HONORING LIFE Twenty-eight different artists and one founding architect occupy space at Atelier One, home of Funeria, above.
Apples to Art Atelier One celebrates 25 years of creativity BY JESSICA DUR
L
ong before the tiny hamlet of Graton was known for its art galleries, antique stores and Zagatrated bistros, locals packed the community center to protest reconstruction plans for an old apple-drying building in town. The year was 1980, and the project, led by architect J. Lamont Langworthy, involved turning the long-sinceabandoned building into a collection of artist studios.
“People were against it,â€? Langworthy tells me with a chuckle, “as they often are against things that are good for them.â€? Originally built in 1918, the condemned building still bore the evidence of a time when apples reigned as a major cash crop. During the ’20s and ’30s, a conveyor belt of water oated the fruit across Bowen Street to be cut, peeled and left to drip their juices onto the oor. By the time Langworthy discovered it, the building had been abandoned for a decade. “The place was a mess,â€? he says,
“full of old, greasy, apple-peeling machines.â€? The architect spent the next six years transforming the drying rooms into artist studios, sparking a renaissance that breathed life into Graton, which he says was “a ghost town.â€? The refurbished building (named Atelier, French for “workshopâ€?) began renting out its studio spaces in 1987. Twenty-ďŹ ve years and countless creative ventures later, Atelier One hosts its ďŹ rst open studio with a weekend-long anniversary celebration that kicks off on Friday, Sept. 28.
Vintage collectable sculptor Monty Monty occupies a corner workshop that would bring any steampunk to his knees, using everything from old ďŹ shing rods to ďŹ lm reels. Also sharing the roof are a smattering of painters, including SRJC instructor Lisa Beerntsen, Robert Breyer, Cindy Cleary and Charles Becker, who does for fruit what Marvin Gaye did for ďŹ rst dates—never has there been a sexier strawberry. Fashion designer Emily Melville rents a studio, as does the Spiral Foods Co-op, which is 300 members closer to bringing the only member-owned food cooperative to Sonoma County. “I’m grateful to have found a comfortably weathered place where no one worries about tromping down the halls in wet boots,â€? says Maureen Lomasney, who’s rented studio space for 16 years and currently curates the gallery at Funeria, the ďŹ rst of its kind in the country. Devoted exclusively to crematory vessels, Funeria asks artists to honor death by thinking outside of the pine box. The resulting urns, resplendent in their whimsy and craftsmanship, are not to be missed. As evidence of what Lomasney calls their “philanthropy,â€? Langworthy and co-owner Bruce Stephen are dedicated to keeping the rents low. The result? “We’re always full,â€? Langworthy points out, “and have no need to advertise.â€? “Affordability helps buy time for shapes to reveal themselves and ideas to mature,â€? Lomasney tells me. “For all of us here, having time to grow is the greatest luxury of all.â€? Atelier One’s 25th Anniversary Open House opens with a party Friday, Sept. 28, from 6pm to 9pm; studios are open throughout the weekend, Sept. 29–30. 2860 Bowen St., Graton.
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