Business & Tech

Mother and Son Share Vision to Open Art Studio in Little Compton

Beach and Bass Studios opens this Friday and runs their open house through the weekend.

A family from Little Compton opens a shop this Saturday striving to provide a new haven in the area for artists to showcase an array of mediums on consignment.

Galen and Travis Snow invite the public to the opening weekend of Beach and Bass Studios, at 220 West Main Road, Little Compton, featuring fine art from Galen, mother, and photography from Travis, son. Both featured their work at this past summer's

The Snow's shop is open this Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m. They are still building a website.

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Galen said they are open for exhibitions and will hold photography classes, and the art they provide will be done on consignment. She added they plan to have featured artists on a monthly basis.

“This coming weekend is the opening to showcase our stuff,” she said. “Through the Christmas season, we’ll be open with other artists exhibiting here.”

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Galen said she already has a jewelry and pottery artist bringing work to the studio.

Her husband, Clark, assisted in providing the space on their property, converting a two-car garage, formerly his father’s farmhouse, into the studio. Clark jacked the roof up five feet to allow for the studio space on the first floor, and Galen and Travis’ workspace to be on the second floor.

Eventually, Clark plans to make picture frames at the studio out of recycled wood, and sell them.

Vision for their art brought the Snows' venture together

Residents may remember the Beach and Bass gift shop on Meeting House Lane some time ago. That’s because Galen’s father-in-law owned the shop and wanted to keep the name alive in a new venue. She is originally from the Pacific northwest.

“We’re very grateful and fortunate to be able to do this,” Galen said about their business venture. “We got a lot of encouragement from friends and family.”

She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008 and specializes in mixed media, such as ink, watercolor and paper.

“I like creating things from scratch,” she said.

During her time going to school full-time in Providence, Galen commuted to Newport to manage a retail store, and juggled that for five years. Prior to that, she commuted to Boston’s North Shore for several years working in the restaurant and hospitality business.

“My parents directed me to the people-person business,” Galen said.

With the economy tanking, she grew fed up with paying the gas prices for her commutes, and always fell back to her love for art. Galen was inspired to take the venture with her son, adding they have a vision, and she wants to support Travis’ art.

A graduate, Travis finished the New England School of Photography in 2009 and moved to San Diego for a year. He also came back every summer to lifeguard at , and helped at . He said he got into photography from taking pictures surfing.

Using his Nikon D300, Travis specializes in landscapes, and he’s showing a ton of shots from his travels across the country, such as at Arcadia National Park in Utah. Travis also has a spectacular shot of a sunset at South Shore Beach.

"I'm very proud with what he's done with his work and his direction," Galen said. "Why not start off with art? Explore all the facets of it."


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