by Melissa Macker, Executive Director
Imagine life without art. No paintings to brighten your home or photos that inspired you. No pottery in your kitchen. No way to creatively express yourself. No art classes to have fun with friends at.
It would be awfully dull, wouldn’t it?
Downtown Macon wouldn’t be what it is without artists. And it wouldn’t be where it is today without our donors paving the way for artists to display and sell their artwork, teach classes, create pottery, put on events, and learn business skills.
Artists like Heatherly.
Being an artist has long been part of Heatherly’s identity. But changing jobs, motherhood, and the closure of another community art space took her away from working with art or even making art. For a time, she forgot that part of herself. In a sense, she forgot how to be herself.
Through The 567—and because of generous donors—Heatherly found her way back to being an artist.
In the summer of 2020, staff at The 567 asked Heatherly to make fifteen small pieces for an art scavenger hunt downtown. She agreed, and began to carve out a small amount of space and time at home to make art. Once she finished her fifteen, she kept making them. Soon, her artwork took another turn.
She enjoyed making ceramics in college, but hadn’t made any pottery in the 20 years since then. When she attended a pottery making event with a friend one night at The 567, she immediately fell back in love with it. Shortly after, she joined The 567’s pottery studio.
Thanks to donors, the studio at The 567 not only provided her with access to ceramics equipment, it gave her a place to be an artist without the demands of being a boss or a mom, and gave her a new artist community. It gave her a place to be herself.
As she began to make art again, she realized she didn’t have room for it all at home—so she planned an art exhibit! For almost a year, the exhibit was a goal for her to work towards. It helped her to stop putting art on the back burner. It also meant a lot to her to have it at The 567’s gallery, a place that felt like a safe and inviting retreat to her for eleven years.
The community loved her exhibit, too—and many people bought her paintings, sculptures, and mugs to keep. Now Heatherly looks forward continuing to sell unique ceramic pieces through The 567’s gallery downtown, making more mugs, and creating new series of sculptures.
We are entering the season of giving, when many people give to the organizations and causes they care about. Please make a gift to The 567 today so that we can continue to be a place for people like Heatherly to have a creative retreat.