Studios co-op unites Cocoa Beach arts community with downtown gallery
Mixed media artist Tony Sasso and his bud Peter Hain one day were shooting the breeze at Sasso’s garage/studio in Cocoa Beach.
The subject matters meandered, as it usually does when friends get to talking, and eventually Peter happened to comment on Tony’s art and asked if he had any interest in starting a gallery.
As it happened, Sasso was indeed very interested in a getting a gallery together, but things just hadn’t gelled for him. Enter Hain, the perfect guy to kickstart the project.
The friends set out on the journey of gallery launching, first meeting with Eddie Deleuil of the Heidelberg Restaurant to rent space, then traveling the state to research galleries and pounding the pavement to get a board together and find a stable of killer artists.
Thus was born the Studios of Cocoa Beach, a one-stop shop for all things art, and now the creative hub of the quintessential beach town, with a full schedule of workshops in a variety of techniques from beginner to advanced, for adults and children.
“We’ve brought something very special to downtown Cocoa Beach with the diversity of our art and our artists, as well as with the educational opportunities we offer,” said board president Kim Walker.
“We are constantly looking to offer a variety of classes from gourd painting to sip n’ paints to kids creating fantastic beasts out of recycled materials," she said. "It’s a lot of work, but very rewarding in so many ways.”
The volunteer-based co-op is one big, hard-working, happy family of more than 30 artists and 10 volunteers. All artists who wish to join the gallery must apply and are juried to keep a good diversity of style and mediums.
“We are a family, as an artist it is a humbling experience.” said oil painter Delia Swenson.
“Success is not 'I', it is 'we'," Swenson said. "As an artist seeing art sold at the Studios allows me to be informed and enlightened, excited and encouraged, supportive and awed by the talents of so many artists. I have found there is comfort in community.”
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The artists don’t just sit in their ateliers creating beautiful art. They also have a hand in the entire operations of the studios, from outreach to education.
“One of the fun jobs of the Studios is to keep the creative juices flowing by going outside of the norm,” said Walker. “Being a nonprofit, we have to depend on our artists and volunteers to sit in the studios and keep the doors open.”
Although primarily a showcase for Brevard-based artists, the Studios will step outside the norm on May 25 with “The Out-of-Towners," an exhibition of work by artists from throughout Florida.
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“After attending a huge art show in Dunedin last fall we were able to put together a fantastic group of artists ranging from photography to alcohol ink to acrylics to intricate hand-colored etchings,” said Walker.
Don’t let the small storefront entrance fool you, said watercolorist Ed Carlon, who both teaches and exhibits at the Studios.
"The Studios of Cocos Beach is a one-of-a-kind art gallery, whose small storefront is an entry into some of the best art in Brevard county,” he said.
Sasso still can’t believe just how much has come out of shooting the breeze that day with Hain.
“I love it when people visit for the first time,” he said. “As they step in we often hear: 'Wow, this is so cool!'”
The Studios of Cocoa Beach
Where: 165 Minutemen Causeway, Cocoa Beach
Info: 321-613-3480 or studiosofcocoabeach.org
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday
Also: The public is invited to the reception for the gallery’s “Out-of-Towners” exhibition, from 6 to 9 p.m., on Friday, May 25.
Sonnenberg is a Melbourne-based freelance writer.