Art has been a passion of Kim Winn since she was a young girl drawing on the floor. After the passing of her brother and then her father a few years ago, she decided to pursue her artist’s dream and give back to the community she grew up in. 

Winn held a soft opening of her new Artistic Expressions Feb. 24-25. Located at 7336 Woodrow St. is in close proximity to Irmo Town Hall and Irmo Town Park, the space  features an array of artists and their works—  including Winn’s own creations which she said she uses to “fill in the space.”

In addition to the featured artists whose work is for sale at the studio, there is a creator space people can rent out for their own creative needs. 

Winn hasn’t secured prices yet, but they’re in the works and will be set for the public soon. She does have a website, artistic-aspirations.com, where people can inquire about renting the space for small events or the art studio itself. They can also call or email the center at (803) 206-7970 or artisticaspirations7336@gmail.com. 

“I’m an athletic trainer by trade. I’ve been athletic training for 30 years,” Winn said. “About three years ago my brother passed away from a rare form of cancer and then my dad passed. I moved back to Irmo [to help out].”

She recalled a conversation she had with a close friend:

“I could’ve come back and been an athletic trainer or live the second half of my dream. I said, ‘You know what I’m going to do – live the dream.’ It’ll always be a next time.”

Currently she still practices athletic training but she works the art center and studio around her full-time job. 

Her art center caters to a wide array of artists and creatives, featuring five other artists’ work around the building like a small gallery. They are Pat Gillam, Lu Reynolds, Joe Richbourg, Lisa Alberghini and Kimberly Oakley. Winn said she’ll add to or change the featured artists as time and space allow. 

Each artist has their own style and art preference, ranging from watercolors to resin to crafting. 

Winn said she is definitely up for renting the roughly 1,400-square-foot space for purposes beyond art — baby showers, bridal showers, graduation parties, etc.

She said she’ll also host intimate classes where people can make their own art. So far classes lined up include gourd painting and acrylic pour for jewelry or keychain making. 

“I’d like to do a bunch of things. I want to be a creative space for all people to get inspired,” Winn offered. 

Since her brother died of a rare form of cancer, she wants to pay tribute to him by having a certain month carved out for awareness about, and she also wants to work with the Wounded Warrior Project to do some sort of art therapy. 

She also wants to host quarterly artist and creative meetings where an array of artists can discuss what is needed and how to inspire creativity. 

One of the artists, Lisa Alberghini, is also from the Irmo area and is always working on different projects at any given time. At the  art center, she has watercolors and Zentangle art, but she is currently making baskets out of pine straw for an upcoming art show. 

Watercolors are her main medium but she is always looking for inspiration. For instance, she saw an artist who painted on bird feathers which fascinated her so she decided to pursue that. 

“My mother was an artist and she’s been my inspiration. She always encouraged me,” said Alberghini. “We took classes at a local community center in North Carolina (when I was younger).”

Another artist, Lu Reynolds, practices watercolor and ink drawings. While she teaches at a local school in Irmo, she practices art in her spare time at her own space, Star Lantern Studio. Reynolds has known Winn since they were both young kids making art together. 

She describes her art as “kind of whimsical” and embracing “storytelling.”