The Art Establishment

Cousin Thomas and family

Among TOFs relatives are thirty-odd cousins, many of them extremely odd.  (Yes, I'm looking at you, and you know who you are.)  One of them is a lovely fellow: Thomas Patrick son of John Thomas son of Francis Joseph son of Daniel Joseph son of John Thomas son of Martin of Loughrea.  Not to be confused with Thomas Patrick son of John Daniel son of Daniel Joseph, etc.  He and Ellen are the parents of three lovely daughters. 

He and Ellen are also the parents of The Art Establishment, a projected venue where amateur artists can rent time and facilities to create art or to take and give lessons.  Let him speak for himself: 

"We're all about the amateur artist. The factories and offices and retail shops of the world are filled with artists - pragmatic artists who, tragically, stifle their artistic impulses to earn a living. The great sin is that, eventually, the Artist is forced into submission by the Factory Worker.

Future location of The Art Establishment

We believe there are untold numbers of amateur artists who would love to create if they had better access to studio resources, but we recognize that these artists are typically under-served. For an amateur to have studio access, he or she would have to either set aside space in their home, or commit their time and up front expense on monthly studio rentals or enrollment in semesters of art courses.

The unique nature of our studio is that it will give amateurs access to studio space and equipment on an affordable hourly basis. It will essentially be a "drop-in" studio where the artists can create on their own schedule and on their own terms. We'll offer easel space for painting and rendering, potters' wheels and kiln for ceramic artists, a black and white photographers' darkroom, and a large format etching press for printmakers. We'll also offer art instruction, a gallery to showcase the work, and retail art supplies.
We'll be called "The Art Establishment." (The Art Establishment Project is just a blog journal about our project.) It describes our business, but it's also a subtle dig at the formal "art establishment" that would certainly not deign to interact with amateur artists. We hope, rather, to serve as an entry point to the visual arts.

The daughters are helping by knocking
out the walls

The feedback we're getting from local artists has been very encouraging. Word is spreading about our studio through word of mouth, (we haven't done much marketing yet) and we seem to be causing quite a buzz. And we're thrilled with the caliber of established artists that are willing and excited to teach. The instructors will be independent contractors, who would use our facility.  [That is, the Art Establishment will be an umbrella under which artists may run their own classes. -- TOF] 

Right now we're concerned with getting the doors opened before we run out of money - and it will be a challenge! But when we're open I'd really like to get Uncle Joe in there (Pere), and Uncle Dan as well. And the Flynn discount (free) is always in effect if you think you'd like to step away from the word processor and wield a brush for a change...

You can follow the reworking of the building on The Art Establishment Project blog.  
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So, if TOF's Faithful Reader is anywhere near the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania and is interested in the Arts, this is going to be the Happening Place. 

It's almost enough to get TOF to scan some of his old artwork from college and post it.....