Akemi Matsumoto will be moving her watercolor art from the former Riverside Artist Gallery in Marietta to the PAC 713 Market gift shop at the Parkersburg Art Center. (Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — Many of the artists who were part of the Riverside Artist Gallery in Marietta have now hopped across the river to sell their fine art, metal work, fiber art and jewelry at the newly opened PAC 713 Market at the Parkersburg Art Center.

“I can say that I loved being associated with the (Riverside) gallery, and I was a member from 2008- 2018, and appreciated their connection to the community and the support the gallery received from the community,” said Bonnie Proudfoot, one of the artists who is now featuring her fused and stained glass at the PAC 713 Market.

She not only has found a sales venue for her art but is also going to be teaching stained glass at the Art Center this spring.

“The closing of Riverside was sad but it was so fortuitous that the artists’ market at the Art Center was preparing to open at that time,” said Virginia Killian, a founding member of the Riverside Artist Gallery. “We have had so many great artists show their work at Riverside. I am glad that we have a new home where we can exhibit and sell.”

Other artists who have moved over from Riverside to sell their work at the PAC include: Akemi Matsumoto, paintings and origami; Betsy Cook, home and garden iron work; Scott Bookman, jewelry; Tracy Leinbaugh, fiber art; Lynda Rhodes, watercolors; and Cathy Norosky, carved gourds and paintings.

Betsy Cook of Garden Forge will be offering home and garden ironwork at the Parkersburg Art Center’s gift shop, now named PAC 713 Market. (Photo Provided)

“The closure of Riverside Gallery left a hole in the art community that we are hoping to fill,” said gift shop manager Jennifer Carpenter. “We were upset at the closing but are thrilled to offer the Riverside artists as well as other regional artists a place to sell their artwork and to offer the community a place to buy unique handmade items.”

The PAC 713 Market currently features the work of over 60 regional artists who have been juried into the shop. The shop features fine arts and fine crafts along with some Art Center merchandise. Plans are underway to start a series of unique exhibits within the store, the first being the Garden Party show in May. These shows will ensure the stock in the shop stays fresh and help to showcase the local talent, Carpenter said.

“The renovation of this gift shop space and the opening of the new PAC 713 Market has been in the works for a long time. I am so happy to be a part of it but the work isn’t done. We have big plans for the future,” she said.