Physically speaking, artist Julie Friedman might make Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec look like an NBA center.
But the owner of Morristown’s ArtSpace studio and gallery stands tall in the eyes of her 12 tenants.
They come to the lovely house on Elm Street as often as they can. They come to paint, and to share encouragement, and above all, to soak up Julie’s knowledge.
“She tries to find where you are, and where you want to go. And she helps you get there,” said Maryann Didriksen, who comes from Rockaway to paint at ArtSpace. It’s a warm, friendly atmosphere, and with one exception, all the painters are females. “There’s room to be yourself,” Maryann said.
Another ArtSpace tenant, Karen Tighe, studied with Julie way back when.
“Julie is so giving, she’s so encouraging and has such enthusiasm. She’s an excellent artist and you want to learn from her,” said Karen.
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Artists gathered at ArtSpace on Thursday for an open house, organized by the Arts Council of the Morris Area. Kadie Dempsey of the Arts Council said she envisions periodic networking events at local studios, similar to Morristown’s Art Around the Park gallery walks but aimed at artists rather than their patrons.
Many of the artists who rent studio space at ArtSpace, founded in 2007, praised it as a nurturing, creative environment.
Joan Lamensdorf of Madison said ArtSpace has fewer distractions than her home studio. “When I’m home I get distracted by day to day stuff,” she said. “Here you can concentrate on art.”
For Julie, a Randolph resident who has been teaching art in Morristown for nine years, ArtSpace has great “creative karma.” It sure beats working alone, she said.
“It’s very much about community: Passing ideas around and sparking each other,” she explained. “It’s very supportive and inspiring. We cheer each other on. There’s no competition.”
