The Art Village Project Book

By David Smith
David_s_14850@yahoo.com

Briefly, this is how the idea of the Art Village got started. I was com
mentating on the Net on some things I had run across, remarking on the craziness
of the world in general. Specificity, I was talking about what I had learned a
bout pottery, and what seemed to be some serious overcharges on some items. I t
hen pointed out how the different problems would then to be solved if all the fu
nctions are combined in one organization/
The guy I was writing to said, “Great, build it!
“Right, other than no money, not a problem.” says I.
“So, get a grant!”

And that stopped me cold - I had never thought of that. Opps, my bad.
But understandable, I believe, as not everyone has a history of applying for gra
nts, let alone a working knowledge of the process – so, not foremost in the thou
ghts…. So I looked into it and the more I did, the better the possibility looke
d. Not easy, true, but possible. Lots of work, yes, but there was no law it al
l had to be done by one person working alone, and not all sequence, not having t
o be done all at once. Hummm . . .

Ok, locate other people that might be interested in the Art Village. Fi
nd a way to build the Art Village by dividing up the different parts of the job.
Get creative in what is needed to be done in the startup. Find a way to hand
off parts of the job to other people, whittle the task down to a manageable size
.
Collect information. Think. Scheme. Whatever.
One possible approach is to write down what you do, and perhaps get othe
r people to do the same. Do that and you can swap notes.
As there was the potential to have many ‘Art Villages’, but I really onl
y wanted one to absorb my energies, so there was plenty of places to go around.
Write down what I have got so far you do, and perhaps get other people t
o join in. Ok, I’m doing that here. You feel moved to jump in, great

First project is to find a likely building.

Running alongside that, in the paperwork world, would be an ongoing ‘get grants’
team, to support the project. And possibly, a virtual Gallery or Art Village s
hop function - A free url / store
http://signup.freeservers.com/

The nature of grants

 There has to be a natural law about this, but I‘m not quite sure what it
is. Probably something like “Free money costs too“, or whatever. The people w
ho award grants have been approached by hundreds of scam artists each year, so t
hey have some beefy walls in place to guard that money.
And what has happened? It’s been a kind of slow motion thing. I am see
ing some progress, but with just me on the job it’s slow. I need more help. An
d some different viewpoints.
---
There are a number of other files that are not included in this report,
but are available for anyone with web access:

Finding Art Village buildings

Artists can use buildings that some real estate firms may overlook. And
rating Art Village buildings Some will be better than others - but how?
Kiln repair
Possible Art Village classes
Art Village glass
Art Village specialized data bases
Getting grants for the Art Village
Managing Art Village donations
Consignment terms
Avoiding scams
Resources for donated items, like computers.
Creating Artist’s statements
Supply details for the Art Village gift shop
On Montessori schools
Various support files for the Art Village blog, and other support files,
too numerous to detail, are found on the blog or the web site.

The current main location of the Art Village on the Web (Yahoo) is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArtVillage/

The Annex area:

Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArtVillageAnnex

About the Art Village project

By David Smith
504 Pulley Road
Cumberland City, Tn. 37050
David_s_14850@yahoo.com

I would like to open up the possibility of your group joining me in the

creation of a combination small business incubator and art colony I call the ‘Ar
t Village’. That is not the full extent of the project, but it will do for a st
arting point. I realize your group may have committed their budget for the year
, but The Art Village is a bit too young for money - what I feel I need most at
this point is ideas, critiques and suggestions.

The statement of Art Village theme might be; "To create an supportive en
vironment for artists." The name “Art Village’ is a compromise, from a coin tos
s. It may suggest a place tourists would care to visit.
Here are some notes on call the Art Village. It’s projected to be at le
ast partly housed in a unused (no longer used for teaching) ‘surplus’ school bui
lding. The lack of a surplus school building is not a problem because of the na
ture of the Art Village - it can be done with a number of other local building
s, of almost any type. Surplus school buildings are nice - but not a total requ
irement.
I feel the lack of a local art colony can be reversed to the benefit of
all parties involved. The plans I have would combine the day to day operations
of the Art Village with the needs of the community. If the first building manag
ed by the Art Village is a surplus school there is a better possibility of posit
ive returns showing up sooner.

