art gives life

“Art has a big footprint,” Sudha Achar said of her longstanding passion. “Cooking is a fine art. You could please a lot of people by cooking.”

Sudha believes that making and viewing art can be a relief for a world divided and recovering from years of fatigue.

As an independent artist, Mike Isenberg says art is more than just something pleasing to look at.

“People need art. They need to see it. And a lot of people in town are very creative and need to create,” he said. “When I've traveled across the country and stopped in towns in the middle of nowhere, it’s amazing [because] there will be an art gallery there. It'll be in a local church putting on a show or in a little commercial gallery for local artists, but there is a need to view and create art all over the country.”