Something Fishy and Artsy Planned for West End

Denise Collins recognized the demand for an art studio in Long Beach after she established one in the garage of her former home three summers ago. 

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An art teacher at West and Lindell elementary schools, Collins’s Mermaid Art Studio for children served as many as 30 students a day during its second year on Wilson Street.

“It was packed during the summer,” Collins recalled. “And as an art teacher, I’m always approached by parents to do any kind of tutoring or art lessons, or I’m asked about places where they can go.”

Now Collins is partnering with Laura Bykowski, a freelance preservation librarian who taught a bookbinding program in her garage, to re-open the studio under the same name at a 400-square-foot vacant storefront at 891B W. Beech St. in the West End.

The duo hope to open the studio as an after-school studio for kids by mid-September, and later will feature educational art classes and workshops for artists of all ages. The studio will focus on painting, drawing, mixed media and other art forms, but it will not include ceramics, a niche Collins said is covered by another arts studio in town.

“We’re going to provide very simple things for the youngest kids, a little more complex for older kids and even more complex for adults,” Bykowski said.

The business partners have planned various programs, including group projects out in the field and a teen night every Friday, and will rent their space out for birthday parties, as well as to artists who may not have studio space.  

“We’re also hoping to invite other artists and craft people to come in and teach classes and share the space with them,” Bykowski said.

They’ll also redecorate their store window with art that evokes a new theme each month, something Collins’s students are familiar with doing. Their artwork has adorned the windows and walls of various businesses around town, from women’s boutique to diners to coffee shops. They also created the mural on a wall at Georgia Playground that survived Hurricane Sandy.

Collins believes it’s these connections with the community, as well as her work in the city’s school district for the past 10 years, which give her confidence the studio will be a success.

“We’d like to become very active and visible in the community,” she said.

Collins sees the brick-and-mortar studio as the culmination of a series of events, both personal and community-wide. After she sold her home and moved into a co-op in Long Beach last year, she had to put her business on hiatus. Then came Hurricane Sandy, which crippled Long Beach, and she was among the teachers in the school district whose hours, salary and benefits were cut by 20 percent in the 2013-14 budget.  

“I always wanted to do this, so this was almost like a sign to pursue this,” she said about the cuts to her position. “And with all the rebuilding going on after Sandy and all the excitement and energy, I thought this was the time to do it.”

First, though, they must rebuild their unit, sandwiched between Rose & Eye and The Dough Hut, which was hit hard during the October storm. They’ve created a Indiegogo fundraiser campaign for anyone who wants to assist them with hard construction costs, furniture and other materials. Called “Bruised Not Broken: Building the Mermaid Art Studio.” 

They have a month to reach their funding goal of $12,500, otherwise they receive no funds at all. 

"Our funding is flexible, meaning we receive all funds that are raised online, even if we do not meet our goal," Bykowski said.  "Our fundraising deadline is Monday, Aug. 12."

“Neighbors and friends have encouraged us to do this project and have asked how to help,” Bykowski said about the fundraiser. “We’d love to have a contractor who wants to donate time or materials, but right now crowd funding is the best way for folks to get involved, spread the word and make this arts facility a reality.”

This story was originally published at 9 a.m. on July 15.