The 109 Gallery

06/01/2026

✨ That denim jacket in your closet deserves a second life.

Gather your girlfriends, your favorite bottle of wine, a few snacks, and that tote, jacket, bandana, or shirt you've been meaning to do something with.

For one evening, The 109 Gallery is transforming into a cozy Print Bar where you'll learn simple printmaking techniques and create custom wearable art you'll actually want to wear.

No artistic experience required.

Just good conversation, creativity, a little experimentation, and a chance to make something uniquely your own.

💖 Bring your own clothing or fabric item
🍷 BYOB and your favorite snacks
✨ Light refreshments provided
🎨 All printing materials included

Make a night of it. Grab dinner beforehand at Railhead Station, then stroll over to the gallery. Or skip dinner and create your own girls' charcuterie night right here while you print, laugh, and make memories together.

Whether you're coming with your best friend, your sister, your mom, your book club, or flying solo, you'll leave with a one-of-a-kind piece and a fun story behind it.

📍 The 109 Gallery
Historic Downtown Chickamauga

📅 Saturday, June 6
⏰ 6–9 PM

Spots are limited.

Wear it. Gift it. Love it.

Register here:
www.forestandfernchattanooga.com/upcoming-workshops

KZ106 Chattanooga Times Free Press

05/30/2026

Rick Sanders solo show on view, til June 13. It’s been a chill day at the gallery, Rick was at the gallery to welcome those that dropped in. I am returning as well and will see folks this week. June classes and workshops are open so check that out.

See you at The 109.

05/28/2026

This post and the legacy the Howard Finster's Paradise Garden is just one of many reasons I’m thankful to be collaborating with and them through the Chickapalooza festival coming up, celebrating our regional and local heritage in the arts and folk arts, craft, music and culture. See y’all June 27th historic downtown Chickamauga ga. City of Chickamauga, Walker Rocks

This Memorial Day, we salute brave service members who made the ultimate sacrifice with this Howard Finster print, “Oh Say Can You See,” which spotlights Francis Scott Key’s "Star Spangled Banner."
In 1992, Washington, D.C.'s Govinda Gallery hosted the exhibition "Howard Finster: American Flag Paintings," featuring a collection made by the patriotic Georgia folk artist (1916-2001). The gallery also published an exhibition catalog as well as two limited edition silkscreen prints, “Oh Say Can You See” and “More Than A Piece of Cloth.” Each 26" x 35" print on archival paper was hand-pulled. They are signed and titled in pencil by Howard.
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We have copies of “Oh Say Can You See” available as part of our ongoing Paradise Garden exhibition “Saving Souls: How Howard Finster Used Prints to Multiply His Message” (now on view in the World's Folk Art Church). The prints are available for purchase, with a percentage benefiting Paradise Garden’s daily operations and ongoing restoration.

05/25/2026

Visitor moments from the week at ✨ Thank you to everyone who has spent time with Rick Sanders’ exhibition, shared conversation, and supported the arts in our growing creative community.

Special gallery hours with the artist present will continue through this coming week ahead before regular gallery hours resume June 1st:
Regular hours Tuesday–Friday | 11 AM–6 PM | Saturday special event hours

We’re also excited to share that booking is opening soon for our Special Class on June 9th link in bio and on website to signup, and Youth Summer Art Camp registration is now officially open link in bio and on our website to register.

The exhibition remains on view, and there is so much more ahead this season at The 109 Gallery.

Explore upcoming classes, camps, exhibitions, and events in the arts with us.

05/21/2026

Sharing this striking work title "The" from Rick Sanders’ current solo exhibition at The 109 Gallery.

"The" unfolds like a surreal desert mirage suspended somewhere between memory, dream, and horizon line. Sanders layers luminous color, fragmented imagery, and poetic tension into a landscape that feels both cinematic and deeply psychological. The technical precision of the oil painting pulls you closer, while textures, shifting perspectives, and symbolic forms continue to unfold into new meanings the longer you sit with it. I must say, this piece is stunning, keeps me the feeling of presence that causes a leap of joy and curiousity out of me, like seeing a friend after a long time apart with much mysterious adventues to catch up on.

