A decade may sound much longer than ten years, and in an everyday business, may feel much longer than ten years, but to the charter members of the Penn Cove Gallery, the ten years they have stood as part of Coupeville’s Front Street passed more quickly than a decade should.

“I can’t believe we’ve been here 10 years,” said Lucinda Abrams, who is the secretary for the gallery and one of the original members.

From Nov. 18 through 21, members of the Penn Cove Gallery are opening the gallery doors to the community and inviting visitors to come join them in their 10th anniversary celebration.

Rainy Lindell, current president of the gallery, said the gallery had its grand opening on Nov. 18, 1994. The gallery was birthed from the need for a cooperative gallery for island artists, where they could pay low rent and show off their work. The need was first recognized by Island residents Theresa Saia and Stella Canfield, and their idea soon expanded to include 16 other members before they opened in 1994.

Of the original 18 charter members, 10 are still gallery members.

At first, the gallery sat about four buildings over from where it is currently located. Having filled that store for six years, gallery members finally decided a change of scenery would do the gallery good, so they packed up their things and moved further down the street.

Lindell said she saw the move as an business investment. The move, though only a few buildings over, has put them at a Front Street advantage. The gallery sits on the corner of two streets, thus allowing it to invite people in from two sides. The prime corner also allows more window space for the gallery and shows the artists’ work off in good light.

Another aspect of the gallery’s current location is the wheelchair access. This accommodates those who, in the other building, were unable to enjoy the art and aesthetics of the gallery.

“This location is so great, I can’t think of anywhere else we’d go,” Lindell said.

After the move, Abrams said the members of the gallery decided to expand from just wall art and include other artistic mediums.

“We expanded from wall art to 3-D,” Abrams said. “We took in pottery, wood carvings, metal work, jewelry and scarves.”

The gallery also has Pacific Northwest native masks and statues, baskets, wood work, glass work, stained glass, sculpture and mixed media art.

For tourists, the gallery also boasts of many beautifully captured, local spots, such as Deception Pass Bridge, images of the ferries, downtown Coupeville and many other familiar sights to Islanders.

“Some of us, you know, we have a big tourist thing here — a lot of tourists,” said Jan Holms, current charter members and one of the original members. “And tourists want to take a little bit of Whidbey Island and Coupeville with them. So, some of us paint our Whidbey and our Coupeville things and send them out the door, and then paint our other things.”

Overall, though, Abrams said what the artists want to market is up to them; what they’re comfortable with and do well.

Lindell said after one of the charter members finishes a work, it is juried by the other charter members, to decide whether or not it will become part of the gallery’s art rotation. The gallery charter currently has 22 members and six consignment members, so there are plenty of varying tastes and styles to draw from.

“The whole membership votes if they want to accept it or not,” Lindell said. “So, we kind of control some of the art that is going to be the quality and versatility that we’re going to want. We don’t want all flowers and we don’t want all landscape. We want the variety.”

And if it is variety that visitors want, they can certainly find it at Penn Cove Gallery. Each artist has his or her own section in the gallery and every three months the art rotates to to another spot. This way, the art is always fresh and exciting, visitors and locals alike can revisit and continually view new items, and no artist ever gets stuck in a dark corner for more than three months.

Gallery members say they credit the gallery’s success to the smooth and family-like structure of the charter’s dynamics.

“We all get along really well,” Holms said.

Abrams agreed, and Lindell added that this was the reason they have lasted so long as a charter. Abrams agreed with Lindell as well, and added that she thought the group’s amiability and art rotation are why the charter has d so many long-term members. The only reasons members have left, she said, is if they passed away or had to move away.

“The group is very supportive,” Lindell said.

She said charter members help each other in their artwork, through criticism, appraisals and constructive advice.

Holms said the charter has driven her to become a better artist, because she sees the new techniques and art mediums others are working with, or experimenting with, and is encouraged to try them as well, or branch out and explore something entirely new.

Lindell agreed with Holms.

“I think I enjoy the gallery because you learn so much from looking at others’ work, and you become more willing to try something new,” she said. “You grow so much as an artist.”

The gallery members also say the art isn’t the only aspect of the gallery they enjoy. They said that as part of a small tourist town and as one of the older attracting shops, they have enjoyed the people they have met throughout the past ten years — those from other countries and those from right next door.

“My favorite part of working in the gallery is all the people that you meet walking in the door,” Holms said. “It’s a big tourist town, and on any given day, you meet people from all over the town, the state, the country and out of the country.”

Lindell said she also finds herself amazed by the people she meets and what they do, where they have traveled and the richness of stories and experiences she has heard since working in the gallery.

Along with news of other lands, far off places and adventures, travelers and gallery guests also bring other tidings.

“We hear a lot that this is one of the nicest galleries they have been in,” Holms said. “We get that a lot. And we get a lot of local patrons, repeat business from the local community.”

Now, at their ten year mark, gallery members said they look forward to the future and hope to continue to provide guests with a rich collection of art and an aesthetically pleasing gallery experience. They also feel honored to stand as one of the Island’s finest art galleries, and welcome anyone to stop by anytime, but especially during their weekend celebration of their 10th anniversary.

Penn Cove Gallery 10th anniversary schedule

Thursday, Nov. 18

Grand celebration day is from 4 to 7 p.m. Charter members will serve hors d’oeuvres, wine and soft drinks, and will have an art raffle and drawing for an original watercolor by Harry Rich, valued at $250.

Friday, Nov. 19

Gallery members will have an art raffle and drawing for an original oil painting by Rainy Lindell, valued at $180. Refreshments are available all day, guests can get their names written on a bookmark, in Japanese, by Akemi Walker, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and artists are available for chats, tips and interviews throughout the day: Doris Hood, who is a potter, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Helen Ryder, who is a mixed media artist, from 1 to 3 p.m.; and Rainy Lindell, who is an oil artist, from 3 to 5 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 20

Gallery members will have an art raffle and drawing for an original watercolor by Lucinda Abrams, valued at $180, and refreshments and artists are available all day. The featured artists are Mary Alice Sterling, a sculpture, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Sue Martell, a botanical illustrator, 1 to 3 p.m.; and Sandy Dubpernell, a stained glass artist, 3 to 5 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 21

Penn Cove Gallery members will have an art raffle and drawing for a necklace and earring set by Akemi Walker, valued at $180. Members will serve refreshments. Artists Ann Wilson and Judy Skinner will paint portraits of children and their teddy bears, and other artists will hold “Meet your Favorite Artist” sessions throughout the day: Denis Hill, a photographer, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m; Gordon Grant, a pastel artist, 1 to 3 p.m.; and Beth Merrick, a basketry artist, 3 to 5 p.m.