Tucson Art Gallery, Custom Framing
and Unique Whimsical Gifts

Tucson Gallery Paloma Art offers an assortment of unique gifts, southwest art, home accents and decor. Paloma Art can also frame that special portrait, art piece or keepsake with from our custom framing selection.

 

Arizona Daily Star - Caliente Article - June 1, 2006
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Goodbye Laundry, Hello Exhibits

Sylvia Levine-Buchanan is only half joking when she says her career used to be in laundry. The married mother of two became a divorced, single mother of two, and then, after meeting her second husband, instantly acquired another two children. And with the two stepchildren came more laundry.

She spent the next few years "volunteering my little brains out for Catalina Foothills School District and doing laundry 98 times a day." All the while, this University of Arizona graduate, who had worked with seniors and studied for a master's degree in education, was looking for a move out of laundry.

It came when she was chatting with another Foothills mother who owned the Paloma Art Gallery. "I jokingly said to her, 'You have the coolest gallery. If you ever sell it, call me.'" Two months later, Levine-Buchanan got the call. Melinda Curtin was ready to give up the business and wondered if Levine-Buchanan was interested in buying it.

"I was speechless, which for me is pretty rare," says Levine-Buchanan, for years a collector of "fun" ceramics and a lover of whimsical and colorful art.

But with her kids and stepchildren older (they now range in age from 10 to 19), she felt the timing was perfect. Curtin handed over her buying contacts and much of her knowledge, but the learning curve was steep, and sometimes arduous, all the same.

"A big part of (the gallery) is custom framing, so I had to really learn that," says Levine-Buchanan. Luckily, along with the gallery came employee Cindy Juliano, an expert in framing, who still works at the gallery." She was one of the best assets of the business," says Levine-Buchanan.

The gallery is as upbeat and vibrant as its owner, its colored walls dripping with funky, one-of-a-kind pieces that Levine-Buchanan picked up locally and at shows all over the country. Among her favorites are the sculptures of Fred Conlon, who turns World War II army helmets into turtles and bugs. And there's the work of Tucson artist Hester Van Heemstra, who makes wall sculptures of javelinas.

In April, 2006, Levine-Buchanan will celebrate her first birthday with the gallery, and while perhaps still in the learning stages, she knows enough to be sure that if she likes something, her customers probably will, too.

It has helped Levine-Buchanan that Tucson's gallery community is a close-knit one. "I've tried to get around and introduce myself to other gallery owners in the area. Everybody's been very supportive," she said.

And the best part? The kids have learned how to do their own laundry.

-- Reprint from Arizona Daily Star Foothills Section, March 2, 2006, written by Gillian Drummond

Paloma Art
4747 E. Sunrise Drive, Suite 101
Tucson, AZ 85718