VALDOSTA — Mother and daughter Fay and Jolie Hyatt made their dream come true by opening Kaleidoscope Gallery in Downtown Valdosta.

The new gallery represents the work of 14 nationally recognized and award-winning artists including Fay Hyatt herself, and it features a wide range of art pieces such as paintings, folk art, stained glass, furniture, jewelry, sculpture and pottery.

“By representing 14 artists, we almost cover everything from wildlife to regional plantation scenes,” Fay Hyatt said.

Kaleidoscope is 2,700 square feet, and about half of it is occupied by the gallery while the rest of the space is designed for studio-setting instruction and workshops.

Fay Hyatt is a Valdosta artist with almost 26 years of experience in painting fine-art portraits.

“My strongest inclination in art is to draw and paint people with their many characteristics; to convey their personalities, dignity, humor and changes, and to catch the human spirit,” she said.

“This is the greatest motivation in my art. A portrait has the capacity to capture likeness, a feeling and a character while enhancing your decor with beautiful movements of paint and brush strokes, and color.”

Eleven years ago, before she and her daughter moved to Valdosta, they lived in Marietta.

While living in Marietta, she worked on portrait painting, and several of her works were accepted into juried art shows in the metro-Atlanta area. In addition to participating in art exhibits, her work won numerous awards in Southeastern regional competitions.

Her painting, “Jewel Radiance,” became part of the permanent collection of the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta. Many of her portraits are and will be hung in eminent local buildings such as the new judicial complex in Valdosta.



Q: Why did you decide to start a business together?



A: Fay: “I’ve been doing fine-art portraiture about almost 26 years, and I also teach. Also, a lot of people have told me to go into fashion.”

Jolie: “... And I have always wanted to open a store.”

Fay: “So I suggested to Jolie that we might do this as a venture and open a gallery, teach in a studio, and have a setting for my portraiture as well.”



Q: What is unique about your gallery?



A: Fay: “I think mainly that we are going to offer studio settings to teach classes and workshops. I think this is the only studio in Valdosta which offers fine-art portraiture.”



Q: What is your goal as owners of a gallery?



A: Fay: “We’d like to make Downtown Valdosta the place to come and buy art, and all our artists are either local, regional or national artists — all American artists. Also, our goal here is to teach and give a venue for artists to sell their work. We also want to make people realize that they can come here and look at the gallery if they consider decorating an area or giving a gift item. For example, Father’s Day is coming now, and we have a lot of nice things that a man would enjoy.”



Q: What instruction classes and workshops do you offer?



A: Fay: “I currently teach at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts once a week, and I will be opening the studio area at the gallery to teach at least one more session and some weekend workshops. We are trying to have four nationally recognized artists every year for the workshops.”



Q: Who can participate in the workshops and classes?



A: Fay: “All kinds of people can participate with all levels of artistic ability. Often, people have gone into a profession and when they retire, they go back to their first love which is usually art. People who are interested can call or visit us and give us their contact information.”



Q: What is your contact information?



A: Fay: “Our e-mail address is kaleidoscope123@att.net. The phone number is (229) 245-1289. Jolie is the contact person. The location is 123 N. Ashley St., Valdosta.”



Q: Hours of operation?



A: Jolie: “Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m.-4p.m.”



Q: Anything else you would like to add?



A: Fay: “Jolie and I want our gallery to enhance all artistic endeavor in Valdosta. We hope that everyone will come to see all the art in Downtown Valdosta and make a special point to visit Kaleidoscope to see all the beautiful artwork the 14 artists, we currently represent, have created.”