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Freeman, a 40-year San Diego resident originally from St. John, New Brunswick, across the Canadian border from Vermont, says, "My parents had it with the winters and moved to California when I was in high school." ough she now lives in La Jolla ("right across from the Historical Society so I can walk to work"), she appreciates San Diego for all it offers, having lived in three other San Diego communities, as well: Downtown, Bankers Hill, and Del Mar. Now 73, Freeman moved to La Jolla five years ago. "I've loved getting to know the various parts of San Diego, and I can say it is very different living Downtown in your 40s from living in La Jolla in your 70s," she says. A former venture capitalist, Freeman sees similarities between that industry and the art world. "I like nothing more than to find an artist who has never had a show or who has never shown in our country," she says. "I get the same feeling as when I would listen to people starting a business. e passion is very similar. I get to know the people and understand their goals so I can craft something that will work for them." In November, BFree Studio's exhibition included a Dia de los Muertos altar, which Freeman noted are commonplace throughout the region, though not in La Jolla. is month, for the holidays, BFree Studio is trying something entirely new. "We have a whole bunch of young artists making things," says Freeman. "Zach Dobbins, who works at the gallery, brought me some grenades with arrows through them made of resin. Another young artist brought me seven small paintings. My goal for December is to have something that everyone can afford. For $50 you can get a real piece of art. I've never done this before, but we put a call out to artists in the community and the response has been wonderful." Freeman admits to being something of a dreamer, but she also has patience. Knowing not everyone in San Diego can make the trip to La Jolla, she recently established the BFree Foundation, a nonprofit that is currently inviting input from the entire San Diego community as to how best support art and artists in the region. She knows BFree will never be the best-funded foundation in San Diego, but she hopes her entrepreneurial spirit will seep into the nonprofit arena. "My friends and contemporaries are women who get things done in the community," she says. "If they want to do something other than sit on a museum board, like start a community gallery in Rancho Santa Fe or Santee, they have the ability to do it." And Freeman is no different. "I get an idea, something that's interesting to me, and I go with that," she says. e gallery's local focus will continue into the new year when BFree Studio hosts the work of Cecilia Wong Kaiser, a Chinese American artist from Rancho Santa Fe. bfreestudio.net ranchandcoast.com @ranchandcoast RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2022 117 Diamond in the Rough, Micah Lewis- Van Sweezie Heart Eyes, Micah Lewis- Van Sweezie Star Eyes, Micah Lewis- Van Sweezie