The Verve: Spirituality, imagination guide artist
Stepping into Deb Blahuczyn’s Spokane Valley home is an experience – a deep breath might emit from a visitor upon crossing the threshold. “Inspiration is the whole point of the gallery,” she said, “That others might find that something special for themselves apart from what is here, if that makes sense.”
Perhaps the feeling of inspiration upon entering her home comes from Blahuczyn’s own reason for creating its current ambience. She has lived in the house since 1982 and it came to a point where she realized “I wasn’t living in it; I was ‘vegging’ in it.”
She wanted to hang a piece of her artwork on a wall but it just wasn’t fitting with the energy of the space. So, instead of getting new furniture, she pulled the carpeting, got rid of most of the furniture, and turned it into Studio B Heartworks Gallery. Heartworks is exactly what it is; works from the heart.
Within and on the walls, she displays her dreamy drawings and oil paintings, including “At My Master’s Feet,” a depiction of the loyalty and trust that dogs feel for their masters, and “Embrace,” which is of a butterfly on a leaf in a unique garden. Some time ago, the butterfly came to her as a sign as she sat in her backyard; one that guided her, in a sense, to spread her wings and create.
In the living/dining area in the main part of the house, light shines through a skylight onto a cozy seating area where one can partake in a cup of tea, coffee, cookies and conversation. Blahuczyn’s pieces and that of a handful of others are comfortably arranged.
Work is also displayed in the hallway leading to a bedroom called “Boarding Room: Circa Early 1900s,” a bathroom with original tile designs, and another bedroom meant for quiet reflection. Another room serves as a work space for matte cutting and multitasking.
Blahuczyn, 54, is a Central Valley High School graduate. She went on to receive a teaching degree from Eastern Washington University but it never got used. Instead, she worked as a custom framer for 30 years.
A self-taught artist, Blahuczyn said, “Rules of art are a hindrance to me. I’m an intuitive artist; I paint what I see and feel.”
Currently she is in her second childhood, creating what her imagination tells her. Much of her work is iconic, easily relatable to viewers of any faith, and based on her spiritual beliefs. Her faith is important to her and her pieces reflect that.
The other pieces displayed are by chain-saw artist Shon Meagley, acrylic painter Reho Barron, Judy Doyle who works in watercolor, oil paintings by Elaine Blaschke, acrylic abstracts by Don Hiatt, ceramics by Kristy McCoy, and Dee Gumenberg’s pastels. They are all different but fit well together as they are all works from the heart.
When asked what her hopes are for what she calls her “little big gallery in the Valley,” she replied, “I don’t really know because there are so many different things it could be. I want it to be what the Lord wants it to be for others … that leaves a wide open door for my visitors. My hope is that I will have visitors and that they will return to see what new things are being created and that we will be able to connect and converse on a lot of levels. Maybe that it could be a meeting place to wrestle out life as it happens.”