The gallery is closed on Mondays – but Share Norville twists the bolt and lets in three ladies who want to check out the art in Artful Things Niceville Gallery on John Sims Parkway. The building nestles in between a karate studio and a vehicle repair shop and serves as the hub for local artisans and art supplies for Niceville, Valparaiso, Bluewater Bay and Freeport. Unlike other galleries in the more touristy 30A or Destin areas – the art and artisans are local. They still have your typical ‘beach’ fare but highlight the bayou, pine trees, portraits, and vistas of small-town life. 

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She turns on the lights, and a world of created treasures meets six eyes as they scan from one end to the other on the first chilly day of Spring in Niceville. The art ranges from, oil, acrylic watercolor, pastel, encaustic wax, lovely jewelry, pottery trays to hold deviled eggs and adult and kids’ books.

Near the items for sale, a small plaque explains the gallery’s philosophy in a quote by Thomas Merton: “Art is not an end in itself. It introduces the soul into a higher spiritual order, which it expresses and, in some sense, explains. Music, art, and poetry attune the soul to God because they induce a kind of contact with the Creator and Ruler of the Universe.”

This time of year has a philosophical tone, especially with Easter less than two weeks away, Share starts to think about how her faith and the concept of art mesh together so easily.

She believes the artists in the gallery – in their way – use their art to commune with their creator and praise him through every brushstroke, pen line, or ink blot.

“God did not put us on the earth just to survive,” Norville said, “If that were true, the only things that would matter are food, water, and shelter. But he made us appreciate the beauty in the world. He made us feel the need to express ourselves and communicate our thoughts, feelings, and desires with him and other people. That’s why all art is so important.

Share hopes people will take the opportunity to do the same thing – create art in its many forms to praise their creator this Easter Season. “Art can be anything,” Norville said, “It can be anything from accounting and spreadsheets, working in a garden to a mural on the side of a building. It all praises him.”

Luckily, ATN carries supplies for people who create with paint, ink, watercolors, and other similar media.

The ladies who entered the store browsed the goods and wares, enjoying what they saw from gallery wall to gallery wall. Their purchases brought art out of the gallery and into the world, whether paintings, brushes, figurines, or easels.