There’s something invitational here, a dreamscape built through light, surface, and atmosphere.

On view Tuesday–Friday | 11 AM–6 PM ✨

05/18/2026

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate Rick Sanders’ solo exhibition at The 109 Gallery last night. ✨

It was such a meaningful evening filled with conversation, connection, and support for an incredible artist, friend, and colleague. We are deeply grateful to all who spent time with the work, shared in thoughtful dialogue, and supported the exhibition through the purchase of artworks. Nights like these remind us how vital community and the arts truly are.

I’ll be sharing more photos from the evening soon, along with moments from the exhibition and installation.

The exhibition remains on view at The 109 Gallery
🕰️ Gallery Hours This Week: Tuesday–Friday | 11 AM–6 PM

We hope you’ll stop by for more encounters with Rick’s powerful and thoughtful work.

05/16/2026

Tonight at The 109 Gallery Gallery reception 6pm ( but open all day)
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Join us for the opening reception of Rick Sanders’ solo exhibition, an evening of dynamic work, conversation, and community in the heart of Historic Downtown Chickamauga. Rick’s work moves between gesture, texture, memory, and atmosphere in ways that feel both grounded and expansive. We’re excited to share this body of work with our region and beyond.

Come spend the evening surrounded by art, good company, wine, and creative energy. Whether you are a longtime collector, artist, supporter of the arts, or simply curious, all are welcome.

📍 The 109 Gallery
🕰️ Reception Tonight 6pm
🎨 Solo Exhibition by Rick Sanders

Bring a friend, share the evening, and help support contemporary art and artists in the Southeast. Down Home Festival is happening too 11am-8pm don't miss the fun.



Walker Rocks City of Chickamauga

05/16/2026

05/09/2026

🎨 Rick Sanders: Ubiquitous Fractures
Opening Reception | May 16 | 6–9 PM
The 109 Gallery | Historic Downtown Chickamauga, GA

Join us for an evening celebrating the work of painter, author, veteran, and retired arts educator Rick Sanders. Spanning more than four decades of sustained studio practice, Sanders’ paintings explore memory, domestic space, storytelling, and the shifting emotional landscapes of everyday life through layered fractured portraits and painted collages.

As both a curator and artist colleague, I continue returning to the strange tenderness and unfolding narratives within Rick’s work. These are paintings that reveal themselves slowly over time—works rich with symbolism, intuition, humor, history, and lived experience.

We’ll have refreshments, small bites, great conversation, and the opportunity to experience firsthand the breadth of an artist whose work has become an enduring part of the regional contemporary arts landscape.

Hope y’all will come spend the evening with us and help celebrate this incredible exhibition and artist.

Leah Dalton
Owner & Curator


Featuring works and writings highlighted through the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Chattanooga Pulse, LOCATE Arts, and more.

Make a day of it, downhome days festival is happening 11am-8pm in our Historic Downtown Chickamauga,

City of Chickamauga Railhead Station Shack Sports Cards

02/05/2026

As I deinstall Bodies & Borders: Ecologies of Consent and begin resetting the gallery for what’s next, I’m also leaning into a month of showing up for the spaces and people that continually inspire, support, and nourish our creative community. February is all about celebrating the places I love, learning from, gathering in, and proudly supporting near and far.

From museums and artist-run spaces to music rooms, movement studios, publishers, and local favorites, I’m grateful for the ecosystems that make art, culture, and connection thrive.

This month I’ll be attending, sharing, and cheering on:

✨ Hunter Museum of American Art
📚 Walnut Street Publishing
🎨 Studio Ours
🖤 Boneyard
🎶 Wanderlinger Brewing Company
📖 Stories & Songs
🎧 The Woodshop Listening Room
🧘‍♀️ Ember Movement Studio
🌙 Southern Shadows
🗿 Sculpture Fields at Montague Park
🔥 Stove Works
🍺 OddStory Brewing Co.
🌲 The Hambidge Center for Creative Arts & Sciences

So grateful for these spaces that hold creativity, care, dialogue, and community. More February moments to share soon 🤍

Stories & Songs Southern Shadows Inc. .cha