116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Anamosa art gallery owner continues teaching after devastating fire
ANAMOSA - Days after her building in downtown Anamosa was devastated by fire, KC Kiner Wortman said she has no plans to let it stop her from teaching.
She and her husband, Doug Wortman, who both own the building at 106 E. Main St., plan to rebuild Thou Art, the gallery where Kiner Wortman taught classes for adults and children.
'I want to keep going,” she said.
Anamosa Fire Department Chief Tim Shada said the cause of Saturday's fire remains under investigation, but it's believed to have started somewhere in the ceiling between the first and second floor.
Shada said fire departments from Marion, Monticello and Martelle were called to the scene after the initial call came in around 4:30 a.m.
The roof of the building has partially collapsed, but the extent of the damage remains unknown, Shada said. The fire didn't spread to neighboring structures, but they have sustained some water and smoke damage.
The investigation should be wrapped up 'in the next couple of days,” he said.
Two tenants of the apartments on the second floor were taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to be treated for 'severe smoke inhalation,” but have since been released, Shada said. The Lawrence Community Center, 600 E Main St., is accepting clothing and donations for them.
Kiner Wortman said Thou Art housed the work of 25 Jones County artists. All the art was destroyed. It was also was a home for her classes, which she has been able to continue teaching with support from the community.
'The community has been really good about reaching out to me and offering spaces. All of my kids' classes moved to the Grant Wood Art Gallery,” Kiner Wortman said, noting space also has been offered to her in the Starlighters II Theatre and other locations. Funds also are being collected for the gallery owners through a gofundme page.
According to the Jones County Assessor, the building has an assessed value of about $33,000. Shada said the building, constructed in the early 1900s as a bank, is one of the oldest downtown.
Kiner Wortman said she's not yet sure what it will cost to rebuild.
'Right now, it's just a waiting game,” she said. 'My husband and I love that building and we are really hoping to rebuild.”
l Comments: (319) 368-8536; michaela.ramm@thegazette.com
Linda Grassfield (from left), Therese Bickford and Julie Griggs, all of Anamosa, paint on canvas at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. The class was taught by KC Kiner Wortman, whose studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend, and many works by the 25 Jones County artists she represents were lost, along with the store's unofficial mascot, an elderly cat. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Cars speed by the former Thou Art gallery and building on Main Street in downtown Anamosa on Thursday. The building was damaged in a fire last weekend. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Women paint tulips at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. The class was taught by KC Kiner Wortman, whose studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend, and many works by the 25 Jones County artists she represents were lost, along with the store's unofficial mascot, an elderly cat. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
A tulip stands in a jar as women work on still life paintings at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. The class was taught by KC Kiner Wortman, whose studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend, and many works by the 25 Jones County artists she represents were lost, along with the store's unofficial mascot, an elderly cat. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
KC Kiner Wortman demonstrates how to paint a tulip at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. Kiner Wortman's studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend. Some of the only supplies that remained were the bucket of paints and brushes she brought to the class, as well as some newly purchased easels. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
KC Kiner Wortman shows a class of women how to paint on canvas at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. KC Kiner Wortman's studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend, and many works by the 25 Jones County artists she represents were lost, along with the store's unofficial mascot, an elderly cat. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Cheryl Hall of Monticello works on a painting of a tulip at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. The class was taught by KC Kiner Wortman, whose studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend, and many works by the 25 Jones County artists she represents were lost, along with the store's unofficial mascot, an elderly cat. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Women work on paintings of a tulip at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. The class was taught by KC Kiner Wortman, whose studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend, and many works by the 25 Jones County artists she represents were lost, along with the store's unofficial mascot, an elderly cat. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
Therese Bickford (left) and Julie Griggs, both of Anamosa, talk as they paint tulips on canvas at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. The class was taught by KC Kiner Wortman, whose studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend, and many works by the 25 Jones County artists she represents were lost, along with the store's unofficial mascot, an elderly cat. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
KC Kiner Wortman demonstrates how to paint a tulip at a 'Vinnie Van Vino' painting and wine class at Daly Creek Winery and Bistro in Anamosa on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017. Kiner Wortman's studio and art gallery was destroyed in a fire over the weekend. Some of the only supplies that remained were the bucket of paints and brushes she brought to the class, as well as some newly purchased easels. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
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