New fine art studio with classes, materials provided opens in Tacoma

A new fine art studio with date-night events, classes and open studio hours opened this fall in downtown Tacoma. On Wednesday, The News Tribune took an look inside the Artsi Creative Space, 2323 Tacoma Ave. S.

A half-dozen easels were set up in a semi-circle in the middle of the white studio, and racks of paints, brushes, pallets, canvasses, pens and charcoal sticks stood against the back wall.

Owner Antonio Holguin, an art-school graduate and 20-year corporate UX designer, decided to open Artsi Creative Space to fill a gap he saw in the Tacoma arts scene. Although there are many businesses that offer “Paint and Sip” nights and craft activities, Holguin said he didn’t see many offering fine arts classes and open studio time.

At Artsi, patrons can sign up for classes or reserve time slots to paint and draw. Holguin encourages people to use his supplies to try new mediums like acrylics, watercolor, oil painting, gouache, charcoal and ink. Not everyone has the space for a personal studio or the money to take fine art college courses, he said. Others simply need to get out of their house and paint, and Artsi is a place they’ll be able to do that, Holguin said.

In the future, Holguin said, he wants to offer still-life workshops (guided and unguided), figure-drawing classes and Paint Alongs (like Paint and Sips, but without alcohol). You can find a list of classes and events on his website.

“I feel like nowadays, we really need to be able to express ourselves in healthy ways. Get off of the computers, get off of social media and get back to the physical world, interacting with people and ourselves in better ways, more healthy ways,” Holguin said. “I really wanted to teach people how to do that well.”

Although Artsi isn’t officially on the free annual Tacoma Studio Tour this weekend, Holguin will be open for visitors to walk around and peruse a local art market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

If you go

The studio is closed Monday and Tuesday and open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, according to the website. Classes start at around $50.

Open studio pricing is $7.50 per 30 minutes. A day pass is $40, a weekly membership is $80/week and a monthly membership is $200/month.