Southern Nevada Center For The Arts

January 23rd 2009 - The day of the Grand Opening of this great new venue for artists of all mediums. I have to be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect but I was more than pleasantly surprised.

The Center is located in the Neonopolis complex which is in downtown Las Vegas, at the corner of Las Vegas Blvd (the Strip) and Fremont Street. As you walk in there is a reception area and then you go on your journey. Each artist has their own studio where they have all their works on display and some even have a small area to work too. What a great idea for people to walk in and watch someone working on their newest painting or closing jump rings on their latest necklace design.

The variety is what makes this center a great addition to Las Vegas. You have painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelry designers and mixed media artists. The list includes a few local Etsians which was great to see and to meet these people in person. I spent ages talking to Robbie, a very talented jewelry designer whose shop is RubyVegas on Etsy. Also representing Etsy is Jill from Tendersoul who makes beautiful adorned pottery pieces and she shares her studio with Bonnie who has some amazing paintings. I also spoke with Bonnie for a while and I apologize to her since she did tell me that she sells on Etsy but I had a brain hiccup and didn't grab her business card. I was just so excited to be able to just talk about creating I guess. Plus, I haven't been out the house much since I lost my job so all that pent-up gab came rolling out.

Needless to say, this is a great venue and once they get rolling and add the gift shop and space for classes it will be brilliant. So for those of you who want to visit Las Vegas and are not interested in gambling and strip clubs, or want to do something once you have lost your ass then here is a great option. By the way, their url is in the photo but here is a clickable link to it www.artcenteronline.com.