Work at The Studio continues. You may have observed the ceiling light rack above the lower deck of the gallery. It seems to give more direct lighting to the work and saves a lot of climbing on the 12-feet ladder.
Along with the track lighting in the lobby you will be pleased to see real lights in the restrooms, along with a 110v receptacle much needed lights in the darkroom hall and new 240v receptacle in the ceramics classroom.
We also just got powered up with a hotrod modem. We have a new sound system and a crazy cool light bar on the way.
New fans have also been purchased and are waiting to be installed. We hope to have a little left for kiln reconstruction and sheds to beef up our ceramics program again.
All of these improvements are made possible by a grant from The Meadows Foundation, Inc. The 840 facility wasn’t left out as we had a CDBG grant to repair the roof and stop those leaks, and brought in new air compressor compliments of Meadows once again.
Through the support of our community, patrons and fellow artists, The Art Studio, Inc. is better prepared to meet the next 30 years.
Our final big push is to reconcile the roof issue in our main building. For too long our office, studios, structures and supplies have been lost or damaged by the insidious invasion of water from our leaky roof. Working with David Perkins at Perkins Roofing and board member Allison Kainer, who is overseeing the project, we have a proposal for repairing all the roofs on both buildings.
Both metal buildings will receive a completely new sheathing of metal along with a substantial amount of insulation to make the summers not so summery.
The main roof will also have a considerable face lift, with new underlayment drafted for more efficient water drainage, a thick layer of dense fabric, metal sheathing and an insulation layer rated at a 33R. This will assist us in relieving the unbearable heat developed by the solid concrete roof in the midst of summer.
As you may guess the price tag is going to be big. But considering the roofs will last 25-30 years, I feel it will be worth it. Artists will have more time to work and with the heater upstairs winter won’t be very bad either.
We are looking at $140,000 to complete this project. We already have a positive response to our proposal for around $40,000, and the rest is certain to follow. This project is so important for the future of the studio and its ability to sustain itself over the next few decades. Ultimately, we hope to install solar panels and windmills to help reduce the energy used, and to use technology to advance the development of The Studio to better serve this community.
I received an email from Veera Tervola at Arizona State University who conducted a survey about volunteerism at The Studio a while back. Fifteen years later, they are back to see where we are with volunteers and how they helped. In gathering information for her, I was quite impressed by what I saw.
Looking at July and September of 2018, I found that July accounted for 114 hours of community service time from at least 17 volunteers.
Even better, September brought us 153 hours of service and constituted 56 members of our volunteer force.
Many thanks to the Blue Key and Beta Key Clubs of Beaumont United High School for their much-needed assistance and energetic enthusiasm that makes the work so much more enjoyable.
Without the community service programs, a lot of projects would not get done or would take twice as long to complete.
You don’t have to be young or energetic to help the mission of The Studio and be a part of a growing organization. Most jobs are simple tasks, unskilled and boring.
Our membership show is fast approaching. Affectionately known as TASIMJAE (The Art Studio, Inc. Members Jurored Art Exhibition), it is the premier exhibition of the year for The Studio. A juried show is one that invites a judge to select the works that will be presented. In our case, each artist will enter two works to be judged and the juror will accept one, both or none. This can be quite daunting to new artists, but is something we all have to go through.
Critique is the means by which we receive feedback about our creations. Much like an editor or proofreader might help us to clarify or improve what we are trying to convey, critiques can help us realize the finer points of our work.
It is always helpful to remember that the juror is one person with a limited time to select a show. They may choose a theme evident in the show, or a style or even a material. So don’t take it personal.
Another point I want to make is there is no age limit on either of our group shows — TASIMJAE and The Alternative Show held in June. Everyone is eligible to exhibit. I feel that young people are creative geniuses. The purity of thought and spontaneous imagery combines to offer the unique perspective of an unadulterated mind.
We all should be so lucky.
ISSUE story by Greg Busceme, TASI founder