River Walk Gallery and Arts Center is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a reception for new artists and a fundraising raffle to help put the River Walk name back on West Main Street.

Work by two new artists, Kathleen Redman and Ami Flowers, will be officially introduced at Friday’s reception. Redman works in tiles, pottery and watercolor, while Flowers, a Marine Fisheries biologist, uses pen and ink, graphite, watercolor and digital media to create illustrations of plants and animals, according to Colleen Knight, a member artist of the River Walk co-op.

“Some of it is very whimsical. and some of it is very scientific. It’s a nice mix,” Knight said of Flowers’ work.

Friday, the winning name will be drawn for John Groesser’s acrylic painting “My Flowers.” The painting of flowers in a vase is an explosion of reds, yellows and blue in keeping with Groesser’s style of abstract realism. The raffle, along with a City of Washington façade grant, will help pay for the replacement of the gallery’s storefront sign.

Last year, River Walk Gallery members decided to spruce up the front of the West Main Street building with a new paint job, but in the course of prepping for paint, lost the River Walk sign.

“When we took the sign down, it was wood, and just fell apart,” Knight said.

Tickets are one for $5; five for $10; or 20 for $20 — a great deal, according to Knight.

“We’re really trying to incentivize people,” she laughed.

River Walk Gallery and Arts Center is a co-op of artists, banded together to create a venue for the exhibit and sale of their work. Media ranges from jewelry to pottery; watercolor to oil; textiles to photography. Though most co-op artists are working members — meaning they donate a certain number of hours manning the gallery’s front desk — some artists’ work is on consignment.

The public is invited to the Friday reception from 5:30–7 p.m. River Walk is located at 139 W. Main St., Washington.