Meet the Staff

Jaime Sweany
Owner
Visual & Musical
Arts Director

Jaime Sweany, owner of Wandering Turtle Art Gallery & Gifts, was born and raised in Indianapolis, IN. Her parents, Paul and Margaret Sweany, were both professional artists and she was greatly influenced by their creativity and sensitivity to the beauty of our natural world. It was her love for both art and nature that led her to Bloomington in 1978.

In 1992, she graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in Fine Arts Studio and began her black & white portraiture business, Illuminessence Photography. Social justice has been a lifelong commitment, with special emphasis on global hunger and poverty prevention, and diplomatic, peaceful resolution to conflict instead of war. Jaime is a strong believer in participatory democracy. In 1999 she founded the Bloomington chapter of Bread for the Journey (which migrated north to become Bread for the Journey of Indianapolis in 2008).

From 1995-2002, Jaime was co-owner of Wild Birds Unlimited, a specialty retail shop selling backyard bird feeding supplies and nature gifts. After selling the business, she decided to pursue her life-long dream of merging her passions for both the natural world and creative expression. She opened Wandering Turtle Art Gallery & Gifts in its previous location (224 N. College Avenue) on a snowy February 3, 2003. Her intention for Wandering Turtle has always been to support local and regional artists and musicians and to help create a thriving downtown arts community. She would like to see the unique spirit of Bloomington preserved and nurtured through support for the arts and a strong locally-owned small business community; as well as respect and appreciation for the natural beauty of our surrounding environment.

Jaime was extremely honored to have her business receive the 2009 Downtown Bloomington Small Business of the Year award and first place in the 2010 Reader's Choice "Best Art Gallery" category (Bloomington's Herald Times). Above: Jaime enjoys a glass of Oliver Winery's Pinot Grigio (Photo courtesy of Ransom Haile)

Nicole O'Neal
Retail Manager

Born into a military family Nicole lived all over the states before landing in Fort Wayne Indiana at the age of nine. Her interests were constantly drawn towards the arts; she spent most of her childhood listening to music, taking dance classes, and playing in school bands. Finally, after graduating high school in 2006, she was itching to get out of the Midwest in search of her true self.

However, she surprisingly ended up in Bloomington after falling inlove with the Indiana University campus, and it couldn't have been a better move. Since coming to Bloomington, she became very involved with its independent music community by booking concerts on and off-campus, hosting radio shows on WIUX, and helping out local musicians whenever she could.

After graduating with a Music Business degree in 2010, Nicole just couldn't leave the supportive community Bloomington offered, and vowed to stick around to become more involved in the city's thriving arts scene. She is excited to join the Wandering Turtle team and to get to know the abundance of visual and fine arts talent that Bloomington has to offer. The staff at Wandering Turtle is thrilled to have Nicole's enthusiasm and experience with the campus and alternative music scene. We anticipate her help in realizing our 2010 goal of incorporating many more I.U. student offerings and activities to our gallery and performance space this year!

Ryan Dagley
Senior Sales Associate

(Thomas) Ryan Dagley was born in sunny California around the afternoon time in 1990. Soon after, and without his consent, he was moved to Indiana at the age of one and was raised here ever since. Ryan graduated from Bloomington High School North where he had been an avid member of the music and Marching Band programs. The arts appear to be Ryan's true calling and he spends the most time drawing, but also paints, practices clay molding, takes photos, folds origami, writes, sews, and creates art from practically anything he can get his hands on. He hopes to learn as much as he can from the Wandering Turtle Art Gallery and take that knowledge with him as he continues his art studies at Indiana University. Ryan brings a welcoming, social atmosphere to the store and a great sense of humor. He aspires to perfect his drawing abilities, hoping to publish graphic novels and share with the world his off the wall ideas and creativity.

Jill Pierce
Sales Associate

Jill Pierce is a mother, jeweler, dancer, crafter, and lover of the human journey and all the people she meets on the way. She feels a real bond with her fellow travelers, and her jewelry reflects that. Jill’s pierced overlay sterling designs are intended to support the individual during specific experiences we all, as humans, encounter. Plus, she just really, really likes to saw metal.

Jill moved to Indiana in 2000 from Austin, Texas. Since living here, she has worked as a bench jeweler for Al Drake at Touch of Silver, Gold and Old, as a repair jeweler for Gary Neff at Repairworks, and as a production jeweler for Lorraine Farrell at Fossil Rain.

In addition to joining the Bale, Jill also works from home doing custom jewelry design and repair. She is thrilled to be a part of Wandering Turtle, and believes the gallery is a valuable asset in the Bloomington community. She looks forward to becoming more active and connected to the local arts scene through the Turtle.

Janice Williamson
Sales Associate

Janice is a mother of two, who loves, adores, and cherishes art. She lives and breathes it every day, through her children and through the world around her. She is currently working on jewelry and miniature crochet. Janice feels her place in this world is to make everything about it, especially the ugly parts, as beautiful as possible. She puts her heart into everything she does and hopes that her creative obsession wears off on everyone she has in her life. She is, and always will be, a creator in some way or another.