Gigi Mederos and Stevie Black opened art gallery Rio Claro Studio in September 2015, and they are planning an expansion and relocation in their second year of business.

In October, Mederos and Black purchased a new home in northwest San Marcos, and in early 2017 they plan to move their business to the home, which includes about 2,000 square feet of studio and retail space. That is nearly three times the amount of space at their current location at 120 W. Hopkins St., Ste. 101, San Marcos.

Mederos said she and Black always hoped to find a situation in which they could live and work in the same space.

“We’re doing what we came here to do,” Mederos said. “We’re going to have a bigger studio. One of the things we like is collaborations, so it will be easier to have artists come over and visit, stick around, stay with us, work for a while and put a show together.”

Black said he is excited at the prospect of experimenting with more eco-conscious, sustainable methods of creating art at the new studio.

Worked displayed at Rio Claro Studio includes glassware created by Deb Gibson, repurposed tin boxes created by Christine Terrell and silk scarves that Mederos dyed by hand as well as paintings and other mediums.

By far, Mederos said, the studio’s most popular items are Gibson’s glassware, which includes plates, bowls, trays and jewelry.

Rio Claro Studio has been part of a recent trend in downtown San Marcos that has seen three art galleries open within the past 18 months. Dahlia Woods Gallery, 232 N. LBJ Drive, and 218 Studioworks, 218 N. Guadalupe St., have joined Rio Claro Studio downtown.

Mederos and Black’s time in Gloucester, Massachusetts, at Rocky Neck Art Colony, one of the oldest continually operating art markets in the nation, taught them a valuable lesson about competition in the art world.

“We learned that the more working artists you have in one area, the more everybody prospers,” Mederos said. “You can’t view another gallery as competition. You have to view them as a colleague.”

To that end, Mederos and Black said they have poured significant time and energy into community events aimed at bringing together art enthusiasts, artists and gallery owners. The city’s Third Thursday Downtown Gallery Art Walks take visitors on tours of each of the three galleries, and MugUps, held on the last Saturday of every month, aim to bring people together over coffee to talk art, collaboration and life.

When the business moves out of the downtown area, keeping a presence in the city’s center could present a challenge, but Mederos says she plans to hold pop-up galleries at restaurants and venues throughout downtown San Marcos.

“There are some vacant and underutilized spaces,” Black said. “Being downtown allows us to invigorate spaces that might otherwise be dark or not full of life.”