Where food meets art, the senses are well served.
That’s certainly the case at Full of Beans cafe, where the works of different artists are featured every month along with an array of appetising foods and aromatic coffees.
The coffee shop in Pasadora Place is equally well known for the art that hangs on the walls and the genial atmosphere inside, where some folks come for the food, others come just for the art and everyone seems to enjoy both.
“The coffee house culture and art just seem to go together – we eat visually and there’s an energy that comes from both food and art- it’s all healthy,” says owner and designer Cindy Wilson, who opened the cafe just two months before Hurricane Ivan.
Undeterred by the 2004 storm, Wilson reopened the cafe and has welcomed artists ever since. In fact, Full of Beans’ monthly schedule of artists’ exhibits is fully booked through most of 2012.
But this just means artists can plan now to have 18-24 pieces ready for the next available date, Cindy’s husband, Jeff, notes with great enthusiasm.
“It’s a great venue to show artists who are not ready to go to a gallery, which can be quite intimidating,” says Cindy.
She designed the interior with art in mind: one wall is brick, with cable strung across for hanging paintings; there’s a blue wall and a yellow one and also space along the back wall. Painters and sculptors have exhibited here, and Cindy says she and Jeff welcom artists “who are a little offbeat or who are emerging.”
“For us, it’s more fun when it’s someone who’s never shown before,” says Jeff. “Artists come in, they look around and get excited.”
“Some just want the exposure and don’t really care about the sale,” says Cindy.
But sales, of course, happen. Jeff recalls that one customer came in and commissioned a whole series of paintings by one artist.
“When I was going to do a coffee house,” says Cindy, who has been on island for 30 years, “I knew I was going to do art.”
Meanwhile, Jeff notes with a smile: “It’s great for us. It’s a different decor every month!”
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