Rather than scratching out their drawings in cramped apartments, local artists of all sorts can rent new studio space on Capitol Hill in an environment where they will be surrounded by other creative types.
Creative Blueprint, a concept first started in Toronto, Canada, has opened its doors on Capitol Hill.
“It’s really important to me to be able to provide access to affordable space,” said Ashley Proctor, the owner of the Capitol Hill coworking space.
Proctor has spent the past few months designing and renovating the Boylston Ave space, which will include nine studios, of varying sizes, and a large central area. The plan, said Proctor, is to allow artists to work in the studios, while leaving the central for events. Proctor worked with Boylston neighbors Office Nomads and founders Jacob Sayles and Susan Dorsch to create the new space.
Some at Creative Blueprint rent a studio long-term, while others might just want to book some space for a few days a week, while still others might want to book by the hour. Proctor hopes that different sorts of artists, visual, performing, or otherwise will use the space, and have a chance to meet and collaborate with others. Ideally, a painter might hear a song being played in the next studio nearby, while a sculptor catches a glimpse of that painting, and in the process the artists draw inspiration from each other.
“You want those happy little collisions to take place,” Proctor said.
Membership options start at $30 per month and the new business also has shared and private studios available with prices ranging from $275 to $900 per month.
Susan Palmer has been teaching guitar for more than 15 years, and lived on Capitol Hill for more than 20. While she teaches at Seattle University, she also takes on private clients, and is excited about a place to work with them locally.
“I really wanted a space on the hill to teach,” Palmer said.
Beyond working with her students, Palmer said she likes the idea of bumping into other artists and forging a community.
“I’m so excited to be able to work in a space where people are doing, creative, smart work,” she said.
Denel Andreas, another artist said she’s also excited about using the space. She’s new to the art world, about two years ago, she left her practice as a naturopath to dive into art. She took classes at an art school in Georgetown, but said she’s hoping to be a part of “this idea of community and collaboration” that she hopes she’ll help build.
Andreas said that while she has a studio space in her home, she envisions herself dropping in during open hours at Creative Blueprint. She hopes to be able to tap into the knowledge of other artists. She also wants to take advantage of the studio’s design and has ideas for helping bring in musicians who can play and help to inspire the more visual artists, and in turn take inspiration from them.
“I see Creative Blueprint as the hub,” she said.
Creative Blueprint is now open at 1617 Boylston Ave. Visit its website or Facebook page for more information.
Not to be negative, this is a cool idea, but I was already thinking this doesn’t sound like a good place to teach guitar lessons before I read part where the other woman said she wanted to bring musicians to play while they work… Unless they are planning on sound proofing some studios?
Hi J.
We absolutely understand your concerns about noise in a shared workspace. The rooms used for music are enclosed as to not interfere with other artists working in the space. Our first trial day took place last week and we enjoyed a full day of guitar lessons without any noise issues for our studio artists or our neighbours in the building. It’s great having all kinds of creatives in the space :)
Creative Blueprint