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I have this crazy vision for our studio, and we are all plunging headlong into it. 

It began when I was thirty years old and eight months pregnant with my first child. That’s when it finally dawned on me that there wasn’t enough time left in my lifetime to do and learn all of the things that I wanted to do and learn. This realization came out of a struggle with a 9 square foot linoleum carving. I desperately wanted my print to reveal the delicate intricacies of the masterful work of wood engraver Barry Moser. Small wonder that it wasn’t working out for me. Barry Moser probably carves every day of his life, and this was practically my first linoleum cut. Though I studied Moser’s prints to learn his technique, my hands did not have the control. And despite linoleum being inferior to endgrain boxwood, which is used in wood engravings for holding a thin and fragile line, it was so far off the mark, that I was disappointed with myself.

I thought of other projects on back burners. I had visions of stunning finished art pieces that combined my printing, painting, enameling, drawing, and design with elements of woodworking, metals, sound, and animation. However, my chicken arms did not control power tools well, and I lacked software, money, knowledge and skill sets for these additional media. If I would need to dedicate my life to carving just to make the linoleum block I wanted, how on earth could I make these other, more complex pieces? What was I to do? 

I thought of Dale Chihuly’s studio. Teams of artists work together to make wild and complex artwork with glass. Could I learn something from that? 

A fantasy played in my head. “What if my studio included a lot of artists?” Some could be skilled in working with wood, some in metal, some in printmaking, some in design, and so forth. Then, I could make whatever I want!

My practical voice scoffed, “Dream on. How would you pay them?” I thought of my letterpress business. It’s an applied art. Clients commission me to use my artistic skills for a practical function, such as to create wedding invitations, or business cards, or stationery. 

Wood, metal, enamel, design, sound and animation, all can work towards applied arts or fine arts. What if we made a steady income from applied arts, and then used the unique space, equipment and skills to create wild and strange artworks – ones that might combine letterpress with woodworking, soundtracks with printmaking, dining room chairs with video screens playing animated paintings and prints!

“YES!!” I thought! What synergy! What an exciting place to go to work! And these would all be artists who would come up with more ideas and more ways to create fascinating things from this assemblage of media. And they would have paychecks. And benefits. Imagine, artists with a steady job being artists! 

As I continued the daydream, I saw the studio as if I was a visitor, walking in through the front doors – in a much, much, much larger space. You enter in the gallery, pristine with high ceilings, showing the latest work by the artists. To your left is a gift shop, which sells some of the applied arts and includes some things that nearly any visitor could afford to buy. To your right is a consultation room for meeting with clients,collectors, and visitors. Walk through the back of the gallery and visitors can watch the activities of the workshops through a wall of glass. Printmaking and letterpress on the left. . . enameling, then metal and wood. Upstairs is full of computers for design, sound, and animation. Administrative, sales, and marketing staff is also there. 

On the third floor you find small personal art studios – one for each employee and artist. Inside is room for a drafting table, a desk, some books and supplies. Each is a personal space to plan and work. 

This vision drives me. Over time, I’ve been filling in practical details about sales, how to connect with the public, how to divide time between applied arts and fine arts, and how to approach marketing and sales for some very different types of marketplaces. We’re moving closer. 

Today, fifteen artists, including staff and volunteer apprentices, are closely involved with our studio. The space is still small, but nonetheless, visitors walk in to a gallery of hanging paper sculptures, prints, paintings, and enamel works. The first of the wood designs, a fireplace mantel, was built this year. The letterpress business is going strong with one of the busiest months of wedding invitations that we’ve ever had. Our line of letterpressed botanical greeting cards continues to grow and develop, and we’re poised to launch “Painted Tongue Fine Arts,” to promote and sell the fine art of the individual artists.  

So, come to our small studio. Sit in the middle of the bustle and sip a cup of tea. Buy a greeting card or two. Ask us to design and print something for you. Talk to us about our artwork. Come be a part of this crazy vision, and help us as we plunge headlong into it.