Magpies are clever birds. Tough. Chatty. Always with an eye out for that which glimmers or is of value.

Mary Pearson is a similar sort of bird. An artist, collector, talker, fighter. So in late 2000, after 30 years of marriage, when she found herself alone again, she decided to step out on a limb, stretch her wings and see what happened.

The result, Magpies' Nest, is an art gallery, studio and furniture consignment and collectibles shop.

There's a story behind the gallery's name, a story that sheds light on its eclectic nature, and perhaps hints of something within Pearson.

"When I was a little girl, my parents lived in a tarpaper shack in Mud Lake, Idaho," Pearson recalled. "My father was a ditch rider. There were stories back then of a magpie that, what with the way it clucked its tongue, could say words. Talk. Which, come to think of it, is something I do pretty well, too.

"I know also that sometimes Europeans will call magpies those people, 'pickers,' who go around picking things up, pretty things. And then there are the real magpies. If you look in a magpie's nest, you'll find all kinds of pretty things, shiny things. Anything of value, and they'll take it."

The Nest is located at 39 N. I St. in the Avenues. It too, has a story. Once an old grocery store, the space had been long abandoned and fallen into disrepair. Pearson and her business partner, Annette Dunford, along with their families and friends, restored the store by hand.

"We literally scraped tiles off the floor and hand-painted the sign for out front," Pearson said. "My children came and painted. Annette's children came and painted. We put up the right kind of lighting for a gallery. There was an old meat locker in the other part of the store, which we disassembled and moved to the center to display paintings."

Today, the gallery is a melange of art, antique and new furniture, collectibles and jewelry. The gallery features local artists such as David Estes, Steve Larson, Jeff Hein and Zachary Proctor, and occasionally Pearson's own work. It has shown the work of university students and Theodore M. Wassmer, one of Utah's oldest working artists. It shows oils, watercolors and mixed media projects, along with blown glass and sculpture.

This month, Magpies' Nest is holding a benefit for children at Moi Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya. Young artists have agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds to the hospital, which came to Pearson's attention through her daughter.

"My daughter and her husband, who just graduated from U. of U. medical school, did an infectious disease rotation there," Pearson said. "A woman there, whose husband is the head doctor there, she takes care of the children, many of whom are dying of AIDS. This is the first time many of these children have even had a warm bath."