PAXTON – Paige Price wants the Paxton area to boost its creativity level.

That is why the Arizona State University alumnus is opening The Art Vault, 106 N. Market St., as a venue for area residents to paint, craft, sculpt, write, get a message or even have a psychic reading.

"I hope to tap into people and get them to think more creatively," Price said. "I want this to be a place people can come and express themselves."

The Art Vault will have its grand opening from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. Featured at the event will be two bands playing original music, seven local artists and psychic reader Dalton Kropp of Danville.

Price moved to Paxton in August so she could be closer to her grandmother, who lives in Rankin. She is also a baker at the Hendrick House at the University of Illinois and a server at the Tin Pan.

Price said she "lucked into the building" on Market Street soon after she moved into town. She said the gallery will be open most evenings and weekends.

"It's always been my dream to have the apartment upstairs, the studio in the back and the gallery in the front," she said.

Price wants to run the business like a co-op with plans of possibly charging patrons an annual membership fee and per-hour charge for use. She said she wants to keep commission fees relatively low – about 25 percent – to encourage more imaginativeness.

Price – who has run several art galleries and is known for creating belly casts for pregnant women and henna tattoos – also plans on having a masseuse available several nights a week.

She would also like to start art classes for children and adults.

"They're cutting art classes at schools, and I think that's awful," Price said. "It's important to have art classes to have well-rounded people in this world."