On this empty afternoon before the impending "blizzard of the 21st century" I stopped in on a whim and was pleasantly surprised in many ways. Fire Arts features a small gallery in the front of the building which houses the work of the 13 (soon to be 15) in-house artists as well as special exhibits. The special exhibit currently features the work of Wayne Harshberger and his stone carvings. The gallery as a whole boasts significant display pieces as well as smaller items such as jewelry (I particularly loved the key necklaces), vases, and mugs (more on that later). The work featured is eclectic yet all collected under the banner of three-dimensional art.
This becomes more apparent if you're lucky enough to get a tour of the expansive artist studio space behind the gallery. I was apparently curious enough and inexperienced enough that the owner offered to give me one. I can't recount his entire tour, which is why you should go and visit yourself, but the studio features spaces for jewelry-making, silver-smithing, wheel-throwing, slab-carving, bronze-casting (the only space in Northern Indiana that offers this possibility), and much more. For an artistic beginner it was merely fascinating to see the work in process.
They've only been in existence for six years, but it's clear that Fire Arts has established a close-knit community of artists in the area. Not content to simply sell and display the art, these artists also offer a variety of classes for the beginner to the expert in many of their areas. So visit; maybe you'll discover your inner artist or maybe you'll just buy yourself a locally-made mug to drink hazelnut coffee out of on a wintry afternoon. Like me.
Location: 305 East Colfax
Hours: 12:00pm-9:00pm, Tues. and Thurs. 11:00am-4:00pm, Sat.
For information on classes or more information about the gallery, visit their website here.
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