Owner Mike Roberts is pictured in front of the Wheat Ridge Gallery sign he designed and built in front of the gallery on Wheat Ridge Road. The gallery will have its grand opening this weekend.
UNITY - Former Cincinnati-area attorney Mike Roberts, along with his wife, Paulette, always wanted an art gallery. So, upon his retirement some 20 years ago, they moved to West Virginia, bought a farm and ... started a theater.
"I've been involved in the arts and performing arts all my life," Mike said. "We produced about 50 to 60 shows a year - plays and musicals in an old Mormon church that we converted."
Roberts said that running the theater and farming was a lot of fun, but ultimately they decided that they couldn't farm forever and decided to move back to southern Ohio to be closer to most of their children and grandchildren.
"We started looking in a radius of 50-70 miles of Cincinnati," he said. "My son happened to pick up a copy of The People's Defender. He saw an ad and called and said that our search was over, this is it."
Roberts said he and his wife fell in love with the property on Wheat Ridge Road and particularly liked the little Amish "doty" house that was occupied in front of them.
"When we first moved in there was a little old Amish couple living there," Roberts said. "But we always thought that the house would make a lovely art gallery if it should ever come up for sale."
The old couple that occupied the house moved away two years ago and Roberts sprung at the opportunity.
Now, Roberts' lifelong ambition is about to come to fruition this weekend as he hosts the grand opening of the Wheat Ridge Gallery Saturday, Sept. 1 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The gallery will also open Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. and again on Monday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"We'll mostly display and sell works from local artists," he said. "We also have some regional and national artists lined up as well."
According to Roberts, the gallery will feature a wide range of arts, crafts and antiquities including: oil, watercolor and pastel paintings; sculpture; fine home furnishings, including artistic and antique furniture; stained glass; world class art pottery and a splendid collection of Amish quilts will be featured.
"This is the perfect location for an art gallery in southern Ohio," said local artist Connie Barrett. "Because of the tourism trade with the Amish community right here, people come for day trips and want to see everything and spend lots of time and money wherever they go."
Roberts said he has about 12-14 artists lined up already and is hoping for more once the gallery opens and is in full swing.
"I've had several people stop to see if we were open already, so we have great expectations for the future," Roberts said.
Former art teacher and local artist Elaine Lafferty also expressed her opinion of the gallery.
"I am just delighted to have another artistic outlet in the county," she said.
