What do an old lumber millworks, a shuttered school and a factory previously used to manufacture freezers and water coolers, among other things, have in common?
All three, years after last serving their original purpose, have found new life providing creative space for artists in need of spots to work on their craft.
Some artists use their studio space primarily for work, others for storage. Some even live there in addition to working there. But prevailing opinion in all three communities seems to be that they provide invaluable resources.
MillWorks Art Studios
www.millworksart.com
It’s been in operation for about a decade, but in the last year, MillWorks has really started to pick up steam.
MillWorks, located on Leonard Avenue in east Columbus, has roughly 75 artist members, plus a sign shop, machine shop and warehouse facility. The building began life in 1902 as the McNally Lumber Co., an architectural millworks, with efforts to turn the space into artist studios beginning in 2004.
MillWorks’ mission, in addition to providing an affordable place for artists to work, entails supporting small business development and education. It’s a good transition for people whose work is outgrowing their home studios or who need to separate their work and home lives in order to focus on their art, says site manager Scott Mowrey.
Among the artistic media represented by MillWorks artists are painting, photography, sculpture, stitchwork, paper, bookbinding, jewelry, textiles and woodwork.
The transformation of McNally into MillWorks was facilitated by Marvin and Susan Katz, who are known for restoring old buildings into multi-tenant properties; the Buggyworks and the Belmont Building are a couple of well-known examples. They sold the building to Mowrey and his wife, Sandi, in summer 2014.
The Katzes already had a robust crop of artists – some of whom had been with them for 15-20 years, starting at other properties – but the Mowreys have worked hard to bring in new members.
“We gained another 15 art folks by September, October last year,” Mowrey says.
Ron Anderson, a multi-disciplinary artist who teaches at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center, lauds the MillWorks atmosphere as a great one for bouncing ideas around. The Mowreys have worked hard to foster collaboration and move projects forward, says Pheoris West, an oil and acrylic painter and former professor at The Ohio State University.
Beyond its collection of studios, MillWorks also has rehearsal space for performing arts and exhibition space available for short-term use. Its North Gallery, which until last year was home to a charter school, was used for a public artist mixer in February and may be used for future public events as well.
That mixer – the first time MillWorks had been open to the public in about 10 years – featured about 100 pieces of art, Mowrey says.
400 West Rich
www.400westrich.com
As Franklinton has undergone a resurgence in recent years, one of the most recognizable symbols of that resurgence has been 400 West Rich.
Built in 1910 as the D.A. Ebinger Sanitary Manufacturing Co., a company taking advantage of the indoor plumbing boom, the building was home to businesses making such items as refrigerators, water coolers, freezers and soft serve dispensers until the late 1970s. After a stretch as an art glass studio, the 105,000-square-foot repurposed factory officially became an artists’ community in summer 2011, with about 16 studios.
“Those filled up pretty much immediately,” says Chris Sherman, project manager for 400 West Rich.
Artists – the current number being more than 100 – have been added as more of the building has been converted into studio space. In addition to space for artists, the building also offers music rehearsal studios, office space and co-working space, as well as the Ohio State STEAM Factory, a project of The Ohio State University faculty and staff focused on research and innovation. Then there’s Strongwater Food and Spirits, the attached bar and restaurant that opened in late 2013.
Artists under the 400 West Rich umbrella include painters, photographers, printmakers, sculptors, fabricators, carpenters, woodworkers, graphic designers and architects.
The industrial feel of 400 West Rich – the grit and rough edges – has proven popular among tenants both current and prospective, Sherman says, as have its abundance of natural light and proximity to Downtown. The spirit of cooperation has also been a big selling point.
“There’s been an influx of new people and a lot of creative energy,” says photographer Stephen Takacs, a studio artist. “Everyone around me works in a different medium, but they can still offer a unique vision and way of looking at things that I would sometimes miss.”
Those interested in seeing what the community has to offer have multiple opportunities, including farmers’ markets the second and fourth Saturday of each month, painting classes the third Saturday of each month, Franklinton Friday art crawls the second Friday of each month, an open house at the annual Independents’ Day, scheduled tours and such one-off events as a Festivus party and the Artist Wrestling League.
