Home art studio in Hixson provides a worldly perspective
Chattanooga is full of little nooks and crannies that contain pleasant surprises. In the city, various alleys that hide in plain sight may be home to some extraordinarily impressive art displays crafted by some of the finest local and regional artists.
In the residential world, little side streets that look like turn around areas, cut through the hills of the Scenic City to unlock whole neighborhoods that are seemingly endless.
The city is certainly more than meets the eye, and one house in particular off Sherry Lane in Hixson, is a prime example of a hidden magical place the Chattanooga area is lucky to call home.
From a birdseye view, the house appears to be just another house but in actuality it is a mecca for the art community and a signal of hope for people that want to tap into the creative person inside of them that is trying to break out.
After stepping in from the ordinary, one will find anything but that once inside the realm of the Masters Studio and Art Gallery. It is full of impressive original artwork that was skillfully crafted by the unconventional local artist Larry Bullington, who does things in his own way and does it well.
The multidimensional studio defies the laws of confinement, and demonstrates Bullington’s versatile skillset. Several magnum opuses’ show his masterful ability to wood burn, paint, draw, make jewelry, soap, paper, decopodge, spin art, “taking a line for a walk” (Art style), making functional art, and endless other abilities.
Beyond creating art, teaching is one of his specialties. Bullington believes in the power of teaching the differences between value and line, especially for young artists, but he also teaches the importance of perspective, skill and broadening a limited thought process.
He can help teach a classic understanding of art and stated “trying to do art without having an understanding of it is like trying to build on a foundation that is missing bricks, which limits potential.”
Bullington spoke passionately about taking progression steps for people learning. Instead of first teaching someone to draw “Tom”, “Joe”, or “Suzie”, that first he teaches students the process of drawing “Mr. Egg Head”, which is a template to learn drawing the human head. After they have gained the understanding, they have essentially “earned the right to start attempting to draw individual people.”
He can help people of all ages think outside of the box and teach them updated techniques for all artistic outlets. One example is stained glass creation that makes the glass with liquid lead which allows students to tap into a modern approach to creating stain glass, that throughout time has been a daunting task and a known potential health hazard due to the fiberglass used and easy exposure to lead.
While taking Bullington’s “fifty cent tour” to view his four-studio operation, he stated, “the beauty of making art in today’s world is the fact that it is limitless, there are no rules or bounds, and I try to iterate that groovy fact to my students.”
Some of his pieces are his version of famous artworks that are updated with his personal flair. For example, his “The Scream” is done in melted crayon. He teased the piece made him fully understand patience and at times, made him want to scream himself.
Bullington joked, “Contrary to what they might think at traditional art centers with conventional thinking minds, if you are going to steal from the art world then do it often, and do it well. I learned very much about art from painting different versions of other artists’ work and it helped me be the artist and teacher that I am today.”
There is a functional break room on site, full of his personally crafted art that gives people the opportunity to step away for a few and fuel up with drinks and snacks. Even in the break room, intricate details coalesce to unlock the charm of the Masters Studio. Bullington has a beautiful mind and untamable artistic spirit.
Anybody out there who has any interest in art with no traditional training or skillset should spend some time at the Masters Studio and Art Gallery, endless opportunities await.
All ages are welcome to visit, and Larry will gladly give his famous fifty cent tour to any interested party. Much of his artwork is for sale at reasonable prices, and all of it is next level quality and will tremendously boost any enthusiast’s collection.
Individual and group classes are constantly flowing through the local creative art temple that is the Masters Studio, for more information please visit themastersstudio.com.