Karolyn Williams Moves to Bucktown Suite 201A

It's a pleasure to introduce Karolyn Williams as a new artist in Bucktown, operating Estate of Grace. Her suite 201A gallery offers her creations in sewn linen clothing and repurposed jewelry, as well as casual, comfortable clothing by other designers, antiques, and fine French Provence soaps and Naked Bee products.

Williams is from California, raised in Santa Monica and residing in Los Angeles County until the late '90s. She began sewing and making art as a child, then worked her way through a fashion design degree at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College by making and selling her clothing and jewelry. She married, raised children and traveled to locations such as Germany with her husband who was in the army. She made clothing for other women where her family was stationed. Later, back in California, she operated a quilt shop until both her daughters married “Illinois men” in the Quad Cities area.

To be near her daughters, Williams moved to Rock Island and opened her More than Memories shop. In 2005, she moved back to California for five years to take over an antique store there. After numerous trips between California and the Quad Cities, she moved back and again had a Rock Island antiques shop. She relocates to Bucktown to concentrate more on the creative part of her activities. She notes, “I’ve always taken my sewing machine with me.”

Over the years, she has used her talents in many ways, including the restoration of seven different old homes. She has set up displays for the LA Mart, the equivalent of the Chicago Merchandise Mart. Her favorite display was one for ceramics, where she scavenged brick, plastic sod and patio furniture for a walled garden ambiance. One of William’s specialties is antique quilts, which led to a travel adventure when she was hired as a consultant on design and fabrics for a Shanghai, China quilt company. The stint was back when “everything seen outside was grey and beige, even what people wore. A hint of any color, such as a box of oranges, was so eye-catching.” Her contacts today include a fabric importer from Italy and two California clothing designers whose wares she represents in her Bucktown suite.

When that sewing machine is turned on you can find a vintage Squash Blossom necklace at Estate of Grace.

MidCoast receives funding from several sources including grants, sponsorships and donations. Our largest source of funding -- operating grants -- have dried up.

We provide exhibition opportunities for approximately 300 artists per year. In addition, MidCoast runs:

It's up to YOU to see MidCoast continue. Only a handful of you have responded to our requests asking for financial support. For that we thank you.

More still needs to be done. Without MidCoast, what would remain of visual arts opportunities in our community?

Support the Visual Arts. Support MidCoast because we can’t continue without your support—really!

Organized by MidCoast, this premiere fine arts festival is located in a scenic park overlooking the Mississippi River in the historic village of East Davenport. The Quad Cities metropolitan region population is over 250,000. Free children's art tent, wine tasting, gourmet food, and live music.

Breakfast and Saturday evening pizza reception for artists included. Volunteer “art angels” sit booths for breaks, provide water and bring lunches ordered from food vendors so you don’t have to worry about leaving your booth.

Twelve monetary awards are given to winning artists during the festival totaling $3,000.

Click here for all the details!

Questions?Contact Jodean at jodean@midcoast.org or 563-424-1210.

First floor

Casements are all rented, but applicants will be placed on a waiting list.  

Second floor suites

Suite 201b: 749 sq. ft. $562/month or $70/day

Suite 203: 966 sq. ft. $725/month or $75/day

Suite 205: 815 sq. ft. $611/month

Suites 202-206: 2,030 sq. ft., $1,523/month

Leases will run through December 2019, with the option of month-to-month rental. Access 24/7, utilities included. Suites do not have individual sinks. There's access to second floor restrooms, as well as first-floor mail delivery. Visual artists are encouraged, other activity options, including office space, will be considered.

If interested, please contact Sherry at info@midcoast.org or 563-424-1210.

We know you love shopping on Amazon. It's ok, we do too.

Did you know when you shop through AmazonSmile ( smile.amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to MidCoast Fine Arts.

How cool is that?!?!

We know the holidays are right around the corner. Why not spread twice the cheer? And we'll make it SUPER easy, just click on the AmazonSmile button or go to smile.amazon.com and search for MidCoast Fine Arts.

Happy shopping and thanks in advance for your support!

We're a non-profit community arts agency founded and run by artists. Our mission to stimulate our community's cultural and economic vitality through the support of regional visual arts and artists is accomplished by having amazing art-focused programming and events like Final Fridays, ArtWorks Expo and Riverssance Festival of Fine Art. 

Donations can be mailed to:

MidCoast Fine Arts

225 East 2nd Street

Davenport, IA 52801

MidCoast projects are supported by funds contributed in 2017 from the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, the Regional Development Authority and the Scott County Regional Authority, and from Quad City Arts Dollars, provided by the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, and John Deere.

Jeanne O'Melia, Erica Parrott and David Turner

through January

Friday, January 11, 6-9 p.m., Closing Reception

Meet the artists while enjoying snacks, drinks, and live music!

Jeanne O’Melia has paired up her original sketches with the resulting painted portraits for a lively visual dialogue. Figural watercolors by Erica Parrott face across the gallery toward gelatin silver print photography by David Turner.

Music by Classical Moods Quartet that includes Bucktown artist Gwen Ballard Patton; opening reception for exhibition by Kathleen (Casey) Washington, Ornament Awards and a special Hotel Blackhawk gift certificate drawing.

The Hotel Blackhawk has donated a gift certificate for a king or queen city view room overnight stay. Anyone who has made a purchase on Dec. 14 of $20 or more at participating Bucktown suites will be eligible for a drawing made at 8:45 that evening. Need not be present at time of drawing.

Along with the drawing, we'll announce the holiday ornament award contest winners. Top prize was $100, with a gift bags for 2nd and 3rd prizes. These ornaments are for sale, with proceeds supporting MidCoast.

We thank Colleen Curry, Marilyn Davis, Jane Doty, Peggy Gratton, Carolyn Krueger. Lori Miller and Liz Wakita for their entries.

“I am inspired by the human form, as the possibilities are endless” says Kathleen Washington, known to us as Casey.

For this exhibition, she has prepared three different approaches: The Essence of Picasso, Specialized Portraits and Art Designed Furniture. 

Her first approach takes inspiration from Picasso’s paintings of Marie-Therese Walter, his mistress and model from 1927 to 1935. Washington explores the aspects of the voluptuous woman Picasso portrayed in assemblages of cut wood and acrylic paint.

In the second approach, she paints her model with exacting facial features, but changes hairstyles, clothing and background settings to tell a story that reflects the facial features and expressions the model displays.

Thirdly, she transforms vintage furniture with colorful prints, faux painted tile, wood, tortoiseshell and the like to bring excitement, fun and color to ordinarily dull furniture.

She quips, “I like to think of the result as your grandmother’s furniture on steroids.”

As a student at Black Hawk College, Washington studied art under Jean Tamesia.