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| Imagine Art at 90 Brewer Road in Sedona, AZ |
Imagine Art in Sedona
Art, Pottery Painting and Entertainment for the entire family
by Nirmala McAfee
Sedona, AZ -- On July 4, 2007, to the sound of imaginary fireworks, proprietor Henry Wingfield opened the doors to Imagine Art to the pleasure of locals and visitors alike.
Located at 90 Brewer Road, next to the Hummingbird House and southwest of the “Y,” the building itself is a work of art. The cozy wood cottage with its colored textured walls, bucolic exposed tin roof, and colorful flower garden is warm and welcoming.
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| Inside Imagine Art at 90 Brewer Road in Sedona, AZ |
Warmly greeted by Henry, I immediately feel like I am visiting an old friend. I am not alone in this. Everyone who walks in is heartily welcomed, given a tour and a brief, but thorough, explanation of the concept behind Sedona’s newest gallery and studio, Imagine Art.
Motivated to “giving back to the community,” Henry offers his exquisite space not only to pottery painting but also for showcasing others' artistic works, writing classes (with Sedona’s own, Jim Bishop!), private parties, belly dancing classes, drama classes for children, and pretty much anything else that can be imagined - thus, the apt name of his studio, Imagine Art.
“The first stop is here,” Henry explains as he points to several shelves of bisque. “This is where you choose your bisque or pottery. The price of each piece is marked on the bottom. That price includes everything – studio time, paints, glazing, firing - everything.”
The selection is great and varied. There are small knickknacks and bric-a-brac for as little as $3 and large garden pots for as much as $90. In between, there are plates, bowls, garden accessories and gnomes, platters, vases, tiles, picture frames, dog bowls, mugs – you name it – and all for a very reasonable all-inclusive price.
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| Inside Imagine Art at 90 Brewer Road in Sedona, AZ |
“The price on the bottom includes everything?” I ask, still not believing that I can come here and design a piece of pottery without time pressure or a loan officer.
“Everything! “ Henry replies. “I want to provide a place where anyone, whether you consider yourself an artist or not, can come and feel free to imagine and create. You don’t have to be an artist or have knowledge of pottery or drawing. Just sit and create at your own pace.”
I begin to imagine what a great way this would be for a family to spend a hot summer afternoon.
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| Pick your own underglaze at Imagine Art at 90 Brewer Road in Sedona, AZ |
“After you choose your piece, pick out the under glaze paint color,” Henry explains. “The color you choose is very true. These are great paints. If you make a mistake, you can just take it to the sink, rinse it off and start again. Once you’ve finished drawing and coloring with the under glaze, we put the clear glaze on and bake it in our kiln at 1800 degrees. When the clear glaze melts, the pure color is released.”
Henry shows me several pieces of pottery at different stages of completion. All ranges of talent are displayed. Henry holds up a garden decoration freely painted by a 3 year old. “His mother just let him go at it. She let him create as he thought fit,” Henry smiles as he points out the pale blue face of a duck.
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| Henry Wingfield, Owner of Imagine Art shows off a recently created pottery painting |
“You can even
make a party of it. Bring your own wine!”
Always eager to promote other people’s artistic accomplishments, Henry
tells me that he leases the building from Jan and Fuller Barnes,
local Sedona artists, who specialize in one-of-a-kind metal
sculpture and steel architectural elements (282-3757). “Fuller’s
work is really spectacular,” he says. “The Barnes’ have been in
Sedona since the late 1980’s and they work in steel, making pretty
much anything.”
A true Renaissance man, Henry has lived a “Jack London” life, full of adventure and journeys, both inner and outer. A self-proclaimed radical of the 60’s and a veteran of the original Woodstock, Henry was born and raised in Pennsylvania. “Going on 70, that is, in 12 years,” Henry is quick to laugh and entertain, delighting me with stories of his life before opening the original Imagine Art, located in the Harkins Theater Plaza in the late 1990’s.
