We’re all creative and the local not-for-profit “Women Centered Art” celebrates this fact. Women Centered Art is a laid-back gallery, but especially noteworthy are its different offerings for the artist inside all of us. Whether you are a professional artist looking for a new experience or place to share your current work or you haven’t made anything in too long to remember, this place is about renewal and community.

Don’t let the name fool you that only women are welcome. Though started and run by women who felt inspired to create their own organization in a field sometimes dominated by male leadership, Women Centered Art is about and for all artists, male and female. It has plenty of men and women who participate and enjoy the different shows and events.

Saturday, Dec. 10, there are two reasons to check out Women Centered Art. You can double your holiday fun by experiencing a new art exhibit called “small works².” This artwork is about the small being BIG and examining the potential for creative diversity within a restricted set of formal limitations. The show will be on view starting at 2 p.m., but the opening reception — with artists in attendance — is from 6 to 8 p.m. (Exhibit runs through Dec. 30.)

In conjunction with this show is the second annual “Queen of Craft Market,” which will include lots of creative, fun activities as well as browsing for local hand-made gifts — from traditional fine art to painted silk scarves and even crazy hula hoops will be available.

During the Queen of Craft Market, participate in the free activities, like an ongoing kid’s craft table and DIY gift-wrapping station. There will even be DIY Christmas lights for your computer — with a small charge for this activity to cover supply costs.

Now in its second year, Women Centered Art is taking shape and shaping the lives of other creative spirits. Women Centered Art Founder and President Shane Agostinelli is an artist and teacher who works closely with her Vice President, Diana Arvanites, a local artist and activist who was a 2010 Affiliate Artist at the McColl Center for Visual Art (a Knight arts grantee).

Imagine a place that feels like a second home to artistic spirits; a place that offers space to create, workshops, community classes for those new to creative practice and where mentoring relationships between emerging and professional artists form. There are monthly potlucks for members, group and solo exhibitions, film screenings, different outreach projects and even more things on the horizon in 2012.

Women Centered Art is volunteer run and is committed to supporting local artists. One way it does this is through its community gallery space. If you are interested in showing or have an idea for an exhibition, please contact them.

Except for classes and workshops, most of its events are free. There is also plenty of free parking at its 711 Pressley Road location on the very outskirts of South End. (Pressley is right off S. Tryon Road. This major intersection is near the Billy Graham Parkway.) Feel free to stop by during its listed “open” times and special scheduled events, or e-mail them to make an appointment.

Women Centered Art 711 Pressley Road Charlotte, N.C. 28217 [email protected] Regular Hours: Tuesday: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday: during an event Thursday: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. “small works²” Exhibit runs from Dec. 10 thru Dec. 30, 2011 (small works² opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 10) “Queen of Craft Market” is from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10