Bigfork artists dedicated to gallery's success

Works in every medium by artists across the Flathead Valley and beyond have found a platform in the Persimmon Gallery in Bigfork for the last decade thanks to the work of four dedicated women.

Pottery, mosaics, paper-maché, print-making and a plethora of other mixed-media furnish the floors and decorate the walls of the gallery and cover just about every price point, according to co-owners Callie Hulslander-Cooper and Wendy Anderson, making the business competitive and sustainable in an artistic community through its annual slow season.

“There are a lot of galleries in the valley where it is just prohibitively expensive to buy a piece of art,” Hulslander-Cooper said. “It’s huge that someone can come in and get an original piece of artwork for a relatively decent price because you can’t do that at every gallery.”

The gallery started as a way for six women to showcase their own artwork.

Over the years, the team dwindled to three of the original owners and added a fourth along the way.

Today the managing team comprises four artists: Anderson and Hulslander-Cooper, the talent scouts; Jill Gotschalk, the building owner and graphic designer for marketing; and Traci Staves, bookkeeper.

The women work in their own mediums on the side while running all aspects of the gallery’s daily operations.

Anderson began working in ceramics in college. She taught school for a few years before her children came along and then began making jewelry on the side.

The hobby grew into a business as interest in her unique pieces rose, and the Persimmon team invited her into their venture soon after.

From there, she said, the business has transitioned from a gallery for their own work into a showcase for the works of more than 70 artists.

“It’s really morphed into something much larger than us,” Hulslander-Cooper said. “It’s a huge boon for us and our artwork, but we almost get more joy out of being here for other artists.”

“That’s more of our mission now is just to have a place where artists can show their work,” Anderson added.

Guest artists primarily hail from the Flathead Valley, but Anderson said the gallery never hesitates to take in the work of out-of-state or international artists to add variety and vitality.

Anderson and Hulslander-Cooper look through new artists’ portfolios and seek out those whose work catches their eye. Hulslander-Cooper’s work in jewelry and Anderson’s in pottery give them a broad scope for recognizing talent. Over time, Anderson said, the Persimmon owners build relationships and connections with the artists they represent, learning not just their styles but their lives.

“Because all four of us as owners are artists, we understand artists,” Hulslander-Cooper said.

Still, the gallery has brought with it as many challenges as successes.

Though sales boom as tourists flock to the area during the spring and summer months, Bigfork goes into a state of near hibernation during the winter, causing several businesses to close for the long slow season.

Without the patronage of tourists, the art galleries lose their leaves and must hunker down to survive.

“In Montana it takes a real dedication and love of art to do it, because if you’re in the city…you’ve got year-round business. In Montana, you don’t,” Hulslander-Cooper said.

The artists get by doing other things during the slow business season.

Online sales and art shows keep paint on the brushes for Anderson and Hulslander-Cooper. Staves does bookkeeping for other businesses and Gotschalk is “technically retired.”

Most of the artists featured on the gallery walls keep day jobs as bartenders or teachers to make ends meet between projects.

“It is very difficult,” Hulslander-Cooper said. “It’s very rare that there’s an artist who doesn’t have another gig going, who can just make a living on art.”

Still, she describes the gallery as a dream come true and said she can’t imagine doing anything else.

The Persimmon team will stay busy for at least a couple more weeks as they prepare for the annual Holiday Art Walk in Downtown Bigfork on Saturday.

Several new artists will add their work to the gallery for the event and the Persimmon ladies said they look forward to welcoming the remaining residents of Bigfork into the shop for chili, cornbread, beer and sweets.

The gallery will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the Art Walk will begin at 4 p.m., ending with the lighting of the town Christmas tree at 7 p.m.

The event will put a cap on the galleries’ first decade, but the gallery will remain open throughout the winter.

Once spring returns, its owners plan to burst into bloom once again for another fruitful year of serving and contributing to Bigfork’s ravenous appetite for art.

For more information about Persimmon Gallery, visit https://persimmongallery.com/.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.