I learn that Henry is not only a facilitator of others’ artistic endeavors; he also has his own credits. In fact, he appears to be “art” in motion. Every part of his life is a creative undertaking. An author of five novels, Henry wrote his autobiography, A Blessing At Three Weeks, in 2001. It covers 50 years, and he plans to fill the second volume by his century mark. His novel, Ancient Lovers, published in 2005, spans from 15 B.C. to 1997 and is a romantic adventure story “full of sex, mysticism, spirit, reincarnation and DNA.”
His books are displayed along with his mother’s potholders and aprons, which she sends him from back east to sell in his shop.
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| Henry Wingfield, Owner of Imagine Art with one of his art gallery paintings for sale |
And
what did he use to write all these novels? His father’s 1931
Underwood typewriter!
“People assume you have a computer. I don’t. I am not a computer
person. I’m computer illiterate,” he proudly tells me. “I keep a
large pad of paper next to my bed. Large. That way, I don’t have to
open my eyes when I wake up with inspiration or just the perfect
sentence. I can grab the pen and write in big letters. I keep my
eyes closed. ‘Sleep writing’ is what I call it.”
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| Inside Imagine Art at 90 Brewer Road in Sedona, AZ |
Although he has “always been a writer,” Henry hasn’t always hosted an art studio.
Before receiving his degree from the University of Natural Medicine in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1983, Henry studied economics and business at the University of Tampa.
He has been a licensed sports massage therapist for 25 years and is in private practice in Sedona. As a member of the US Olympic Sports Massage Team, he was one of 120 handpicked applicants, who worked the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he was assigned to the boxing venue. This was the first time in the history of the Olympics that massage therapists were allowed to work on athletes before and after competition. He also helped to prepare middleweight champion, Sugar Ray Leonard, for the Leonard/Hagler fight.
“Mostly, I tried to talk him out of fighting. That was the best thing for his body,” he laughingly told me. “I said to him, ‘Sugar… first of all, do I have to call you Sugar?’ How can I talk you out of this?’ Then, when that didn’t work – he was making millions of dollars for each fight, you know – I just got down to helping the man cope with a pinched nerve.”
Always curious as to how folks find their way to Sedona, I ask Henry. “Through a vision at the bottom of a bottle of Yukon Jack,” he replies. This intriguing explanation fits in with his Jack London persona.
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| Art for sale at Imagine Art at 90 Brewer Road in Sedona, AZ |
“I was in York Harbor, Maine, drinking Yukon Jack. Out of the fumes, a prophecy arose. It said three things: It said I would go to school for natural medicine. I would move to Santa Fe. And I would return to Florida, which I could hardly believe because I hated Florida and swore I’d never go back there.
By the way, I had no interest in natural medicine. I was drinking Yukon Jack, for heaven’s sake!”
“Well, the next day I called the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, who said that it sounded like I was describing the Santa Fe University of Natural Medicine. Here I was 10 years out of college and within three months, my dog and I arrived in Santa Fe and I started my studies in natural medicine. After graduation, I decided to go visit my friend in Florida and I stayed on, working as a bartender, where I met my ex-wife. It took three years for the vision to be completed.
I ask, “But how did that lead you to Sedona?”
“Oh, my wife and I were in Hilton Head, South Carolina, where I was working as a massage therapist. One of my clients was the majority stockholder of Los Abrigados here in Sedona, and he hired me right on the spot to work as a massage therapist at his resort and spa. When my wife and I drove into the village and saw Bell Rock for the first time, we both agreed, “Looks like we’re moving here.”
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| Store hours at Imagine Art at 90 Brewer Road in Sedona, AZ |
Today, Henry and his working partner and dear friend of 18 years, Terry Allen, manage Imagine Art, Tuesday – Sundays, from 11 – 5, although Henry is always receptive to the idea of extending hours for private parties or other events.
So, go visit Henry at 90 Brewer Road (928-282-4236) and welcome him back to Sedona. While you’re there, check out Henry’s original designer t-shirts (and my personal favorite, his mom’s potholders and aprons).
Imagine Art is closed on Mondays, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Henry won’t open for just the right venue.
He confidently tells me, “With imagination, anything can happen.”
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