The paid staff at WSW is small, although it is aided by some very dedicated volunteers. Everyone involved with the Workshop works extremely hard and they all seem to truly enjoy what they do. Their seemingly unlimited creative energy is very contagious. Women's Studio Workshop is unique because of the quality and breadth of what it accomplishes, and because the accomplishments are achieved by a small group of women who are committed to working both with each other and in their community, with a sense of nurturing, sharing, fairness, respect, and professionalism. My own experiences there, as the lucky recipient of a book artist-in-residence grant, were very positive. Aside from the benefits of any residency, where one is able to focus on a project without the distractions of home and is paid to do so, I was most struck with the magic of the place itself. Just ninety miles north of New York City, about an hour and a half by car or bus, WSW is located in Rosendale, New York. Rosendale is between the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains, each of them pleasantly accessible by bike. There is nothing distinctive or exciting about Rosendale, a small town with one main street; Fann's Department Store is one of the downtown's highlights. Rosendale is a perfect setting, however, for working hard and then relaxing, amidst quiet country noises, clean air, and scenery to feed the soul. Artists spending longer than two weeks at WSW might want to arrange access to a car or bicycle, to be able to explore and appreciate the area, and to avoid feeling isolated. Still, it is the isolated, peaceful environment which sustains the idealistic values which brought WSW into existence. Those values are based in feminism. Out of a desire to form a network with other women artists and to create opportunities for artists to work and exhibit, Barbara Leoff Burge, Ann Kalmbach, Tana Kellner, and Anita Wetzel founded WSW in 1974. The "establishment" art world then was even less accessible to women artists than it is today. WSW does not expend energy fighting the male-dominated system or addressing the commercial art world directly; they have quietly and professionally gone about providing an alternative for artists, questioning definitions of success, and challenging assumptions about women artists, who are still often viewed as something less or different than male artists. The organization is not "anti male," though. Men are welcome participants in its activities. Initially, WSW was a collective, operating out of a rented three-story house. By 1980, the organization had incorporated and purchased an old general store as a permanent home. Renovations took place over the next two years, including expansion of the building to 5000 square feet, with the help of two hired workers and many volunteers. Ann Kalmbach, with the input of other artists who would be using the Workshop, designed the studio spaces to be extremely efficient and workable. Natural light is in abundance and appropriate artificial lighting does not preclude working into the night. The building is very versatile, allowing for visiting artists to make spaces for themselves and for performance and installation artists to transform the building to their needs. An open hallway on the second floor, outside of the main office, provides a formal exhibition area. Work also often adorns the first level printmaking studio and hallway, as well as the wall of the main staircase. Exhibits change monthly, featuring artists chosen on the basis of slides sent in after a yearly national call for entries. The exhibition spaces are well maintained and artists who are able to accompany their work are assisted during installation by program coordinator Lisa Kellogg. Works in progress fill the other studios, encouraging informal critiques and discussion. WSW's line of handmade paper, stationery, books, and jewelry have helped spread the workshop's name and reputation, especially among papermakers. Their work is featured in museum shops and galleries across the country and there is a gift shop in the building. Since the papermaking studio is a vital part of the Workshop's income, it is particularly well equipped and maintained. A David Hodges hollander beater, soon to be replaced, has served for many years. Large vats, a hydraulic press, and a custom-built stainless steel vacuum table, 4' x 6', allow for works ambitious in both scale and technique. With a floor drain, ample windows, and access to an outside working area, the paper studio is very pleasant to work in. The screenprinting studio is also active, with income generated by a line of hand-printed clothing. It is the most efficiently designed and workable screenprinting space I have printed in. screenprinting is often neglected as a medium because the oil-based inks and solvents traditionally used are so toxic, but WSW was an early convert to water-based techniques. Artists and students benefit from WSW's extensive experiments with the numerous water-based materials and methods available. The sink for cleaning screens is enclosed and raised, and a light covers the back wall of the sink so that screens can be easily cleaned and checked. Photo screenprinting is used extensively; screens are processed and exposed in the studio on a large light table, with full photo facilities just down the hall. The graphics darkroom is centrally located, and features a 20" x 24" copy camera, and a photostat machine, with a large sink for washing and drying. The photography area is extensively equipped with four enlargers, allowing for work with negatives from 35 mm. to 4" x 5", in both color and black and white. There is a separate room for washing and drying, and another small space with drymount facilities. Letterpress and offset printing unfortunately share a rather small studio with only one window. Both the Multilith offset press and the Chandler and Price platen press are in good working condition, although limited in size, printing only as large as about 9" x 14". There are plans to expand this space and install a Vandercook press. While the type selection is not overly extensive, book artists can order specific type faces with grant monies. I grew very fond of this little studio and appreciated its seclusion, but it is probably the most cramped, least comfortable, and most poorly ventilated area in the building, which is a problem during clean up and while offset plates are being processed. This space is the exception at the Workshop, however, and here, as in all of the studios, safe working habits and precautions are practiced and encouraged. The intaglio studio, which doubles as the slide lecture