Pick of the Month: Wildcat on a Wing Gallery
Colorful glass sculptures are a specialty Photos: Courtesy Wildcat on a Wing & Feather’s Edge
AUTHOR: ARTSY CHOW ROAMER
Pick of the Month:
WILDCAT ON A WING
While you might have taken a walking tour around the cute little downtown area of Ballground, GA and bought yourself one gosh darn good burger at the Burger Bus, a lot of folks might miss a great spot further out of town. That’s where you will find Wildcat on a Wing Gallery along with Feather’s Edge Vineyards.
Husband and wife team, David and Julie Boone are your hosts and they have been working on this dream for nearly 33 years now. I used to pass by their place routinely driving down to a previous gig in Atlanta and wondered a lot about how a gallery could make it out in what felt like the middle of nowhere.
Having had a gallery myself I knew the importance of being in a location in the center of town surrounded by lots of small shops and bigger anchor galleries drawing in the traffic that would wander down the street to also buy from me. Why here, I asked myself?
Did you ever wonder what that gated property with all the artsy banners was in Ballground?
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Fast forward a year or two and I finally stopped one day to check their place out and discovered a cozy rustic shop with beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces of art, crafts, pottery, jewelry and more. David and Julie are boomers that have that hippie vibe thing going on. The humble, down to earth and small town attitude pretty much sums them up.
As David likes to tell the story, they got married without two nickels to rub together and started their life in an old house built in 1903 that the UPS man thought had been condemned. Julie saved a little here and there while David managed to buy, fix up and sell an old ‘72 Corvette convertible for a profit.
They talked a lot about what to do with the $5,000 seed money those two efforts produced. They both enjoyed and had an interest in all things artsy. David also had some carpentry skills which led to designing and building bird houses. Turns out he had a good idea and a wife that was pretty great at selling them.
from bird houses to art showS
Before long, they had made and sold over 60,000 of David’s designs and he began to get noticed and invited to art shows for those intriguing little bird habitats. But these shows weren’t just your average hobby lobby type; they were notable ones with well-known artists in big cities.
There, David and Julie began meeting other artists, makers, gallery owners and collectors. They talked and worked a lot until Julie suggested they “just open the gates and see what happens”. Viola! Wildcat on a Wing was born.
Birdhouses were the start of the Boone’s vision
They filled it with the lovely pieces that would eventually win them top gallery praise in 2007. Both have a very good eye when it comes to selecting the works that best represent their style and the customers that purchase from them.
The rustic house that exhibits their selections sports an inviting Southern style wrap-around porch where clients can sit in rocking chairs and admire the surrounding grounds filled with outdoor art, sculptures, bird houses, exotic plants, rocks, creatures and chimes.
The backyard is a work in progress to enhance the atmosphere for weekend musical acts
A LITTLE MUSIC PLEASE!
Walk to the back of the gallery and out the doors and you will see even more of David and Julie’s vision as they have transformed that backyard over time into an oasis with tables and chairs, seating areas with fans, graveled walking paths, firepits, tiki torches and an ever-evolving stage for musical acts. They even started clearing and building an amphitheater for bigger endeavors like opera productions.
As Spring arrived in all its glory, they often extended their hours and began looking for weekend musical acts to jazz the place up. It really sort of took off mainly by word of mouth from friends with a little social media help thrown in on the old Facebook page.
If you build it, they will come as the saying goes. They like to mix it up with a little country here, a little Sinatra there and a little bit of rock and roll with a barbecue food truck thrown in for interest. Weather permitting, they can go on like that through the beautiful colors of fall with the firepits providing warmth and cheer.
A little music in the backyard at Feather’s Edge
FEATHER’S EDGE VINEYARDS
David discovered he had a little bit of a green thumb as he researched plants that would be a draw for birds and the houses he designs for them. As the economy started to go South in 2008, many people in the arts closed their doors for good and walked away.
David and Julie dug in, went big and invested even more. The plants he had already been growing gave him the idea of trying some grapevines. He had a winery in mind where people could come and browse his artist’s work, do a tasting in his specially built room and enjoy some music with that wine outdoors.
One of the vineyards best white wines
He researched Gay Dellinger who is generally credited with bringing the Georgia wine industry to where it is today. He got to know the owners of Three Sisters Winery up in Dahlonega; one of the oldest vineyards in Georgia. He then planted his first 300 plants that would eventually be followed up with another 1600.
These plants were a hybrid of the Norton grape named Cynthiana known as the Cabernet of the South. They are disease resistant, easy maintenance and provide a refined, medium-bodied taste with a hint of oak and spice. He bartered and traded with Three Sisters and other vineyards for grapes and bottling.
He presents his and other locally sourced wines in a pretty tasting room attached to the gallery with double doors that lead out to another porch and the gardens. You can also get a nice cheese tray to go along with your tasting flight.
ORIGINAL ARTWORKs & Crafts
The gallery offers original one-of-a-kind two-dimensional artworks from a variety of local, regional and national artists. They grace the walls over richly upholstered chairs and interesting tables of stone and wood sporting stained glass lamps and colorful baskets filled with treasures and gift items.
Filled with a lot of natural light, the space is the perfect vehicle for the three-dimensional works they are known for in a variety of mediums with glass being a particular specialty. Women will be especially pleased to find a large selection of fabulous artisan jewelry pieces in lots of colors, style and variety.
Almost anyone can find something to take home with them which makes this destination a very family friendly environment or a good date night/ladies’ day out option. You can easily spend hours browsing and looking through the big inventory of items Julie keeps up in spotless condition in a well-designed space.
CONCLUSION
Clearly David and Julie had a vision that keeps growing and progressing as it moves through the stages of becoming. David says it took about six years to get the necessary traction and they have been through both good and bad economies but they continue to thrive.
Ballground has continued to progress as well with it’s historic roots, cute shops and home builds making it a desirable growing neighborhood for boomers that are downsizing and young people just beginning their families.
A little music goes well with wine
A walking tour of historic downtown ballground
Both are the clients that seek out all the Boone’s have to offer with gallery hours Wednesday to Sunday of 10-5 and 12:30-5 respectively. You can go online at www.wildcatonawing.com to see more on the gallery and www.feathersedgevineyards.com to find out more on the upcoming musical acts for the Saturday Sunday spring schedule.
Wineries are a competitive business with more than 60 across the state now. David is proud that they consistently score in the top numbers with their small acreage. Go check them out. You might hear someone like Victoria Hill singing from Phantom of the Opera or Ryan Dario singing with the Brat Pack cause it turns out middle of nowhere is the perfect up and coming spot to be in.
If you enjoyed what you read, you might also like other posts under Artful Ideal. You can find other artists and galleries that I really love that you might want to visit or use to add to your own collection. Look for more upcoming posts on my recent adventures in art, food and travel from this road trip. Until then…
Cheers,
ArtsyChowRoamer
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