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Torpedo Factory - Take Another Look

Dec. 16, 2008

Studio of Tory Cowles, Sheep Jone and Kathy Beynette

Susan Finsen's studio

The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria combines a pretty ambitious art school with a few dozen resident artist’s studios housing maybe 100 or so painters, sculptors, ceramicists, metalsmiths, printmakers. (caution: number pulled from my yaya). It is, from the economic standpoint, wildly successful. Well supported by Alexandria government and residents, it has become a retail destination and I know artists who earn an entirely adequate living selling art there – no mean feat.
Nonethless, Torpedo Factory art has sometimes been viewed as kind of domesticated and bland by the artfolk who consider themselves more of-the-moment. Well, I hadn’t been there for several years until I visited my friend Tory Cowles a couple of weeks ago and I’m here to tell you that it’s worth taking another look. I don’t think I saw nary a watercolor landscape in the place.

Dawn Benedetto's studio

"Bird Boy" by Rosemary Covey

There are interesting painters, particularly if you are partial to lots of luscious color (e.g.Tory Cowles, Sheep Jones, Susan Finsen, Ann Barbieri. Murney Kelleher, Joyce McCarten, Jeane Garant). Rosemary Covey makes and shows her amazing scary intaglio prints, the enamalists studio continues to show the work of a dwindling coterie of artists willing to make this labor-intensive work, including a number of artists trained in Europe. There are several top-notch metalsmiths, including Dawn Benedetto whose work runs from the affordable earrings and rings in candy-colored plastic to one-of-a-kind rings made of oxidized silver, pierced randomly and dusted with tiny scattered gems. You won’t see anything else like these.
So – you might well consider a trip to Alexandria, especially if you still have Holiday shopping to do. Because we should all support our artists.

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