When you walk into The Studio and look to your right you will see a wonderful glass wall and door. For years I have been sharing the vision of what that might look like and now there it is, beautiful and new.
It is more than glass and metal; it marks a profound change in The Studio and of its perception. Yes, there will be cobwebs and the usual industrial feel of the space, but there will also be a pervasive sense that we have arrived.
There were many times that I wished we were able to produce a program, promote an event, offer something new to the community and now I feel we are able to present more programs more often thanks to a engaged board and a growing volunteer base. We function as a collective. One ant does not a hill make! As our programs become more successful, we must raise the bar to keep up with our progress. This means we must be more engaged and willing to put in the time to make these dreams a reality. I think we are on the right track.
Let me tell you about our newest activity. I’ve always wanted year round classes for children and, working with Dr. Joana Hyatt, I saw the opportunity to do so. Joana teaches art education in the Lamar University art department, and through her classes there is a resource of future teachers who would benefit from on-the-job training. Virginia Johnson was the first teacher to step up, and we came up with a name for this potentially groundbreaking program — Studio Arts Basics: Essential Knowledge for Children. It is a serious program directed at teaching students a direct way to learn the essentials of art production, giving them a core knowledge from which they can continue to work.
We are starting with a drawing session with Virginia that will cover the basic elements of the drawing technique. She will cover four classes each Saturday, beginning March 31 ending April 24, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Cost will be $80 with all supplies included.
Soon to follow will be Gonzalo Alvarez with illustration and Grace Chadwick with painting. I hope you will give your children the opportunity to learn the skills needed to create art. It is a great activity and provides the much needed thinking processes that will help them be more successful students.
We have two grants waiting in the wings. We’ve applied to Meadows Foundation for a match to our Harvey support grants and also a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the City of Beaumont for repair of the roof at the Barn (840 Franklin St.). With the Meadows, we hope to replace the windows upstairs, revive our sound system, upgrade our kilns and provide better ventilation for our residents and patrons through an efficient systems of fans.
With grants in mind we are also developing a Strategic Planning Meeting to catapult this organization into the next decades. We hope to establish a game plan we can use as our roadmap for the next 20 years.
The Art Studio is 35 years old, and we are looking at the long term plan and what we can do to make this organization sustainable in the years to come. I am so excited to find out what our future will hold, and I truly appreciate the residents and board members who offer their time, knowledge and enthusiasm toward the success of this organization.
Guidestar is the definitive source for all non-profit organizations. Through it we and others are showcased to the public so they can learn about the myriad groups doing good works and helping communities throughout the United States. The Art Studio was eligible to enter a contest put on by Guidestar that rewarded groups who upgraded their status through an “Olympic” competition.
Guidestar has a program called Seal of Transparency that goes through stages of information important to a future donor — Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. As the organizations advance in levels they are eligible for cash awards. The Studio was at the Gold level and advanced to the Platinum level, which made us eligible for the $500 award through a random pick. Lo and behold we won the 500 smackers! At the Platinum level they offer a donation button on your site and encourage contributors to shop for a charity. Hopefully, someone will make us that choice.
Welcome to the new residents to The Art Studio. As some artists slip across the yard to the new facility there were open studios to be filled. I am honored to welcome Rachel Wright, Chris Presley, Chris Holmes, Eric McClain and Steven Rousset. We have a wonderfully diverse community of ages, backgrounds, genders and philosophy.
I am so excited about the growth of our arts community. I was just speaking to a publishing representative who travels to many small towns throughout the United States. She was pleasantly surprised with the active arts community here in Beaumont, saying that it was rare to find so many artists and institutions that support the arts in a relatively small community. That is good to hear. I spend so much time trying to build a strong arts community I don’t often compare what we are doing next to other places.
So, feel good about our efforts and know we are on the right track. It takes everyone with the commitment to advance their own art skill to create a collective as dynamic as ours.
TASIMJAE 2018 is here. Our illustrious judge this year is Christopher Troutman, assistant professor of art at Lamar University. I am so pleased to have Chris as our juror this year and look forward to seeing the selections he makes and the awards he gives. It is only right that I, again, thank Mr. Scott LeBurn for his contribution toward the cash awards this year. Gifts like that are greatly appreciated and our appreciation for them knows no bounds.
Work days are coming up, and there is a list of projects that we need to attend before the heat of summer is upon us. We want some able-bodied people to haul some large equipment and supplies to the new facility so we can set up our welding and fabrication space and store our supplies of metal, forge and foundry equipment. Check out our Facebook page for announcements.
We hope to open up some space at 720 Franklin and make it more maneuverable and safer for our residents and the children during classes and summer art camp. As always I believe in intensive work to be done in a few hours and allow our volunteers to live their regular lives. With enough help it will be relatively painless. Many hands make easy work.
Greg Busceme is TASI founder and director