Tresham Gregg’s Sea Wolf Gallery is reopening from 4 to 6 p.m. this Saturday, nearly a year after the log cabin was damaged by a fire last July.
The front of the gallery building was heavily charred. The front windows blew out in the fire, allowing flames inside, though most of the interior damage was from smoke and water.
“The whole front had about a half an inch of charcoal on it,” Gregg said. “I scraped off all the charcoal. We had to replace the whole porch and stairs and put new windows in and replace some of the glass in the other windows. The interior was also damaged. I lost a number of carvings and other smaller items. We had to grind the walls all over the interior and re-stain them, then also paint the ceilings and the rafters.”
Gregg said he didn’t have insurance and paid for the repairs out of pocket. “Poor artists don’t buy insurance.”
Gregg said his gallery is now filled with carvings, metal sculptures and paintings he created over the winter. He said he also plans to conduct painting, wood-carving and puppet-making classes in a wall tent behind the gallery throughout the summer.
The woman who set the fire pleaded guilty to arson and criminal mischief, both class C felonies, this month. Two additional charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.