Warm River Studio’s story begins several years ago when photographer Ellen Lynch→ sublet a gallery space for three months. After her first show hung, she saw the potential for a full-time gallery space. Like its small town backdrop, everyone came together according to Lynch. Friends loaned a piano, and every weekend, the gallery hosted classical, jazz and bluegrass concerts, readings, lectures and performances. She recalls the entire town coming together, “the bookstore selling books and interviewing authors, the wine store bringing special wines, and artists coming in off the street as word spread. Everyone was very sad when it came to its natural end, and still talk about those special offerings,” she wrote on the website.

Then last fall, Lynch saw a building on Main Street in Ashton with beautiful woodwork and large windows. It was her second chance at cultivating creativity and community. “The space is offered to all creatives—to share their work, practice their craft, and bring the arts to this charming small town. And it is again her desire, to bring the town together to celebrate the arts.”