In January 2017, Linda Card was at a job she hated, not spending enough time with her family, and facing health issues. By May, that had all changed and, as she said, “Happy accidents began to happen.” Card opened the doors to Gemini Gallery in August and has never looked back.
Card and her husband took an anniversary trip to Santa Fe, N.M., in February and visited Little Bird Gallery. It was there, Card said that she, “Saw a David K. Johns painting and I was moved. We sat and were with the art and I was moved to happy tears.” She explained that the owner of the gallery told her, “You could do this,” meaning, she could open a gallery.
Card took the owner’s words into consideration, and made journal entries containing names of artists that she knew and began seriously contemplating leaving her job to open a gallery. “One night we were sitting on the back porch and my daughter was riding her bike and I was miserable. I was so close to a stroke that it was scary.”
She mentioned that she has always had a propensity for art. She hung art on her walls, she created art herself and she taught art at a Christian college in Birmingham, Ala. “It never occurred to me to open a gallery,” she said. However, with the support of her husband, she handed in her resignation that week with the full intention of opening Gemini Gallery.
Within two weeks of her resignation, she acquired a business license, a tax identification number and was looking for a building to house her dream. “I was looking at Bob’s building (the space next door to the current location), and was supposed to sign a lease for that space.” One of those happy accidents that Card often references happened at that point and the building that holds Gemini Gallery became available. “The wall in this building is what I would have done in the other one. But the work it would have taken to do that in there would have been so much.”
Card was given keys to the building on July 21, and was open with art on the walls by local and world-renowned artists by Aug. 12. Currently, 25 artists are represented at Gemini Gallery in various mediums. Paintings, photography and handmade jewelry are all on display.
“Everything is consignment,” Card said, “and the artists all help me out in the gallery, like with hanging paintings, or just talking art and life with me.”
Card grew up in upstate New York where she taught in a Christian school and moonlighted in a restaurant in Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. “The summer I was working in the restaurant I knew I wanted to go on an epic road trip with my dog and I knew I wanted to end up in Arizona.” She ended up in Phoenix working as a nanny, then later worked in retail where she met her husband, Chris. She returned to the east coast and gave birth to her oldest son, Seth. Card then came to Winslow in 1998 at the suggestion of her in-laws.
“On a Greyhound Bus for four days with my 13 month old son, a car seat and two suitcases,” recalled Card. She said she immediately felt like Winslow was home and with the exception of two years, she has been here ever since.
Because she feels like Winslow is home, she is constantly giving back to the community. Gemini Gallery has given her a venue to host various community events and gatherings including being the official host of the Winslow Arts Council Second Saturday events, taking place the second Saturday of each month.
Gemini Gallery also offers painting classes on Wednesday nights, space rental for gatherings and a custom canvas service. Card says her ultimate goal though is to build a community of art. “I want to create a space for local artists to develop a community amongst themselves. A family, where they can learn and grow from each other, and to develop a sense of community within Winslow where art is more in the forefront so that Winslow in the next decade can be another Santa Fe. It can be known as an artist’s enclave.”
Gemini Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and is located at 210 N. Kinsley Ave. Painting classes are offered at 7 p.m. on Wednesday nights, with fees varying depending on the project of the week. Card said, “If you make a purchase, attend a paint class, or donate mittens, hats or scarves, you will be entered to win a paint party for four people.”
Card’s goal is to help Winslow start 2018 creatively. The winner will be drawn on New Year’s Day. The gallery is also present on social media with an official website coming soon. Card invites everyone to follow Gemini Gallery on Facebook and to stop in for information on upcoming events.
