Efren Lopez of Route 66 Images, who is also a member of the recently formed Verde Valley Cultural Collective nonprofit, opened the 369 Little Gallery on Nov. 15 at 369 S. Third Street in Camp Verde. The gallery will be open from noon to 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
“I’m going to continue to do the mid-century decor here,” Lopez said. “So even the beds will be midcentury. The whole vibe is to make art look like what it would look like in a home.”
VVCC was founded by artists Tennousei Liila Leslie, Barry Brennan, Jennifer Kira Eissinger and Lopez to bring together artists working in all disciplines, including photography, painting, sculpture, jewelry-making, music, poetry and writing, with a focus on community engagement.
“Once we formed the Verde Valley Cultural Collective, we [needed] to find a home to showcase the artwork of the group,” Lopez said.
VVCC held its first pop-up art sale on May 18 at Distant Drums RV Resort and is also currently maintaining a rotating exhibit at the Camp Verde Community Library through February.
“Its intent is to promote the artists in the Verde Valley, and to create an inviting environment,” Lopez said. “This space is friendlier than going to a regular gallery. The artists seem to enjoy being there, and we have coffee meetups. The goal is to promote the artists and to help them how to sell. Because I’ve been in galleries for the last 10 years, so I know what sells and what doesn’t. So I encourage them to turn their work into material that will end up selling well.”
Another of the gallery’s short-term goals is to draw more foot traffic to the downtown Camp Verde area after 5 p.m.
Lopez said that he is working on converting a 1950s-style trailer into a mobile gallery and that attendees of the Pecan and Wine Festival in March can anticipate a mini-mobile gallery showing of VVCC members’ works on a bicycle display that he is constructing.
“Efren was born in a small town in Guatemala and immigrated to Phoenix, with his mother and younger brother,” his artist biography stated. “After studying visual communication at Phoenix College, Efren enlisted in the Air Force Reserve in 1998 and was assigned as a combat photojournalist to the 4th Combat Camera Squadron … Efren deployed to Afghanistan, where he documented combat and humanitarian missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.”
Efren has two children in Chicago, and driving to visit them led to him choosing the name Route 66 Images for his photography business.
“I hate flying, and along the way that led to the owners of the hotels would say, ‘Can you make postcards for us?’” Erfren said. “Pretty soon, I started making posters, books and calendars and now I have 48 shops in all eight states from Chicago to L.A along the 66 that buy from me.”
The 369 Little Gallery’s next big event will be a Christmas art party and art sale on Friday, Dec. 20.
“This is going to be a waystation for monarch butterflies,” Lopez said. “In the spring, we’re going to have a bunch of plants. I want artists to sit out there and draw the butterflies and let our surroundings be creative also … We have a backyard where we’re going to grow a lot of the herbs for the teas that we’ll drink here.”
369 is currently showing the works of Barry Brennan, Marjory Boyer, Frank Clara, Alex Richards, Debora Christy Love, Lynne Spencer, Lenore Velky, Mateo Moreno, Rosario Miranda and Lopez.
“The long-term goal is for artists to develop into going to bigger galleries, so they can go into Sedona, Jerome, as they build their confidence, and then they’re selling well,” Lopez said. “This is a different feel than most galleries. When we do a couple of shows, we have artists that are creating art. So it’s almost like a performance place. Eventually our goal is to have music here, to have poetry and promote all the arts.”
For more information, contact Lopez at (602) 570- 8157 or at route66images@gmail.com. The Verde Valley Cultural Collective can also be found on Facebook.
