When Tim Gavalakis arrives at Out of the Box Studio and Gallery, he says hi to everyone he sees. When he sits down to work on his art, he does not waste any time. Tim uses markers to draw his favorite things.
“My two favorite mammals are the Black Angus bulls and the American buffaloes,” he says.
Gavalakis is one of several dozen artists who are currently members at Out of the Box Studio and Gallery in Jamestown, Rhode Island. It is a space for artists with and without disabilities.
“We really showcase emerging artists here, but we also show professional artists,” says Casey Weibust, the studio’s art director. “Art and community is really what we’re all about here.”
Gavalakis was joined by six other artists when we visited the studio. Next to Tim is Bob Stengel, one of the original Out of the Box artist members. Each artist member has their own drawer, and Bob’s is filled with vibrant and colorful circles uniformly placed on maps. When Bob was a child, his family drove from Chatham, New Jersey, to Chatham, Massachusetts. His love of maps has stayed with him ever since.
“When Bob is drawing on these maps, sometimes I can hear him and I’m working on something and he’s in the corner working. I can hear him like, ‘Oh yeah, this route goes to this route,’” Weibust says of Bob’s deep memory of the U.S. highways and byways. “He has a map in his head. It’s incredible.”
Stengel will also do commissions, including the base design for the Out of the Box logo and the sign outside their studio.
Each artist has their own success story at Out of the Box. John Kotula is an artist, writer, and member at Out of the Box. He has had several exhibitions in their gallery and visits the studio often to work on projects. He is always inspired by the artwork he sees.
“I find it an exciting place as an artist to be, there’s a lot of energy, there’s a lot of literally thinking out of the box about what art can be or should be,” Kotula says.
