Copyright 2001 by Edward Willett

One expects to find warehouses full of refrigerators, say, or perhaps automobile parts. One does not expect to find a warehouse full of artists and their art: but that's exactly what I visited last week as part of the Mackenzie Art Gallery's Twilight Tours series of visits to artists' studios.

Flatland Artist Studios Inc. just marked its two-year anniversary a few days ago. It was formed by a group of artists who came together to find a way to meet a perceived need for safe, affordable and accessible studio space, Marnie Badham, one of the "Flatlanders," told the Twilight Tour group.

The artists polled the local arts community, and discovered that several artists liked the idea of sharing studio space. "Many artists work in isolation," Marnie explained. "Some of us like having people around...it's really important to my creative development."

The artists examined several buildings around the city, looking for just the right space: some place with good light, large walls, good ventilation, etc. They finally settled on the main floor of 1100 Broad Street, a building that used to belong to the Saskatchewan Film Pool. Among its benefits are its central location, a cement floor, proximity to a bus route, a loading dock and big doors. They moved in and made the necessary renovations: tearing out walls, putting in new ones, and so forth.

"Everyone helped," Marnie said. "It was really motivating for the group spirit because everyone was coming together and doing what they could."

The result is a large, well-lit space divided into good-sized studios by walls generally tall enough to block the view into the adjoining studio while not tall enough to block the natural light that streams in from the north-facing windows, so that even those studios on the side of the space away from the windows can take advantage of it. (The one exception is Ryan Arnott's studio, which is a completely enclosed room lit by fluorescent lights. He likes it that way.)

What you see within each individual studio depends, of course, on the artist who works there. Darren McKenzie carves wooden masks, so his studio features a woodworking bench and a large pile of wood chips in one corner. Mike Jozsa creates giant metal bugs, one of which leans against the wall of his studio. Pierre Lheritier paints colorful abstracts; his studio features an easel, paintings on the wall and canvases leaning against it, and paints and brushes on shelves near the entrance.

Sheila Nourse, Felipe Diaz, Wendy Peart, Marnie Badham, Betty Grudniski, Darcy Zink, Ryan Arnott, Jan Johnson and Wendy Struck all have their own interests and work in a variety of media, all of which are reflected in their studio spaces.

The overall effect is of a workshop devoted to creative expression, a fascinating factory of the visual arts. (And by the way,all the artists who spoke to the Twilight Tours group were remarkably articulate about their work and why they create the kind of art they do.)

The output of the Flatlanders can be seen all over the city. One of Mike Jozsa's giant bugs used to grace the outside wall of a restaurant on 11th Avenue. Darcy Zink's huge metal dinosaur towers over the corner of Saskatchewan Drive and the Lewvan. Betty Grudniski's paintings can often be seen at Roca Jack's and Abstractions coffee houses. Felipe Diaz and Ryan Arnott both had pieces on display recently at the Rosemont Art Gallery, and Wendy Struck has had two shows at the Saskatchewan Cultural Exchange Societ.

Together, the Flatlanders caused quite a bit of buzz in the art community back in March when they temporarily took over the former Magellan's Coffee House at the corner of College Avenue and Broad Street, christening it the Mary Cooper Gallery, and filling it with work that explored how artwork interacts with the living spaces of a house. (Many people (myself included) assumed for quite a while that the Mary Cooper Gallery was to be a new permanent gallery and were wondering who Mary Cooper was.)

Putting on group shows like that is part of the mandate of the Flatlanders, and Regina can expect to see more of them in the future. "We annually hope to pop up somewhere, invading the space and making art," is how Darcy Zink, current president of the organization, puts it.

In the meantime, the Flatlanders continue to work on their art in their group studio, and continue to try to improve the space by adding more equipment for making art. They hope to add a kiln, a welding kit (they already have a welding/spray booth), a darkroom and woodworking equipment. The goal is to make that equipment accessible not only to the artists who have studio space in the building, but also to people outside the studio; in fact, anyone is welcome to become a member of Flatland Artist Studios Inc., to take part in programs ranging from public workshops to drop-in live-model sessions to public forums on art-related topics and to gain access to the art-making equipment on hand.

The Flatland Artists Studios is an exciting place, full of artistic energy and synergy. To learn more about it, or to become a member, call 949-1212.

Posted September 22, 2004