On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the INSITE staff walked into Degallery for a painting class and we quickly became aware that this art studio was unlike any other in College Station. The paintings that line the walls feature more than your run-of-the-mill tree scenes and animated animals. There are paintings of galaxies, silhouettes of people with universes inside them, landscapes created in the imagination, and so much more. These pieces have depth and character and are truly reflective of Dary Dega, owner of the gallery.
From the moment we walked through the door, Dega welcomed us in with her warm personality and fun nature. She let us choose our soon-to-be-masterpiece from any of the hundreds of paintings available. She also told us if nothing piqued our interest, then we could show her a photo of what we would like to paint and she would teach us.
After selecting a doe-eyed giraffe on a maroon background, Dega let us get comfortable, told us we were free to let our creativity guide us and make our giraffes any color we wanted, and began to give us step-by-step instructions.
As we started to sketch our giraffes, Dega walked around and fixed what she humorously called the “skinny” or “hungry” giraffes. After she finished giving instructions on each step, Dega walked around to provide assistance and answer any questions we had. From the initial sketches to painting each part of our giraffe, she made sure no one was left behind even though we were almost always on different steps from one another. She cracked jokes as she went along critiquing and fixing our paintings and created a laidback, comfortable atmosphere for everyone involved.
Once we were done, Dega beamed as she took pictures of all of us together with our unique giraffes. By the time our masterpieces were complete we had laughed countless times and our faces hurt from smiling so much. We felt as if we had gained a friend and made cherished memories.
Through taking her class, it’s clear Dega has a passion for art, but it wasn’t always her profession. Originally born in Russia, Dega went to music and art college but then attended a medical university and earned her doctorate degree in neurology. While in Russia, Dega worked to help rehabilitate stroke patients.
Dega moved to College Station after her husband accepted the position as head of the physics department at Texas A&M University. Dega has played piano and painted all her life, but she says it wasn’t until moving to College Station that she had a chance to turn her love for the arts into a career. She opened Degallery about one and a half years ago.
“Maybe some people would look at me and think I’m crazy because I don’t speak English,” says Dega. “I don’t have a marketing education, I don’t know anything about the people or culture here, but I’m so excited and happy to be doing this because I love people so much.”
Dega says she never imagined herself opening an art gallery/studio in the U.S., but is grateful her passion inspired her to start the business.
“I want people to enjoy art because it’s so important,” says Dega. “Nobody knows where life will take them. If you had told me 10 years ago I would move to the United States and open an art gallery I would have thought you were joking.”
Dega has always loved helping people, and now she feels she is able to help them through art, almost like art therapy. “I very much love and enjoy working with people and I’m so happy to be able to help people learn and study art,” says Dega.
Dega wants people to know her gallery isn’t just for art classes though, it’s a place for anyone and everyone to come together in a creative space.
“The gallery is like a small art world in College Station,” Dega says. “It’s not just an art space though, it’s a mixture of everything creative. We have craft classes here, jewelry classes, even ladies’ night out.”
Degallery offers a range of classes from kid and adult painting lessons to sculpture and drawing sessions. It is a multifunctional, creative space open to all ages and levels. Degallery also hosts artist exhibitions and live music and can be rented out for group meetings.
Dega says she’s happy to have any number of people come to her classes, even one is enough. “Ultimately, I just want to make art available to everybody.”
To learn more about Degallery, sign up or schedule an art class, or host an event or exhibition, visit www.degallery.us.
