Work with your hands – New space lets aspiring artists share while they learn

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 that hosts classes and lessons, studio spaces, retail 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.

Since the studio opened in June, the pottery and painting classes have been the most popular, according to Beebe, but the studio space sets Work/Shop apart from other galleries.

Beebe, who attended the Rhode Island School of Design and got a doctorate from LSU’s vet school in 2003, teaches hand building and throwing pottery classes. She says the catalyst for Work/Shop was that the four founders realized they had skills and ideas to share.

“Being creative is more than just about making art,” she says. “The more different ways you can use your brain, the better a problem-solver you’ll be in any field.”

Hines teaches figure drawing and painting. He says it feels like a dream come true when he sees people socializing over their work and multiple classes happening simultaneously. “We’ve had some challenges, but it’s really important to us to create a space to fill the void in terms of affordable studio space and a place to share work and build a community of creative things,” he says.

Alex Marjanovic, a business analyst who has taken a painting and pottery class at Work/Shop, says she feels at home in the relaxed but social atmosphere.

“It’s peaceful, quiet, and I can make something with my hands,” she says.

Hines sees the business as an important part of Baton Rouge’s growing art community, which has potential but “doesn’t have that strong of a sense of self.”

He says, “Art … can be transformative in people’s lives and can have huge impact, but we don’t have enough of it. We want to connect groups of those who want to teach and those who want to learn.”

Work/Shop is in the Kenilworth Shopping Center at 7353 Highland Rd., Suite C. workshopbr.com