I would like to begin this newsletter with an update of our progress here in the gallery. We purchased the building just a few months ago and since that time have been working on renovating it into our new gallery! It has been a lot of hard work, but well worth the love, time and energy put into it! We have been pulling up carpet, pulling down and putting back up walls, scraping, sanding and refinishing floors, wiring, painting, redecorating, furnishing and so much more to make this gallery a beautiful and comfortable experience for all of you who visit us! It is coming along wonderfully, and though we have had a few setbacks over the last few months, we are still expecting to open our doors to the public for the first time this spring. We hope that you will join us in celebrating our Grand Opening!

We do have some new events that I would like to mention. Chris’ work is currently on display through the end of this month at Lisa’s Upstairs Bookstore, located upstairs of Ely hotspot Piragis. (The website is www.Piragis.com.) Another exciting upcoming event will be Chris’ display in the Ely ArtWalk during Ely’s infamous Winter Festival!! The exhibit begins on February 1st and runs through the 10th. There will be an Ely ArtWalk Opener and Meet the Artist reception on February 2nd from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Chocolate Moose. We certainly hope that you will be able to join us for the festivities and enjoy all that the Winter Festival and ArtWalk have to offer you! More information can be found at www.elyartwalk.org and www.elywinterfestival.com. Be sure to check out both of these great sites and come visit awesome Ely, Minnesota if you can! We look forward to seeing you there!

The website has been undergoing the same overhaul as the new building! We have been working hard to bring you our newest feature The Light Box to improve your visit as well as your viewing and ordering processes! We hope that you enjoy this newest feature and take the chance to experiment with it once in a while! We will be continuing to improve and expand this feature over the next few months. Watch for updates here in the newsletter as well as on the main site. We have also been continuing to update the site with Chris’ newest photographs and are constantly increasing our online gallery. We hope that you will continue to let us know what you think about these new features and photographs with your e-mails, calls and letters. We always appreciate hearing from you and hope that you will have patience if our response is a little behind right now because of our very full plate!

I would like to once again thank each of you for visiting our site, making our silly little “newsletter” such a hit, your purchases, calls, letters and e-mails! We love hearing from all of you and encourage you to continue to keep in touch with us! We are certainly delighted that so many of you have chosen to take a piece of Minnesota home with you and that Chris has been able to provide you with an lasting vision of these northwoods! Please continue to check in with us on occasion, many new photographs and features will be placed over the next few weeks! Thank you again!

Enjoy these wondrous winter days that we are having! Be safe out on the lakes and be sure to check the ice conditions before venturing out too far! This winter has provided us with a snowfall so excellent that even the most avid snowbird has to appreciate it! So be sure to get out your sleds, skis and dogsleds and hit those trails! Until next month, keep your eyes open, your camera ready and your snowshoes by the back door!

Regards From Under the Northern Lights,

Chris & Micah Perry