Your first thought is, “Didn?t someone have a dictionary?”
Perhaps a trade of vowels might be brokered between the Ripkin-ites and the owner of the White Rabbet Gallery in Havre de Grace ? a not-quite-Old Testament deal of an “i” for an “e.”
But no spellcheck is necessary here; “rabbet” is quite correct and appropriate for the little shop, which is both a showcase for local artists and a professional framing store.
“A rabbet is the channel the glass sets against, then the mat, artwork and backing. It holds it all in place when nailed in,” explained Tina Schueler-Parks, owner of the gallery.
Schueler-Parks admits that the name is also a nod to Lewis Carroll?s famed work “Alice?s Adventures in Wonderland,” and the spirit of artful whimsy that the book represents.
“It?s one of my favorite books, and just like ?Alice in Wonderland,? anything goes here,” she said, laughing.
What “goes here” is an ever changing exhibit of art works, ranging from Melissa Shatto?s realist paintings, Roland Schauer?s cubist/abstract oils, artistic photography by Kevin Parks, watercolors by Robert Schuler, metal sculptures by “Tom E.,” and even her own oil paintings, which will be released this summer.
“We usually have four or five different mediums on display. Artists may display for six months, then leave, and I?ll invite new artists to show their works. It?s seasonal. Some, like Melissa and Roland, are very popular and so they?re pretty constant. I go to art shows in Baltimore and Annapolis to see different artists who might be interested in exhibiting at the gallery. Some come to me with their portfolio or a website and I see if I like them or not. I am meticulous about whom I choose,” she said.
Schueler-Parks admit that “we?re still getting in the groove here,” but hopes to eventuallyhost formal artist receptions. In the interim, she participates in the local “First Fridays” event.
Schueler-Parks trained in the art of custom framing. She did framing work for the Visionary Art Museum, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the Jewish Heritage Museum, the Mayor?s Office, and others.
“I?ve been doing this for 16 years come June. James L. Pierce taught me how to do it, the archival way, the proper way to preserve art. If you have a signed and numbered print, you don?t want to back it with cardboard and masking tape. These release gases; you get that burnt edge, have you seen that? That?s from acids on the paper,” she said.
One senses that Schueler-Parks takes her business very seriously ? and personally.
“I protect people?s artwork as though it were my own. I take care of it.”
The White Rabbet Gallery
» 113 S. Washington St., Havre de Grace
» Summer hours are Mondays and Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, noon to 8 p.m. (though later on First Fridays); Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Tuesdays and Thursdays.
» For more information call 410-939-2070 or e-mail the gallery at [email protected].
