Songwriter Peter Allen said it years ago: “Dreams can come true again, when everything old is new again…”

Right here on Main Street – in a late-19th-century landmark – a pair of local art lovers are working in someplace old to create something new: a place where area artists can show their work, and where Hagerstown residents and visitors can discover a pool of talent that has too long been hidden.

The three-story brick building at 96½ Main Street – built in 1880 as the local IOOF hall – is now home to the Nettle Creek Cultural Center. Next spring, thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers led by Hagerstown native Jeff Thalls and his wife Mary, that building will house a newly renovated first-floor gallery that will display the work of local artists who have banded together to form a cooperative.

“We have a group of about 10 artists who are committed to the project,” said Thalls, a local glass-blower. “And the Cultural Center board is committed to it, too.” The board has set aside money to convert the space, Thalls explained, and the artists will all pay a monthly fee to support it going forward.

The Cultural Center has already been the site of three local shows, Thalls said, and their success has helped sell the concept of creating a more suitable, permanent gallery there.

“We have a show in there right now of 10 or 12 local artists,” Thalls said. “And in recent months we’ve had a real nice mix of different items. We’ve had pottery, photography, paintings, beaded jewelry, fused-glass jewelry, fine wood-turnings, wood sculpture and furniture, blown glass, graphic arts.”

But with a better space, he said, artists will be able to show more and show it better. Hence the renovation plan. The building will close from January through March, as always, Thalls said. During that time, Thalls and his group will work to convert the space into a more art-friendly environment. In addition to fresh paint and new flooring, “we’ll have to come up with some sort of central kiosk arrangement.” Thalls said, “some type of free-standing units to create a vertical space in the middle of the gallery.”

Creating space for cultural projects is nothing new to Jeff Thalls and wife Mary, a local potter who and displays her wares here and in Indianapolis. The pair also helped found the Across the Street Antique Mall. “We have a small gallery upstairs there,” Thalls said, “a place where we show and sell antique Indiana art. I set up that gallery, and it’s doing well.”

Even before those projects, though, Thalls created “space” in his own life for creative pursuits, leaving a successful dental practice to follow his heart to art.

“I was born and raised here in Hagerstown, but went away for 10 years,” Thalls said, “first to college at Ball State, and then to the IU dental school in Indianapolis. I came back in 1989 and set up my practice here in town.”

Five years ago, worn from the stress of his work as a health professional and seeking a quieter, more fulfilling lifestyle, Thalls sold his dental practice and signed up for a glass-blowing class at the Indianapolis Art Center (IAC). “I really enjoyed it,” Thalls said. “It’s something that demands your attention, but not in a stressful way. It occupies the hands and the mind, but it’s something you can do without your mind racing.”

Since that first class, Thalls has continued his studies, working steadily under Lisa Pelo-McNiese, director of the IAC’s glass program, to hone his skills. In the IAC’s studio, Thalls creates both functional items (such as paperweights) and those that are purely decorative.

Having improved his skills, he now hopes to bring his work closer to home. “Right now I’m working to open by own glass-blowing studio here in Hagerstown,” he said. “It would be the only studio between Indy and Columbus, Ohio, which means it’d be a great draw for people in this area who love glass art.”

When Thalls is asked to describe his hopes for Hagerstown’s arts scene, the glass-blowing studio is one he mentions, but it’s not at the top of his list. The Cultural Center and its artists’ co-op occupy that space.

Thalls says that, at this time next year: “I’d just like to see 12 to 15 local artists with their work in there, giving the public a chance to see it and buy it. People need to know that we really have talented people in this area. Their work deserves to be seen.”

In fact, Thalls urges anyone who wants more information about becoming involved with the Cultural Center – especially those who feel they may have works that might merit a public viewing – to e-mail him at [email protected].

“It’s important for me to encourage others in art,” he added. “It’s been such a wonderful road for me in the last five years, and I just hope I can help open that avenue for others. Art is so important.”