From kids in preschool, to activity groups in retirement villages, people make art. Look around any room. From your doctor’s waiting room to your sister’s bedroom, you’ll almost invariably find art on the walls. Art is everywhere.

We often talk about art and commerce as if they’re opposites, like salt and pepper, or oil and water. But in fact, art makes up a significant segment of the American economy. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, arts and cultural industries contribute over 4% of US GDP. That’s about 1.17 trillion with a “T” dollars. Art is not the opposite of business. Art is business.

Laura and Michael Granberry, Owners of Art of Simple in Seaside and the more recent Art-of-Facts in Watersound

In Seaside, graphic artist Laura Granberry and her photographer husband, Michael, combine art and commerce in their retail store, The Art of Simple. If you live here, or even if you’ve only visited Seaside once, you’ve no doubt experienced the almost child-like wonder of wandering off of Central Square into the Granberry’s store. It’s largely a world where art meets functionality in colorful and often whimsical versions of everyday items. The Granberry’s opened the Central Square store in 2013 and over the years it’s grown from a curiosity to an anchor store in the square.

And then there’s the other end of the spectrum: art for art’s sake. Where the perception of an artist creates a representation of an object that is intended to amuse or provoke the observer. It’s often also intended to be a thing of beauty that will enrich the viewer’s life in some way each time they look at it. Forever. That’s a tall order.

And over the millennia it has motivated artists to find new ways of expressing themselves, and new ways of showing us the world around us. You might think that in the course of human history, artists have discovered every possible method of creating pieces of art. But that’s not true. In the same way Taylor Swift doesn’t sound quite like any of the millions of musicians who came before her, visual artists move the process of visual arts forward in their own unique ways. Like Allison Wickey.

Allison Wickey, artist and Owner of the gallery Art Basha spends up to 75% of her creative time painting commissions

Allison uses a 13-step, four-day process that involves Venetian plaster, acrylic paint, glazes, and an orbital sander to create works that showcase vibrant landscapes, animals, and marine life.

Entrepreneur of the Week

Our Entrepreneur of the Week this week is Jessica Anderson, screenwriter, film producer and director, and Founder and Owner of film production company, That Girl Media. Jessica is the Producer and Direcfor of the documentarym “The Flight of Jackie Cochran.”

Jessica Anderson, screenwriter, film producer, director, and owner of That Girl Media, currently promoting her movie, The Flight Of Jackie Cochran, at film festivals and screenings across the country

It’s no secret that things are changing here in the Panhandle. As the area grows in all kinds of ways, our perception of ourselves changes too. We no longer have to look at the area as a backdrop for movies. We can be a place where movie makers live and make movies, like Jessica Anderson. We can be a place where artists not only come to for inspiration, we can be a place where artists come from. Like Allison Wickey. Michael and Laura Granberry have proven there’s more to beach-inspired design than seagull lamps and framed sand dollars. And we can be a place where we not only consume programs from NPR, we can contribute programs to the NPR network.

Laura Granberry, Co-Owner of The Art of Simple in Saeaside. Her graphic design background has given birth to Clementine, the throwback 50’s style devil-may-care beach girl who graces a range of Art of Simple products

Michael Granberry, photographer turned retailer, opened Seaside’s iconic The Art of Simple with his wife Laura originally in Grayton Beach as a joint project when they relocated from Atlanta

Allison Wickey, artist and Owner of the gallery Art Basha is digging her toes in the sand, maintaining her own standards even as the nature of neighborhood is changing

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Farm & Fire restaurant on Highway 331. Photos by Brandan Babineaux.