Eileen Collins serves as center director at Fine Line Creative Arts Center in St. Charles.

In the late 20th century, another person by that name became the first woman to command a U.S. space flight.

Still another is a doctor of internal medicine in Lombard.

To Fine Line’s Eileen Collins, creating art transcends such a concept and ascends well beyond it, reaching whatever level the artist feels destined to approach. Members of a class might begin with the same materials under the same roof at 37W570 Bolcum Road, but the similarities stop there.

“No two days are the same,” Collins said. “You never know what’s going to happen. You never know who’s going to walk through the door. You never know what art is going to be created in one of the studios.”

The website for the nonprofit, www.fineline.org, makes effective use of its drop-down menus. While Fine Line started as a gallery on James

Street in Geneva in 1979 and still houses regular exhibits in St. Charles, the center offers a multitude of adult art classes and workshop opportunities in two- and three-dimensional media as well as textiles.

Among them: blacksmithing; collage; drawing; glass; jewelry/fine metalwork; metal clay; painting; sewing; weaving; and wood.

Some might call that list “exhaustive,” which is not to be confused with “exhausting.”

Collins estimates that around 30 percent of regular students enthusiastically jump from art form to art form as their schedules allow.

“There’s certainly a lot of interest from people in doing art again,” she said. “Obviously, the word has gotten out about us more and more. I think people are looking for some creative outlet.

“Some people say it’s better than seeing a therapist; I don’t know. I just think people want to do something creative, something with their hands.”

Of course, observing art can offer its own release, too. Fine Line’s Kavanagh Gallery, named after the late center founder, Sister Denise Kavanagh, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

At press time, an exhibit of functional art, entitled “Home Improvements,” was set to run through May 8. Pieces include rocking chairs, lamps, ceramic bowls and a chest of drawers.

An annual showing of student creations was slated to follow, with the next exhibit, “Pick a Color,” to begin in mid- June. While submitted art may include many shades of one color, it must not contain any other color.

Fine Line receives submissions from artists from around the western suburbs and United States.

“So, you’re going to get a wide range of work and you’re going to see artists that you wouldn’t see anywhere else,” Collins said.

“Come out. Take a look around,” she added. “There’s normally classes going on. You’re more than welcome to go into the classes. Talk to the instructors. Talk to the people taking the classes. Talk to the staff. And just get a feel for the space.

“We welcome visitors; there’s nowhere on the campus, really, that you can’t go and take a look.”

Whether you fancy perusing art or creating it, at Fine Line, the proverbial canvas is open.