Me on the Wild Side acquires Art from closed Dallas Gallery

Madie Vilbig-King, owner of Me on the Wild Side, a gift shop located on the Mountain in Canton, has acquired hundreds of pieces from a Gallery/Frame shop in Dallas that closed in 1999.

There are rare collectables, antique etchings, posters, signed and numbered lithographs from such artists as W.A. Slaughter, P. Buckley Moss, Kati Roberts, Rip Kastaris, and many more.

There are reproductions of the great masters ready for framing and original photographs by a famous Dallas newspaperman.

"There were a few antique maps also, but I don’t know if there are any left, as I sold some last Trade Days, along with a rare P. Buckley Moss lithograph entitled ‘Winter Solstice’," Vilbig-King said.

Vilbig-King, a lover of art and a member of the Dallas Museum of Art, is thrilled to be surrounded by so many great works of art.

"When I first bought the store in November 2006, I had a dream of having a charity of the Month and an Artist of the Month. But I didn’t know when I made that statement how I was going to make that happen," she said. "So when the opportunity arose to work on the Charity of the Month through the Mountain Association I jumped at it, as part of my dream was beginning to be fulfilled."

"I have been involved in the planning of, and/or, sponsored five out of the nine charity fund-raisers that The Mountain has had in the last year, raising over $12,500 for charities in East Texas. I’m so proud and it’s been so much fun," Vilbig-King said. "We have had a Dunk-a- Hunk/Punk, a Scavenger Hunt, a ‘kisses’ booth (selling Hershey’s kisses for the Heart Association), a Men’s Wet T-shirt contest (for Breast Cancer), live and silent auctions, a Casino Night, and of course, the annual Chili Cook Off in April."

"The event I’m most proud of is the Casino Night held last June, benefiting The Great Gluten Escape Camp (in Gilmer). A summer residence camp for Celiac kids," she said.

Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder, rendering its victims unable to eat or use products containing wheat, rye, oats or barley. And wheat, being in so much of what we put in and on our bodies, makes it really hard for these kids.

They can’t eat birthday cake or cookies like everybody else.

"It’s so isolating and really depressing for anyone who has this disease. But this camp really makes a difference for these youngsters and their families," Vilbig-King said.

She knows this first hand, as she and her son both have the disease.

"When Jake first went to camp in 2005, he was really withdrawn and angry. Dealing with the isolation and the teasing associated with a disease such as Celiac, had left Jacob King extremely different than he had been before he had gotten so sick and the diagnosis of Celiac disease in 2000. But when he came home from camp, he was his old self again, happy, outgoing, very self confident," she said. "I don’t know what they did exactly, but they gave me my son back. We love these people at this camp. They are all so wonderful, and they are all volunteers."

The camp, one of only four in the U.S., was started in 2004 by two high school sophomores as their Girl Scout Gold Award (the equivalent to the Boys Scout’s Eagle Scout Award).

That first summer, the camp hosted 17 campers, four counselors, and six staff members. Now, in the summer of 2008, only four years later, it has grown to 87 campers (14 scholarships—one of which came about as a direct result of the Mountain’s Casino Night), 16 counselors, and 16 staff members.

The camp’s staff includes several Registered Nurses, a dietician, and many other specialty instructors.

Vilbig-King had hoped to volunteer at the camp as a nurse this past summer, but due to her other obligations and her son’s refusal to allow her, she regrettably was unable to do so. She has been an RN since 1999.

"Anyway, getting back to the art work; only half of my vision was coming to fruition, and I had no clue how I was going to make the Artist of the Month a reality for my store, so I kind of let go of the idea. Then, out of the blue, this windfall," she said. "I’m so thrilled and grateful to my cousin and his wife, John and Mary Jane Roper, for giving me this opportunity. I can never repay them."

"My store is finally, really beginning to reflect my dreams and values," she exclaimed.

The shop, Me on the Wild Side, is located on the corner of Blackstone and Lazy Daze Lane, on the Mountain.

Vilbig-King can be reached at (214) 532-6291 for more information.