room, is the first room encountered when entering WSW and serves as a cheerful, spacious welcome. The front wall is solid windows and there are shelves and large drawers along the side walls, with room to hang things above. The studio is well furnished, with two Dickerson etching presses, 26" x 48", 18" x 22" viscosity rollers, a separate, well-ventilated acid room, and a large hot plate. While the Workshop has no separate bookbinding studio, there are ample supplies, and work space can be set up here or in the papermaking studio. There are often up to forty people in and out of the Workshop in a month, but it stays in good shape. People are expected to treat the studios with respect and to clean up after themselves, and they generally do. WSW opens all of its studios to area artists; affordable rental rates, with discounts to members, cover all supplies except printing plates and paper. Artists-in-Residence have materials provided or purchased for them; students' materials are usually included in class fees. With staff artists making decisions about supplies, available materials are safe and of high quality. The main office is the heart of the Workshop. It serves as a conference room, phone center, kitchen, dining room, break room, graphics studio, library, computer center, and mail room, as well as an office. Pot luck lunches around the picnic table can be the social highlight of the day, with staff, volunteers, and visiting artists sharing food and stories. The importance to take time off from work is recognized. Lunch is also a time for everyone to check in with each other on what needs to be done and on who may need extra help. Artists-in-Residence and visiting instructors are housed in a sky-lit, two-bedroom apartment on the third floor, with a kitchen area, a central living or working space, and a small terrace looking out onto the hill behind the studio. For me, bird watching from the terrace with a cup of coffee was a particularly pleasant way to start the day. While there are no restaurants or food stores within easy walking distance, rides are not difficult to obtain. Students for the Summer Arts Institute find lodging at either a hotel or one of several bed and breakfasts, all within walking distance. Other lodging is also available in and around Rosendale. WSW's building and Rosendale itself provide a continuum for the staff, all of whom have chosen to live in a rural setting while still maintaining contact with other artists. Life away from a city makes it possible to focus energies, something which WSW helps participants do very well. At any given time there are usually seven full- or part-time staff members, an active board of fifteen, an advisory board of twelve, interns, and volunteers. In addition to regular duties, several on the staff also supervise specific studios and serve as instructors. Other instructors are hired from the surrounding community or, particularly for the Summer Arts Institute, are recruited nationally. Of the collective's four founders, two, Kalmbach, as executive director, and Kellner, as artistic director, work full-time for the Workshop, and the other two are still involved in its activities. The success of Women's Studio Workshop is partially attributable to the fact that it supports itself and its staff as well as it supports others. While many artist-run collectives were established in the early seventies, it is unusual to find one that has lasted for over sixteen years and still retains the support of its original founders. Many organizations burn themselves out by not having the finances and energy to return to those expending it originally, but WSW has avoided this. As a result, thousands of people have passed through the workshop's doors and many of them have been deeply affected in the process. Students leave with obvious and tangible rewards: knowledge and new skills. Workshops on a par with college-level continuing studies courses take place throughout the year in the various studios. Classes are small, with an emphasis on individual attention and assistance. The Summer Arts Institute offers intensive week-long courses on specific topics, such as "Sculptural Bookworks and Performance" and "Ancient Indigo: Eastern and African Dye Techniques." Members receive discounts on summer classes. During the school year, WSW participates in the NEA's Artists-in-the-Schools programs, bringing area primary and secondary school children to the studios to get hands-on (and hands into) experience. Artists' books have been a focus of the Workshop since 1979, supported by an artist-in-residence program and through production grants to artists who work elsewhere. Carol June Barton's Tunnel Map, Susan Elizabeth King's Women and Cars, Clarissa Sligh's What's Happening with Momma, and Pati Scobi's Internal Change #1 are just a few of almost fifty diverse titles published to date. Other residencies are available which allow performing artists, printmakers, papermakers, and art writers (the newest program) to come each year to develop work for one to eight weeks. Resident artists are chosen by outside jurors, with application deadlines scattered throughout the year. Resident artists are asked to give public presentations about their work which, along with performance pieces, prose and poetry readings, and film screenings, inform and challenge area residents and artists. Another format for ideas is the quarterly Binnewater Tides, edited by Margaret Henkels, who also writes intuitive and descriptive reviews and previews and oversees other aspects of publication and distribution. Original artwork, photographs, well-written articles, prose, and poetry complete the Tides' pages. With all of the programs generated by the workshop, financial survival becomes an activity all its own. Under the guidance of Karen Moak, development director, WSW has a varied and creative means of support. While the Workshop still receives grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, IBM, and Mobil Foundation Inc., government and corporate funding has become increasingly difficult for non-profit arts organizations to obtain. Now, with the current political atmosphere surrounding the NEA and censorship, there are no guarantees. More and more, WSW will depend on revenue from memberships in the organization, creative fundraising events, and from sales of its books, paper, and clothing. Beyond that, they will continue to assert themselves as a necessary alternative, supporting individual women artists, promoting equality, and defending freedom of expression. Women's Studio Workshop can be contacted for more information at: P.O. Box 598, Rosendale, NY 12472 or (914) 658-9133.
