Union Point — At the end of a downtown block of mostly vacant, late-1800s buildings, one storefront blooms with vibrant color and imagination.

To a casual observer, the Point of Art Gallery and Studio might seem as odd as a two-headed rooster in this Greene County town of 1,600, 80 miles east of Atlanta.

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Anne Jenkins Elizabeth Barnes creates interesting female torsos. Her work is part of the 'Celebrate Women' exhibit at the Point of Art Gallery in Union Point.

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Monica Jones, at Genuine Georgia Artisan Market in nearby Greensboro, works on a pottery piece.

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But to Lee Nelson and his wife, artist Anne Jenkins, Point of Art is not only a venue for Georgia and regional artists, but an anchor that they hope will help revitalize the former textile town. They envision an art-centric hub of galleries, antique shops, restaurants and other businesses that will draw tourists to the area and give guests at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation, down the road in Greensboro, another place to dine and shop.

The gallery is opening a special exhibit, "Celebrate Women," on Friday; it continues through the end of June.

"Selected artists joining me for this show have produced some exciting and inspired new pieces," Jenkins said. "I'll also be joined by members of the Clay Artists of the Southeast, who will add another dimension to the show. Every piece of art is unique and affordable."

Not all the artists are women, but women figure prominently in all their work. The late Atlanta artist Carol Connely is the best-known entry in the exhibit, Jenkins said. "She was very well known in Atlanta. ... Her family has released five of her paintings to me. Her daughter, Laura Connely Sleighter, paints with acrylics, with a style similar to her mother. She's still finding her voice, and I believe will be as good as her mother."

Former New Orleanians, Nelson and Jenkins ended up in tiny Union Point thanks to 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"We were double evacuees," Nelson said on a recent tour of the gallery. "We evacuated New Orleans for Katrina and went to Houston, and three weeks later evacuated Houston for Hurricane Rita, and went to Mobile, Ala. We went back to New Orleans for a while, but couldn't live there again."

They settled briefly in Franklin, N.C., but didn't like the winter climate, and moved to Union Point in 2006. "We're very happy to be here," Nelson said.

The 2,000-square-foot gallery, in an 1896 building, was formerly a finance company's offices. Along with Jenkins, other featured artists include Leonard Jones, a nationally-known African-American folk painter from Lincolnton, whose vivid oils are painted on discarded sheet metal.

Along with his duties as gallery manager, Nelson, a former bank financial officer, conducts Entrepreneurial Artist workshops to help artists run their art like a business. He's also director of the Union Point Downtown Development Authority, which is overseeing the town's revitalization.

"When the Chipman-Union Textile Mill closed a few years ago, about 700 people were put out of a job, so we're trying to revitalize Union Point as a creative economy town," he said.

The town recently received a $72,000 federal grant to buy the 1940s Union movie theater. When the theater is restored, it will be a community center, seating 280.

For inspiration, Union Point can look seven miles west to Greensboro. The Greene County seat (population 3,300) is the nearest town of size to Reynolds Plantation, a new Del Webb community and other residential developments around Lake Oconee.

To help those homeowners select art and accessories, several shops have opened on North Main Street in Greensboro.

Genuine Georgia Artisan Market, opened five years ago, sells high-quality pottery, glass, fiber, wood and metal art, musical instruments, woven rugs, jewelry, candles, furniture, baskets, books, jellies and jam, pecans, breads, Georgia Red Mule Polenta and other products from around the state.

On a recent afternoon, David Phillips, a retired middle school teacher from Watkinsville, was carving folk-art fish from salvaged wood. Monica Jones, from Oglethorpe County, created glazed pottery jugs and vases with distinctive arm-and-hand handles.

After a visit to several other art and antique shops, and a casual lunch at the Yesterday Cafe, we checked out two curiosities:

• Built in 1807, the Old Gaol, on East Greene Street, behind the Historic Greene County Courthouse, might have been modeled after Paris' Bastille. Grim granite walls, 2-feet thick, with small barred windows, warned citizens to stick to the straight and narrow. Those who strayed far were dropped through a second-floor trapdoor with a noose around their neck. Poor wretches moldered in the gloomy garrison until 1895. To see the gallows and cells, stop by the Greene County Chamber of Commerce, on North Main Street.

• The Iron Horse was the ultimate gift horse looked in the mouth. In 1954, Eastern European sculptor Abbot Pattison placed a 2,000-pound, scrap metal horse on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, as a "thank you" to UGA for giving him the opportunity to create there. But it was the height of the McCarthy era Communist witch hunt and students burned and vandalized the horse.

An agriculture professor moved it to his cornfield on Ga. 15, at the Oconee River bridge 11 miles north of Greensboro, and pointed its rear end at Athens. When the sculptor died, and the value of his work soared, UGA asked for it back, but the owner refused. If you'd like to photograph it, bring a zoom lens. In summer, when the corn grows as high as the Iron Horse's eye, it's harder to see.

IF YOU GO

Getting there

Union Point is about 80 miles from Atlanta, a little more than an hour's drive.

Where to stay

• Ashford Manor Bed & Breakfast, 5 Harden Hill Road, Watkinsville, has seven guest rooms in an 1893 Victorian mansion, 5 acres of lawns and gardens, an outdoor pool and an amphitheater for summertime concerts. During the week, rooms with no breakfast are $69; $89 with room service continental breakfast; Friday and Saturday, most rooms are $110, with full gourmet breakfast; two-floor penthouse suite, $150. Rooms have private bath, wi-fi, fridges, cable TV and coffee makers. Within walking distance of downtown Watkinsville art galleries, studios and restaurants. 706-769-2633, www.ambedandbreakfast.com.

• Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation, One Oconee Trail, seven miles from Greensboro, is a deluxe Adirondack-style resort hotel, with 251 guest rooms and suites, fine dining, wellness spa, golf, tennis, water sports on Lake Oconee. Rates from about $200. 706-467-0600; www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/ReynoldsPlantation/Default.htm

Where to eat

The Yesterday Cafe, 114 North Main St., Greensboro, serves salads, steaks, sandwiches, seafood, burgers with a full bar, at lunch Monday-Saturday and dinner Tuesday-Saturday. 706-453-0800

Information

The Point of Art Gallery & Studio is at 604 Sibley Ave., Union Point. "Celebrate Women" is open regular shop hours, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, through June 30. Free. Other days by appointment. 706-486-6808, www.thepointofart.net.

Genuine Georgia, 101 North Main St., Greensboro. 706-453-1440, www.genuinegeorgia.com