Walking into an art gallery can be an intimidating experience, especially if you're looking to do more than just browse.

Price lists alone can seem daunting, not to mention the idea of trying to decide whether a piece will continue to compel over time, or how the art might fit with the existing decor. And did I mention the price?

A handful of Oakland groups, inspired by the veggie box CSA model, are trying to break down the barriers to becoming a collector. The idea? To bring down the price dramatically and deliver original art to your doorstep. With a solution so elegant, it's hard to say no.

Oakland services such as The Present Group and Art in a Box work with artists to offer pieces in a range of mediums. These Birds Walk Books, also in Oakland, creates limited edition photography books that are printed and assembled locally. Bay Area artists just started Alula Editions to create "repeat patterns for textiles." For experimental film buffs, there's the Wholphin DVD subscription, in San Francisco (created by McSweeney's). Not to mention The Thing Quarterly, "a periodical in the form of an object," also made in the city by the Bay.

The Present Group co-founder Eleanor Hanson Wise, 30, said she and her husband, Oliver Wise, 31, started the project in 2006. The Oaklanders were inspired by the CSA (community-supported agriculture) model, where subscribers pay a monthly fee to get organic, local vegetables direct from farmers.

"We had a bunch of people we knew who were interested in collecting," she said. "But they weren't yet collecting because they were intimidated by the art market. Then we had friends who were artists who were having trouble finding funding and having to spend more and more time doing other work to get by."

Wise said she and her husband realized the subscription model would be a way for artists to support themselves and distribute their work, and also help ease people into the art collection world.

Subscribers pay $150 for one year and, in return, receive four works of art. For each quarter, the couple chooses one artist to work with. There have been 14 "issues" so far, which have included photographs, prints, textile works, a ViewMaster reel and even a "DIY survival kit."

The group's first issue was a collaboration between an artist and a writer. The artist designed facial recognition softare, then trained it to recognize his face on the computer. He then "set the software loose on Flickr," Wise said, and collected all the "false positives" -- people, landscapes, graffiti -- that the software identified as him. A writer created a narrative about how the images were connected, and the results went into a book, Anthroptic, for subscribers.

It would be prohibitively expensive for someone on an average salary to fund quality, labor-intensive projects. But the subscription model spreads the costs among a group.

"We like to explore systems of exchange," said Wise, who does a range of freelance projects, works in floral design and with a children's book company when not working on The Present Group. With a group of subscribers, ranging from 50 to 100,  that contributes to pay for the creation of each piece, the collective pool generates enough income to support the artist and associated production expenses.

(The couple also just started a new effort to get more money to artists through a grant program that's funded entirely by Web hosting.)

Subscribers for each issue of The Present Group get similar pieces, either artist multiples or works in a series. Along with the art piece, Wise also interviews each artist, and the couple commissions a critic to analyze and describe each piece. These elements are included in each issue.

Art in a Box works a bit differently, said co-creator Matt Reynoso, 36, who came up with the idea with his wife, Lena, 35. The couple lives in Oakland and runs the Compound Gallery and Studios. They too were inspired by the idea of monthly produce boxes when they started Art in a Box last year.

"It's a tool for artists to get work out there beyond the gallery realm and also to make it super affordable," he said. "It's meant to engage people, first time art buyers, people who have never bought art before. It allows people to have original works of art on the wall instead of framed Ikea art."

Subscribers make a three-month commitment, for just $30 a month if they can pick up their pieces from the gallery. Each month, they get an original work of art. Unlike The Present Group, which develops each issue with one artist, Art in a Box collects pieces from a range of 15 to 20 artists each month. Subscribers indicate preferences about what kind of pieces they'd like to receive -- indicating types of mediums and other descriptors. The Reynosos then curate each month's pick for each subscriber, looking at his or her preferences, and what they've selected for that subscriber in the past.

Each piece must fit inside an 11-by-17-inch box but, beyond that, artists are able to experiment. Larger more significant works by many of the artists are viewable online, Reynoso said. So when subscribers are ready to make bigger investments in artists they've learned about via Art in a Box, images and information are available.

All of the artists the couple works with are based in the Bay Area, and many are from Oakland. Some have studies at The Compound Gallery. From time to time, the couple holds subscriber parties at the gallery to allow new subscribers to select pieces off the wall. Most of the time, however, "you get a complete surprise," he said.

There's an added benefit for participating artists, he said, as the monthly deadline keeps them experimenting and creating pieces, trying out new techniques or developing themes on a regular basis. Many of the pieces, Reynoso said, would go for hundreds of dollars if people bought them in a gallery.

He described the couple's effort as "completely homegrown." The two designed the silkscreen pattern on the boxes, as well as all the inserts and other elements, and pack the boxes themselves.

And though all the artists are based in the Bay Area, Reynoso said, he's had multiple subscribers sign up from overseas. Distributing art around the world, he said, has been one of the most fun parts of the project.

"People from Croatia or Taiwan or Canada have signed up," he said. "People come across through Facebook. We've had a lot of blog hits about it. We always wonder, 'How'd they find out about it?' It's amazing. And, when we're packing up the shipments it's fun to think, 'What's someone in Croatia going to like?'"

Learn about more various art subscription services here.

The Compound Gallery will hold a grand re-opening Apr. 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. after moving to its new location at 1167 65th St. The event will feature two Art in a Box contributors: Alissa Goss and Tallulah Terryll.

About Emilie Raguso

Emilie Raguso is a multimedia reporter in Oakland who focuses on issues of criminal justice, food and Oakland culture. She is passionate about social media, documentary photography and sustainable living. Her work has appeared on Salon and NPR, as well as in The Modesto Bee, Greater Good magazine and the East Bay Express. Write her at eraguso@gmail.com, follow her on Twitter (@emraguso) and see more of her work at http://raguso.us.