Creative+Minds+at+Work

Copyright 2005 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Atlanta Journal-Constitution May 19, 2005 Thursday Home Edition SECTION: Cobb; Pg. 8JF;

LENGTH: 321 words

HEADLINE: Creative minds at work; Artists thrive in Marietta studios

BYLINE: ANDREW B. ADLER

BODY: Inside AFX Studios, Andre Freitas works on a 5-foot-high-by-10-foot-long monument for the U.S. Missile Command in Huntsville, Ala. When completed, the clay sculpture will represent the evolution of the infantry soldier over the past 200 years. Nearby, at Atlanta Artworks, where temperatures in a kiln reach 1,600 degrees, Dana Weigen designs and creates jewelry. Just down the hall, Shane McDonald and Matthew Craven are painting and sculpting, Stan King is woodworking, and Jim Shumate is blowing glass into pieces of art. They are among the 25 artists and craftspeople now in residence at the Artisan Resource Center in Marietta. Other artists are working on screen printing, furniture making, photography, graphics, decorative arts and special effects.

The arts center is behind Marietta Bowling Lanes on Cobb Parkway, a mile south of the Big Chicken. The two-story, wooden structure occupies 43,000 square feet, but it's not easy to find. "Once somebody has discovered our location and then finds out who we are, the first thing they tell us is, 'I didn't know you were here,' " said Jefflyne Potter. She and her husband, Rip, have owned the Artisan Resource Center since 1986. Artists rent studio spaces from 400 square feet to 5,500 square feet.

Freitas, 33, was 19 when he first came across this enclave of creative talent. "I was coming home from work one day and decided to take a cut-through," said Freitas, who also does special effects for "The Lance Krall Show" on Spike TV. "I saw someone working outside . . . and began to inquire about the building and the people who worked there."

The center is used primarily for business-to-business trade. The public can commission work from artists in residence, and there are two open houses a year for general showings (the next one is in November). "Most of my work [goes] outside the state," Freitas said. "Nothing is sold here."

GRAPHIC: ANDY SHARP / Staff Wood-turner Nick Cook spatters his black shirt with wood shavings as he creates a platter at the Artisan Resource Center in Marietta.; ANDY SHARP / Staff Glass artist James Shumate heats and shapes a vase at his studio in the Artisan Resource Center. He is among 25 artists and craftspeople with studios in the center, which, despite its 43,000 square feet, remains tricky to find.

LOAD-DATE: May 19, 2005