Sherman has long-standing ties to the local arts community, having grown up in Columbus with a mother who was herself a ceramic artist.
He came to Franklinton in 2004 in search of a shop space and bought the building that would become 400 West Rich for that purpose. But when Jim Sweeney, executive director of the Franklinton Development Association, began working to revitalize the neighborhood, he came to Sherman to use the warehouse space for events.
Having the space available for events such as Urban Scrawl and Go West was one of the catalysts that helped propel Franklinton forward, and the building would hit another milestone in 2010 when Sherman worked with property owner Lance Robbins to convert it into studio space, using Grandview Heights-based Junctionview Studios – which closed in 2013 – as inspiration.
“I think that Junctionview created a fantastic model for what can happen in the arts community with regard to collectiveness,” Sherman says, pointing to its sense of inclusiveness and collaboration as key to its uniqueness.
Artist Wrestling League
400 West Rich’s Chris Sherman describes the Artist Wrestling League as “sort of the WWF meets Bob Ross.”
For the event, two canvases are set up in a wrestling ring for one-on-one matches between artists, who dress up in over-the-top costumes and cut bragadocious promos on their opponents.
The audience decides on a subject, and then the two artists have 10 minutes to paint it. After the referee makes a decision on the superior painting, the winner is showered with applause while the loser falls victim to a shot from a harmless wrestling prop.
Milo Arts
www.miloarts.com
The oldest artist studio community in Columbus is also the one in which the most artists live, rather than just work.
Milo Arts – located, as its name implies, in Milo-Grogan, just east of Italian Village – opened its doors in 1988. In its past life, the building – constructed in 1894 – was a school designed by J.M. Freese, the architect who designed Franklin Park Conservatory.
Photography, film, painting and graphic design are some of the mediums practiced by Milo artists. All Milo tenants vote on whether to accept prospective new artists, a process that can be stressful, but valuable, for newcomers.
“I was terrified to bring my portfolio here to these great working artists,” says graphic designer Matt Randall, who has been at Milo two years. “(But) they looked at my work and had actual critiques. They said, ‘This stuff is good for these reasons, and here’s what you can do to make it better.’”
In addition to its studios, Milo boasts a garden, a small dog park and a fire pit, and owns several buildings to the west, including a recording studio and a space several artists are working to turn into a gallery.
Artists who live and work at Milo heap praise on the community and owner Rick Mann for providing creative opportunities they would not be able to find elsewhere. A lot of talented people wouldn’t be able to afford to live as working artists without Mann and Milo, Randall says.
“I came to visit and was just immediately in love with it,” says video artist and producer Keida Mascaro, who has been at Milo for seven years. “This has been one of the best things in my life, for sure.”
Mann, for his part, has been encouraged to see so many artists coming into their own in Milo’s encouraging environment.
Another selling point for tenants is the size of the old classrooms that have been turned into studios, which allow for a good amount of storage space – important for artists who’ve built up enormous collections of work over the years.
“It can give you – easily and within code – two levels,” says photographer Will Shively, who has been at Milo for four years but taking photos for 41.
Possibly the most significant draw for those who choose to situate themselves at Milo Arts is simply the other artists in the community and the creative and collaborative spirit they bring with them. It’s the sense of community that sets Milo apart, says tenant Charlie Rowe, a model and partner of Keida Mascaro; when she fell ill recently, other residents offered to help however they could.
“It was really the people (that brought me here),” says cinematographer Aniko Zala, who moved to Milo with her husband, Brad, in February.
There are a couple acres of green space across Leonard from MillWorks Artist Studios, and Scott Mowrey hopes to be able to use that space for outdoor events.
“I think we could have 2,000 people there for an event,” Mowrey says.
Other artist studio communities in central Ohio include:
-Ethical Arts Collective in Franklinton
-No Place Studios in Merion Village
-Tacocat Cooperative in Grandview Heights
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Related Stories
-Stitchworker Sue Cavanaugh, who has studio space at MillWorks and 400 West Rich
-Multimedia artist Suzanne Silver, who has studio space at MillWorks
-Oil painter David Denniston, who has studio space at 400 West Rich
-Carol Stewart, a still life painter who has had studio space at Milo Arts
