New business creates innovative art space

A long, echoing hallway topped with large white lanterns welcomes patrons to Work/Shop, a space that lets locals get their hands dirty, develop right-brain skills, and make art for the keeping. The four owners of Work/Shop have built a unique business, hosting classes and lessons, leasing studio space, and coordinating retail opportunities and art exhibitions. Classes include pottery, painting, drawing, photography and more, with the offerings expanding as the business grows. A large main room serves as a classroom, studio and workspace for many of the sessions. Paintings sit in slots on a wall, and works in progress peek from abundant shelving. A second room contains 12 pottery wheels for throwing classes, and a back area houses two kilns and more storage for partially completed bowls, cups, statues and figurines. The Work/Shop crew includes manager Todd Hines, owners Lauren Beebe and Bill Newman, and coordinator Erin Rolfs, an occasional contributor to 225. Hines says the idea developed after he graduated from LSU, where he studied painting and drawing. He says students tend to lose the support structure of teachers and classmates after leaving school and have fewer chances to exhibit art. Read more about Work/Shop and how it’s filling a need in the Red Stick in this month’s 225 here.