AUBREY — History will be an added ingredient when the Visual Arts Society of Texas sponsors More Art and Music at Mecca on Main Saturday.

The setting for the event is Mecca on Main, a new art cooperative and gallery located in the 110-year-old IOOF building at 210 S. Main St. in downtown Aubrey.

Art by several VAST members will be featured from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., said Jo Williams, executive director, and music will be provided by Billy Roy Switzer, the one-man band, and Link and Friends. Switzer plays 12 instruments and performed for years at the State Fair of Texas.

Saturday’s event will not only give visitors the opportunity to view a wide variety of art, but also to watch the creative process, said Lisa Reed, the founder of Mecca on Main.

“It’s a place where artists of all kinds have studio space in which to create and sell their art,” Reed said. “There’s nothing better than actually seeing the artist create something.”

Mary Strange Blossom of Denton is among the VAST members who will participate in the event.

“I’m going to be doing some quick sketches,” she said. “I love to draw people and paint people.”

Blossom said she has been drawing and painting for about 40 years and is pursuing bachelor’s degrees in fine arts and art history at Texas Woman’s University, adding that art restoration is another of her interests.

“I’m just really intrigued with art history and restoration and how the old masters painted,” she said.

Visitors will be able to see the work of equine artist and VAST member Carol Henry, an Aubrey resident who said she’s been expressing her love of horses through painting for the last three years.

“I’ve had this passion all my life, and I’m now expressing it through art,” Henry said.

Reed said she created Mecca on Main to satisfy her own creative passions. After years of pursuing goals in the corporate world, she opened the gallery in April, offering studio space, arts classes and space for special events.

Coffee and sandwiches will be available.

Seven artists currently lease space, Reed said, and the gallery displays the work of 14 artists. Linka Behn, one of the resident artists, teaches several of the classes offered for various age groups. Yoga classes also are available.

Her decision to lease the historic building and open the business in Aubrey has been well-received, Reed said.

“My plan was to get to know people and get involved in the community,” Reed said. “I think this place was so needed that people are coming out to support it.

“It’s a fun place to be.”

In addition to providing space for other artists, Reed sells her own sketches of homes, businesses, historic buildings and other subjects.

“I’m having the time of my life,” Reed said. “It’s a real privilege for me.”

For more information about Saturday’s show and the Visual Arts Society of Texas, call 940-383-1092 or e-mail texjo@ msn.com.

For more information about Mecca on Main, call 940-343-1311 or e-mail meccaonmain@gmail.com .

LES COCKRELL can be reached at 940-566-6887. His e-mail address is lcockrell@dentonrc.com .