New gallery broadens artistic horion

Folks with a creative flair will have a new place to gather when a new studio group opens at the Louisiana Boardwalk on the riverfront in Bossier City.

It will be a place where artists can explore their creativity in painting, glass and printmaking.

Eric Hess, CEO of Sanctuary Art School (SAS), is the curator of the new space. He said that the success of the gallery at 421 Lake Street in downtown Shreveport resulted in their outgrowing the space. He said they approached the management of the Boardwalk, who were enthusiastic about the joint venture.

“They were very gracious to work with us. We got 3,000 square feet; a thousand square feet of it is the SAS Gallerie. In the back is Sanctuary Paint Parties and the Point Studio. The reason we have the gallery is, other than the Shreveport Regional Arts Council’s Artspace, there really wasn’t another gallery in town that was open all during the week that was a high-end gallery.”

He said this was an opportunity for local artists to show their work to a broader audience. He noted that the location at The Boardwalk gives them a lot of foot traffic of which to take advantage. Aside from the high-end feature, Hess said the new venue would host paint parties where folks can get a group together to celebrate an event or just have some fun painting with professional artists.

“We can use this facility for our non-profit program. We’re going to be able to bring kids and adults from the poorest parts of towns to do free programming utilizing painting. So, nursing home residents, people from affordable housing, Volunteers of America, military with PTSD, you name it. We do free arts programming for over 16 non-profits in this city, reaching those that are underserved or at risk,” Hess said.

For more information, you can check out any of the three available websites depending on your interest. They are sasgallerie.com, sanctuarypaintparty.com, or pointstudioart. com.

Point Studio is the only for-profit facet of the new gallery. Its owner is Sara Rastegar, an artist who emigrated from Iran to pursue her passion for conceptual art.

“Community is very important for me,” Rastegar said, “so I wanted to create this as a welcoming place to come, join, learn, have fun and create memories. I’m ready to share it with everyone.

“My plan is to offer three different experiences. First are point-print parties where people can actually have their parties in my place and experience printmaking, make their own prints and take them home. The second is make your own prints, which is similar to the first, but they don’t need to have an occasion for a party. They come here, they get the instruction, they get engaged with the medium and make their own hand-printed product. The third is printmaking workshops. That’s going to be more of a professional level than the other ones. So, this is a great opportunity to offer in-depth instruction. They get to learn step-by-step instructions about all different printmaking techniques that I teach.”

She teaches screen printing, sublimation printing and block printing. Those techniques, she said, allow you to create a design and then transfer it to a surface like cloth, paper or even a 3-D object.

Rastegar said all the information you need is on her website. It will tell you how to book your event, what is included in the cost and what isn’t included.

Rastegar is an interdisciplinary artist with a Master of Fine Arts degree in illustration and glassworking. She is a Savanna College of Art and Design professor, teaching classes online from Shreveport.

According to Hess, “This space is going to provide more opportunity for us to utilize paint as an art form to help heal, bring joy or educate.

“It’s safe. People feel comfortable going here.

“Each website tells them how to plan a paint party, a print party and the gallery hours, and you can look at what artists we have [featured]. We’re going to have an opening every two months with a different artist.”

The grand opening is set for the beginning of August, and the gallery is in Store 605, located across from Rocket Fizz and near Bass Pro in the Boardwalk.