Upstart Crow - Fine Art
By Mike Ironside (From the Nov. 16 issue of 365Ink Magazine.)

If the local art scene were an expansive, bird-filled tree, some of those birds might be wondering about the large bird that just landed on that main branch. Okay, that is a really weak analogy in a lame attempt to start this article introducing the newest addition to the local art scene, Upstart Crow. I apologize. Let me just tell you about it.

Named for a derogatory nickname for Shakespeare, Upstart Crow is a fine art gallery and frame shop created by Tracey Briggs in the first floor of the Platinum Building at 137 Main Street in Dubuque. The 2,700 square-foot gallery, which opened November 9 offers work by a number of artists previously unavailable in the area, a coffee bar and a private viewing room.

Inspired by work she did three years ago in helping to decorate the Platinum Building offices of her husband, developer and building owner Wayne Briggs, she used the experience as a springboard to start her own business. Working directly with Chicago gallery owners and framers to find the perfect art to finish spaces on the third, fourth and fifth floors of the building, Briggs loved the experience and realized she wanted to work in that environment.

A mother of four with some experience in decorating and floral design, Briggs began by doing research, both online and by attending art shows in places like Las Vegas and Atlanta. Searching for art that matched her vision for the gallery, she looked not only for art that appealed to her own eye, but sought out artists with confidence and ambition - artists who were not complacent, who were still growing as artists and putting in the extra work to come better known. After narrowing the field, she met with artists to see if they were people of integrity - people with which she would want to work.
“I tried to be very selective in my artists,” reports Briggs. While the gallery features work by a variety of artists, the “stars” of the space are renowned glass artist Charles Lotton, Atlanta-based painter Ford Smith and Nigerian by way of Atlanta painter (Onyeka) Ibe. All nationally-known artists, Lotton is probably the most popular, having been featured on the HGTV network for his work. A fourth artist, wildlife painter and Dubuque resident, Mike Meyer rounds out the gallery’s main offerings.

Not content to sit back, Briggs is always looking for new artists and plans to carry more work by local artists. “We first focused on nationally-known artists but will have more local artists in the future,” she said.

While the prices for work by some of the artists might be a bit higher than what some in the local art community are used to, Briggs thinks Dubuque is ready for more upscale art. With the continuing progress of the city, especially the downtown, she feels the timing is right. Still, she acknowledges that there might be a learning curve for the local art community. “I’m hoping I’m the beginning (of a trend) with more to follow,” she expressed. Ultimately, Briggs wants to be an art consultant to the community. “I want to build a relationship with the community,” she said, “I want to be their art consultant for life.”

In addition to fine art sales, Upstart Crow offers framing services. The frame shop carries a full line of archival materials and top-of-the-line mouldings like the exclusive Nurre-Caxton line. “We want to carry the best available to the client,” said Briggs. As a new board member of the Dubuque Museum of Art, Briggs provided framing for all of the unframed art to be featured in the Museum’s annual Art Auction.

Along with gallery director and framer Amy Holland, and framer Jeff Ley, who has over 20 years of custom framing experience, Briggs went to framing school to learn more about the business. While she did help with the framing to prepare for the gallery opening, in the future she will probably utilize her framing knowledge more in the areas of decorating and sales.

Other future plans include the creation of a second gallery location at the Star Brewery, another project in development by husband Wayne. She expects the brewery gallery to see more tourist traffic at the Port of Dubuque location.

For now, Briggs is concentrating on the day to day operation of the gallery. Though glad to have the excitement of the opening behind her (“It’s been a whirlwind this week,” she confesses), she still plans to have openings for other exhibits or particular artists, including an upcoming appearance by glass artist Lotton scheduled for December 8.

For more information, visit the gallery! Okay, if you have any questions, call Tracey at (563) 590-2967 or (563) 582-7778.