My Artist's Community Turns 45

The historic and original freight elevator in DE

Think of all the action this old elevator has seen in nearly 100 years of service! I love this key piece of our converted warehouse that has helped me move a lot of art and supplies to and from the studio and house. It takes a lot of TLC to keep it going these days.

Developing Environments is celebrating its 45th year of existence which is a kind of miracle in this city. The original group of artists got their first lease from the owner, Ken Royce in 1972. It took a lot of work to transform raw space into studios and live spaces that met city codes. We are a stable, diverse, consensus-run community with a long term lease.

I have lived here since 1986 when I moved in with Leo, never thinking I would be here for so long. DE proved to be a kind of incubator for not only myself but for many other neighbors too. In 1989, I was able to envision and establish our mural business. Leo and I began painting big and acquired the space we needed. We would not been able to grow our success without the help of this community.

Living in a former fruit canning factory, now a converted warehouse, has given me a particular perspective on housing, studio space, and shared community resources. For one thing, it would be hard for me to get used to low ceilings. At Developing Environments, our ceilings are high, our shared hallways are wide and spacious allowing for big projects to happen. I am always grateful that there is room to dream big.