Milwaukee artist Madeline Glaspey opening school and gallery, reviving closed Cudahy funeral home

CUDAHY – Madeline Glaspey began painting at an early age, honing her craft for years before becoming a professional artist.

"It's in my blood," she said, with a laugh.

Now, Glaspey is opening a school for aspiring painters and an art gallery — a project that will redevelop a long-vacant Cudahy funeral home.

"It just really fit the bill," Glaspey said about the space. "It's nice and open."

The former funeral home, 3701 E. Layton Ave., was sold this month to Scarpette Rosse LLC, a group led by Mary Jo Glaspey, Madeline's mother, for $149,000, according to state real estate records.

The 5,850-square-foot, two-story building was sold by an affiliate of Houston-based funeral home operator Service Corp. International, said broker David Buckley, Barry Co. senior vice president.

City officials are looking forward to seeing the building revived, said Brian Biernat, Cudahy economic development director.

The building, constructed in 1928, last housed the Schramka Nero Funeral Home. It closed around four years ago, Buckley said.

The location, at the southeast corner of East Layton and South Kirkwood avenues, is a prominent spot within Cudahy's downtown area, Biernat said.

Cudahy's downtown development plan includes encouraging arts-related uses, he said.

Also, city officials are planning a possible revision of Cudahy's downtown development plan in 2019.

That work could feature a look at how to better connect downtown to the lakefront, Biernat said.

That would likely be done through a stretch of Layton Avenue, between South Packard Avenue and South Lake Drive, that includes Madeline Glaspey's future art school and other historic buildings, he said.

Glaspey found the former funeral home after initially looking at locations in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood.

But that neighborhood's strong redevelopment pace has resulted in higher rents, with some apartment and retail buildings, like the Artistry, 133 W. Pittsburgh Ave., taking the place of former artist studios. 

Life centered on art

Glaspey, 27, has spent most of her life centered on the visual arts.  

She enrolled at Elm Creative Arts Grade School at the age of 4, and later attended Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts. Both are part of Milwaukee Public Schools.

Glaspey graduated in 2009 from Milwaukee High School of the Arts. Her senior year included an internship at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

She then attended San Francisco's Academy of Art University. She graduated in 2013 with a bachelor of fine arts in drawing and painting.

Glaspey returned to Milwaukee five years ago. She paints with oils at a studio in Bay View — the neighborhood in which she grew up — and also works at Blick Art Materials store, 2219 N. Farwell Ave.

One of her works, "Memory Hallway," is part of the "Forward 2018: A Survey of Art Now" exhibit at the Charles Allis Art Museum, 1801 N. Prospect Ave. That exhibit opened Thursday. 

Meanwhile, over the past year, Glaspey has taught a few classes through the Milwaukee Sketch Club.

"I was like, 'Oh my God. When can I do this again?'" she said.

She loved the experiences of "connecting with people and watching other people connecting with people," Glaspey said.

"Just sharing that enthusiasm, sharing that passion, was something I hadn't felt for some time," she said.

"When they can find their true expression, it is just really exciting to me," Glaspey said.

She also reflected on her job at Blick, where she enjoys helping beginning artists who work with oil painting.

"Painting is hard. Drawing is hard," Glaspey said. "But what people don't really know is there are little tricks — sort of like magic tricks — they can use that can open up your world.

"I love seeing people get those concepts," she said.

She figures many of her future students will be baby boomers who have retired and have time to pursue their interest in painting.

Glaspey hopes to have her school, which is yet unnamed, operating by March.

The building doesn't need much work, she said.

The improvements will mainly be aesthetic: removing the carpet to expose the floors underneath, interior painting and improved lighting.

Eventually, she'd like to set aside some space as a gallery to display art created by her students.

Glaspey also plans to move to the building's second-floor apartment.

Meanwhile, she will continue to paint at her Bay View studio. Teaching is part of her personal growth.

"It will help me continue to be a better artist," Glaspey said.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.