EYE FOR DESIGN

Artist Teri Causey with her new, colorful furniture. COURTESY PHOTO Artist Teri Causey's whimsical handcarved and hand-painted furnishings have perked up Southwest Florida galleries and boutiques for more than two decades. Now this youthful fulltime artist has assumed full ownership of the colorful McGregor Art Gallery and uses it as both a showroom and alternative studio space. While her gallery offers shoppers a fun variety of objects and jewelry by a few select artists besides herself, it's primarily Ms. Causey's functional artwork and accessories that are showcased there. Each room of the friendly little gallery is brimming with door stoppers; storage boxes; decorative pieces like mermaids, fish and pelicans; and of course, Ms. Causey's one-of-a-kind furnishings.

"I used to find used furniture to paint," she says, of the wooden pieces which first bore her signature look. "But the problem was it always had a finish on it which I had to sand off," she explains, "and then people would want another piece. And I didn't have another piece." Ms. Causey faced her dilemma head-on, deciding to build her own furniture, but construction wasn't her forte. "I've shot nails through my hand," she laments.

Ms. Causey's work was met with such enthusiasm, however, that she was featured in numerous venues throughout the area. Sanibel Island's Matsumoto Gallery was one of the first to show her furniture. She also exhibited and sold pieces at Island Style, Tower Gallery and Seaweed Gallery on Sanibel; Trader Rick's in Bell Tower; and Dennison Moran Gallery on Naples' Fifth Avenue.

For quite some time, she was building simpler pieces, and on weekends, her husband, contractor Louie Garofalo, would help construct more complicated furnishings. Her success eventually afforded a new way of life for them both, however, as Louie has since quit contracting to build furniture fulltime. He leaves it to his capable wife, however, to carve and paint each piece in her inimitable style. "It's a freedom," she confesses, of being relieved of the tool belt. "And now that he builds it," she says with a laugh, "it's not crooked."

The process of taking an unfinished chest of drawers or sofa table and creating a unique piece of functional art is laborious but pleasing to Ms. Causey. "I carve each design out with a wood burner," she says, of the tropical patterns which swathe her furnishings. "It's a really, really hot wood burner, not like the off-the-shelf variety." The carving process takes hours, and then Ms. Causey applies about four coats of paint and finish to each piece.

Ms. Causey and her husband constantly shuttle furniture and accessories back and forth from their waterfront home and studio in South Fort Myers to the gallery. "We do special orders," says Ms. Causey, but otherwise, "I can always do exactly what I want to." Ms. Causey gets her inspiration from the Southwest Florida environment, and two passions that she and her husband share: diving and fishing.

"I'm working on a chest right now," says Ms. Causey, whose gallery also holds trunks, hutches, mirrors, tables, and something new that's caught her fascination: children's measuring sticks, of the kind that measure changes in height. She has, through the years, gotten numerous requests to do entire kitchens within a patron's home, but so far, hasn't been convinced to take the plunge on someone's cabinetry. She's not opposed to taking risks, however.

"We do have some new work coming out that's totally different, that I'm totally excited about," she explains. "It's been going into the gallery this week and so far it's been selling almost every day that it's going on. It's a much brighter line, with a lot of depth." Ms. Causey says, "I'm putting more time into each piece, but I'm not charging more. It's exciting to do something new," she says, "when you've been doing something for so long, and people have been saying 'Don't change.' Now, they're actually accepting the new look."

Ms. Causey grew up in Tupelo, and attended business school at Ole Miss before moving in with her brother — also an artist — in Sarasota and taking classes at Ringling. Now she's been in the area for 21 years.

Ms. Causey is thrilled with her inviting new spot and McGregor Art Gallery is quickly developing a loyal following. She's in the gallery most days, as is her friend of 15 years, Denice McEnroe, whose Island Framing shares the space. "Our customers are a really great help for me when they come to me and tell me what they want," says Ms. Causey. "I realize how smart their ideas are."