At Cooperage Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, a vending machine offers something more lasting than a snack. Behind its glass are rows of postcard-size artworks, creating an informal point of entry into collecting art for customers who may not routinely visit galleries or museums.
The project, called Chain Letter Gallery, was created by Lesley Fontanilla, an artist, Sonoma State art graduate and transitional housing coordinator for foster youth at TLC Child & Family Services. Fontanilla found the machine for sale on Craigslist and retrieved it from a storage unit in Napa. The result is a repurposed piece of equipment that connects a familiar retail format with an art experience.
A gallery outside the usual gallery
Fontanilla said the idea grew from encounters with art-dispensing vending machines while traveling, including a visit to the arts district in Las Vegas. That experience stayed with her and eventually shaped the Santa Rosa installation. Her goal is not only to sell small works, but also to recreate some of the community she experienced in art school and provide a platform for other artists.
“A fun, quirky way to introduce people to art.”
That approach carries a civic dimension. Traditional galleries and museums can feel unfamiliar or inaccessible to people who are not already part of the art world. By placing the machine inside a brewery, Chain Letter Gallery puts the work in a social setting where customers are already gathering. The project also lowers the financial barrier to participation: Most pieces currently cost between $8 and $20.
What the machine is selling
The machine currently features work by Fontanilla and Ricky Watts, a muralist recognized for large-scale work on buildings around Sonoma County. Watts has contributed murals at Tía María Panadería y Pastelería and Riley Street Art Supply. His larger designs are represented in the machine as smaller prints, allowing customers to take home a compact version of work associated with the region’s public visual culture.
| Artist | Work available | Price range |
|---|---|---|
| Lesley Fontanilla | Linocut prints, including an anatomically correct heart and a David Lynch portrait | $8-$20 |
| Ricky Watts | Smaller prints based on larger mural designs | $8-$20 |
For Fontanilla, the machine’s appeal is partly personal: It preserves an element of surprise and discovery that can disappear from more conventional transactions. A customer inserts money, makes a selection and receives an original or reproduced piece of art in the same immediate way a vending machine normally delivers a packaged item. That mechanism turns buying into an interaction rather than simply a purchase.
A small platform with broader possibilities
Chain Letter Gallery also illustrates how local artists can use existing businesses as cultural venues. Cooperage Brewing Company provides the setting, while Fontanilla’s project supplies a format that does not require a formal exhibition opening or a dedicated gallery space. The arrangement may be especially useful for artists seeking visibility and for residents who want to support creative work at an accessible price.
- Location: Cooperage Brewing Company in Santa Rosa
- Project: Chain Letter Gallery
- Current artists: Lesley Fontanilla and Ricky Watts
- Current prices: Most pieces range from $8 to $20
The machine’s significance is therefore larger than its footprint. It gives Santa Rosa another way to encounter local art, links a neighborhood business to the creative economy, and makes collecting feel possible without a major financial commitment. For residents who stop in for a beer, the next purchase may be a small print—and an unexpected connection to the artists and murals shaping Sonoma County’s visual identity.
