VIZIONS ART GALLERY
1 Park Place at West Street and Taylor Avenue, Annapolis / / 410-990-0340 / / Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday
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VIZIONS ART GALLERY IN ANNAPOLIS' NEW Park Place complex started as just that: a vision.
Joyce Parker and his old Annapolis High School friend Robert Matthews sat at Matthews' kitchen table and talked until the wee hours about Parker's dream to leave the New York fashion world and return to his hometown to open a distinctively different art gallery that would offer something for every eye and every pocketbook.
For more than a year, Parker operated out of a back room in the offices of Matthews' Annapolis Cab Co., pulling together the work of artists he had known and admired for years. But it was Matthews' wife, Callie, pastor at Eastport's Mount Zion United Methodist Church, who would be charmed by Parker's vision and become his partner.
Vizions opened quietly in late January and found an immediate audience for its diverse collection of jewelry, decorative art and artisan furniture by artists from across the country. The work of local artists, including Laura Dean, Krystal Thompson and Michael Matthews, is there, too.
Of particular local interest is a three-dimensional collage of memorabilia from Cal Ripken Jr.'s induction into baseball's Hall of Fame by the artist Mayshe, priced at $1,125.
For years, Parker worked as art director for some of the top fashion houses and retail establishments in New York.
"Now it is my turn," he said.
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