Art and Wine Shine in Geyserville
Geyserville is a very quiet, wine country community, for those who haven’t discovered it yet. Visiting it guarantees that you’ll encounter tourists meandering through the little Main Street, which brings you into and leaves town swiftly. At one with what they’re doing, tourists enjoy walking between eateries and tasting rooms, joyful and oblivious to any daily grind.
There’s also a deep appreciation for art, in large part to Victoria Heiges (and the Geyserville Community Foundation) along Maine Street. Being new to town, it’s taken me the past year to peel away some of the layers about who Victoria Heiges really is… Which seems to be under a huge umbrella of art. When I visited with her, I was awestruck by the amount of art she’s created.
My love of art came long before my love of wine, BTW. Perhaps this is why I’ve also come to appreciate wine as its own true art form. Who can argue that, when one reads about collectors paying upwards of $67,000 to buy something like ~ a single, rare bottle of a wine pulled from Thomas Jefferson’s private wine cellar, to be auctioned for that value of a bottle. Is it what’s inside that’s worth that amount of money, is it where it came from, or is it both?
Worth is in the mind of the beholder, who may also never open that bottle, just continue to store it in time.
When one walks or drives through Geyserville, a strong sense of art begins to appear, nearly everywhere. This is a story unto itself. Later I’ll get into individual pieces. For today…
Dallas A. Saunders ~ Artist Textiles
Living in Geyserville and driving by a building, set off into the distance, with a design that is right out of Architectural Digest, curiosity – of course – got the best of me. I had to wait for the perfect moment, though; a time when I could slow down long enough to take advantage of a vacation day, really. I had to become that tourist, in order to visit Dallas A. Saunders.
From just having left the main strip (coming from the south), I took a right onto Route 129, headed west toward Calistoga. Within a couple thousand feet, I took another right and drove into a long driveway, with an Alexander Valley vineyard to my left, and railroad tracks to my right. I felt like I was having a moment right out of the pages of Living the High Life in Wine County. (Answer: No, there’s no such book or magazine; but there could be one, if someone wanted to publish it.)
LOCATION: 275 Highway 128, Suite 101, Geyserville, CA 95441 WEBSITE: We are a destination contemporary fine art tapestry gallery exhibiting limited edition tapestries and artisan textiles showroom selling origin specific fabrics and finished home textiles. We are located in the Sonoma County wine country just north of Healdsburg and 75 miles north of San Francisco..
This building is for sale and it’s also open to rentals: Check it out. This page will blow your mind a bit.
I parked and got out of the car, stepped onto a pebble stone driveway; and headed toward the incredible building, which seemed to be in two parts (because it is). This side of the building is unoccupied, the back portion is where Dallas A. Saunders has her studio. I couldn’t help myself, camera ready. I began to photograph what I was seeing, because it seemed extraordinary, in seemingly Old West Geyserville. (Let’s just say, you can’t hitch your pony up to this one, where in Geyserville, you could.) This structure was bright and shiny, with walls of glass. It’s very chic; something like you’d see, like Zarin’s Fabrics, at 69 Orchard Street, in New York City.
I entered the building and met Dallas A. Saunders, owner of a business by the same name. She operates an artist textile outlet, the work is not done on the property. The craftsmanship of her products is intended for high profile clients, with designers and architects as the conduit for most sales.
This Jacquard Tapestry (66″ x 95″) was created by April Gornik, and it’s entitled Light In The Woods. I just love the use of white, to gray, to brown, to black interwoven threads, to remind me of my Maine woods living. Light coming through the trees, the solid and liquid lines. I could live with this piece.
Still, within her showroom, are textiles from all over the world for sale. Her portfolio of goods is remarkable. It just boggled my mind, looking at tapestries whose threads are perhaps 1/16 of an inch, if that much. How do all of the threads get set onto a loom, how do those threads and that pattern evolve into an amazingly large wall hanging… Something the likes of walking into the Ritz Carleton, and seeing it hanging on a wall of honor, with lights strategically aimed at highlighting the masterpiece. As someone who used to work with beads on a loom, I was in complete awe.
Pictures tell a thousand words, right? I’m going to just photo gallery her art gallery, now. Enjoy, and think about your visit to wine country on a weekend (also open by appointment during the week). You’ll also spot my grandson Nate in these pictures. If you want a touch of class with your glass, this is the place to see in Geyserville on a weekend.
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