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Just call Debbie Brinegar a no-limit soldier.
Because when it comes to proving how dedicated she is to the community where she lives, Brinegar seems to have no limits. Whether it’s raising money for cancer research by coordinating Jammin’ for Life three years in a row or fostering music appreciation as a founding member of the Rowan Blues and Jazz Society, Brinegar stays busy looking for ways to stimulate, educate and integrate.
“If you open yourself to the community, they will respond,”Brinegar says. “I’ve opened myself up to make the community a better place.”
Her most recent opening is an art gallery on South Main Street called ARTopia where she currently has on display the work of five community artists in a variety of media — from Tomie Troxler’s watercolor scenes to Terry Hamra’s copper toolings.
And though Brinegar has been known to rock out with local musicians, she is no stranger to fine art.
Though “raising babies and (being) broke”kept her from pursuing her own art, she was able to keep in touch with the art world by working with a number of artists in and around the state through her custom framing and publishing work.
“Many of the artists gave me the opportunity to work on presentation of their works shown at museums and galleries all over North Carolina. I even have one client that I assist in preservation of works that go on the auction block at Christie’s Auction House,”says Brinegar, a self-described mixed media artist. “I have worked with many on marketing their works and hosted shows myself. Not only did this give me an opportunity to work with them, it gave me an opportunity to learn from them.”
Grateful for all that she’s learned, Brinegar now wants to give up-and-coming artists a place where they can show their work without the stress of having to stand in line to be part of a major show.
“I hear all the talk about the history of the architecture of Salisbury but I feel we have rich history in our people, as well,” says Brinegar, who used to own Albemarle’s Artistic Framers. “Our community is made up of various forms of architectural styles, including a mix of Victorian, Federal, pre-Civil War and Art Deco structures. Though many visitors come to Salisbury to enjoy and learn of history, Salisbury has much more to offer — one being the people who live and work in the community we call home. I hope that ARTopia Gallery can give the visitors, and more importantly the people who live here, the opportunity to learn more of them and enjoy their works.”
But she doesn’t want to limit herself to Rowan. Brinegar says she hopes to attract regional artists, as well, especially those of different races and ethnicities. She has taken the first step by displaying the African and Egyptian-inspired work of friend and artist Haddasha Faison, for whom Brinegar has also prepared work to go into the Harrison Museum in Roanoke, Va.
“I think that it is important for artists of all cultures to have an opportunity to display and sell their works,” Brinegar comments. “I have worked with artists of many cultures in North Carolina and have extended an invitation for them to show their works at ARTopia.”
Brinegar wants to continue offering custom framing to the artists in her gallery, who pay her nothing until they make a sale, and eventually take them to market through publishing.
Along with a variety of products and services she offers — including custom and pre-made frames, original prints, jewelry, greeting cards, handmade and marbelized papers and stained glass — Brinegar mostly wants to be able to provide art at an affordable price. Even if that means financing it.
“Art is an investment,” she says, “and sometimes it’s a big investment. I will work with everybody’s budget — it’s like lay-a-way.”
In the future, Brinegar would like to open an online gallery and offer instructional classes to the community — anything from papier mache to stamp-making.
“Artists are already asking if they can teach classes … but it’s just one step at a time.”
After all, there’s no way to achieve an ARTopia overnight.
“The name ARTopia came from the combination of (the words) ‘art’ and ‘utopia,’” she explains. “I wanted a name that expressed what it was I was offering to the community. Art being one and utopia, meaning the presence or state of perfection, being the other, which made the slogan easy: ‘ARTopia Gallery, the art utopia where the only thing missing is ‘U.’ ”
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Enjoy the work of Terry Hamra, Haddasha Faison, Bud and Tomie Troxler and Chris Ippolito at ARTopia on South Main Street, Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and by appointment. Call (704)645-0066.
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Contact Mai Li Munoz at (704)797-4273 or mmunoz@salisburypost.com
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