New Lombard studio connects artists to community

Emily Suarino has many hopes for her new art studio near downtown Lombard, but most importantly, she wants it to connect people.

"We're really trying to put the artist in the spotlight and share their work and get people connected with them," she said. "This is a place where that can all come together."

Art Life Gallery & Studio opened last month at 425 S. Main St., in a small office building next to the former Mr. Z's. In just a few weeks, Suarino has seen it become a valuable resource for local artists and a social gathering place for other residents.

There aren't many places in town for artists to gather and display their work, and nearby galleries are often "much higher-end," Suarino said.

"It's hard if you're starting out to get into one of those," she said. "People were selling things out of their homes, selling to friends, word-of-mouth kind of stuff. We're really just putting that on a bigger scale. We're trying to have a nice mix of styles and mediums, something for everyone."

Watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings adorn the walls, alongside silk scarves, wood bowls, metal jewelry, photography and other art pieces that are all on consignment. Work created by Lombard residents, which accounts for about half the items in the gallery, is marked with a small tag featuring a lilac.

Suarino hopes the gallery "makes art accessible" to residents, considering the pieces range from large, expensive paintings to gift items, like greeting cards, purses and soap.

"My goal has always been to get original artwork into people's homes," she said. "I think everybody should have a piece of original artwork ... something that you're going to enjoy your whole life and when you look at it, you think about the connection you have to the person who made it."

The gallery opens into a studio space with seating for up to 16 guests at private kid and adult birthday parties, private wine and painting nights and public "pop-up" events, like a coloring party happening at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Guests will use colored pencils to create detailed Dia de los Muertos skulls during the gathering, which costs $20 and includes wine and snacks.

"You can sign up on our website and come by yourself or with a friend, for more of a mixed group, meet new people kind of thing, to just have fun," she said.

The studio is not BYOB, or bring your own beverage. People can bring their own food if they want, or the studio can provide appetizers for an additional fee.

"We're a pretty good value because our price includes the wine," Suarino said, adding that the space is great for bridal showers, team building events and girls' nights out.

While the events at the studio are mostly focused on adults, kids art classes are also held in the studio. Suarino said she highlights a different artist at each class and has the kids work on a project using the artist's style.

Open knitting and crocheting events aimed at people 12 and older are held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. every first Tuesday and from 1:30 to 3 p.m. every third Thursday. Eventually, Suarino hopes to offer adult art classes too.

"We're trying to have a variety of things that hopefully catch different people's tastes," she said.