I’m picking on a school building as an example because it seems to be a

good place for the Art Village to start out in. A number of the projected funct
ions, particularly the community support functions, may be reasonably based in s
uch a building. True, I cannot promise positive revenues flow for the building,
but the act of putting it to use will soon reduce most of the negative effects
of an empty, unused building. This use has another positive side effect, an emp
ty, unused building ‘ages’ faster than a building in use. Use of the building a
s an Art Village would preserve and improve the building for other later functio
ns.
There is a positive effect to the community in getting even a small posi
tive revenues flow for the building. There are also the positive effects of gen
trification* happening to a town that supports such a project.
(*Gentrification - the process of transforming an un-prosperous neighborhood int
o a more prosperous one, for example, through investment in remodeling buildings
or houses.)
In this case, to explain gentrification one person quipped “When the art
ists move in, the rent goes up.”

A school building is often owned outright or is on long term leased by t

he town. While circumstances vary, this usually seems to be the normal state of
affairs.
But!... The Art Village does not have to be located in any one place.
As a matter of fact, there is a strong suggestion in the long run a single locat
ion might work against the full function of the Art Village. And of course, the
Art Village will start out as a virtual* place. How far that will go would be
based in part on demand.
*Virtual - being something in effect even if not in reality, or not conforming
to the generally accepted definition of the term.
Being a virtual place means at least the Art Village could be operating
and accessible worldwide, even before a building was secured. Then the Art Vill
age reaches that stage I do hope to have a building lined up, if not in conversi
on.

Why does the Art Village eventually need to be in several places? In pa

rt this is due to the nature of the artists themselves, and their requirements.
The spectrum of ‘Artist’ ranges from ‘artist as hermit’, wanting a very private
studio location, to the other extreme, the performance artist, who not only wan
ts a studio, they want it in a central, well traveled location, and are almost r
eady to kidnap people off the street for a ‘on demand’ audience. And no matter
what kind of artist, there is a need for gallery space. There are two, possibly
three extremes here. Clearly one building can’t serve them all - to say nothin
g of the shades of artists in between those extremes. And artist studios often
do not need a prime location, just a cheap one will be fine. The space in the p
rime location should go to the persons needing it.
But there is no law requiring all Art Village functions to be housed in
one place, or in one building, or even! one county. Yes, you might expect that
would be needed, but recent developments (the Net) have changed that requirement
.
How can the Art Village be in several places? The short, noncomplex ans
wer is by doing any linking needed between buildings over the Internet. The har
dware and software to do this already exist in several forms, all off the shelf
and already owned or purchasable by the artists themselves, if that’s called for
.
This clearly sets the stage for a diverse, widespread organization, a ‘f
ederation’ of local groups.
A ‘federation’ of local groups? Yes, I feel the Art Village will spread
, and as it does so, the local branches will start to have different make ups, i
f only from the random mixtures of different artists. This variation could only
help the ‘Art Village’ system in the long run.

Possible Art Village functions

One possible way to do this is to have some of the mundane things often
needed by artists purchased in bulk and held for later use. This function will
generally be known as ‘stores’. The member artists are not required to buy from
the Art Village ‘stores’ section, but the lower price, location, and ‘fresh nat
ure’ of the materials should encourage this.
Of course, there are other support functions the Art Village provides.
A loading dock is seldom needed by a single artist, but it is projected to have
a full use schedule with a number of artists and businesses on site. In other w
ords, the artist may need the loading dock only once a month, but the requiremen
ts of 30 artists or firms means near daily use for this feature. The existence
of a loading dock might be of use to local people as well.

And the Small Business Incubator?

It should not be too surprising that space of interest to an artist is a
lso of interest to a small business owner – after all, art is a ‘small business’
, in a way. So I project the function of the Art Village be combined with the
function of a small business ‘incubator’ as well - to provide the largest numbe
r of renters possible, and to make the venue as useful and complete as possible.
Having two somewhat different groups would let the Village go after grants tha
t may change in their availability, as time changes the political landscape.

Another possible empowerment is to have a collection of artists with act

ivities that naturally support each other. I plan to offer more than just the r
ental of space, as I have encountered in a number of ways the blending of the di
fferent needs of artists.
In short, I hope to ‘encourage’ artists that have overlapping needs or f
unctions – then help those overlapping needs get filled. The report assumes, bu
t does not require, the project being started in a rural area. The project migh
t be located in a surplus school or similar building – at this point a ‘surplus’
school is probably the best starting point.

In the beginning, size is probably more important than type, but all det
ails need to be considered. To paraphrase a famous quote, “If you have a buildi
ng, they will come.”
The Art Village can start in almost any building. Some will be better t
han others, and there will be differences among the groups.

With the abilities of the Internet the Art Village doesn’t have to be a
single building. Why not combine the Art Village, and a few other things like t
he small business incubator and other functions, at a surplus / retired public s
chool? While an area may not be able to produce enough artists to fill every on
e of the school rooms available, a mix of artists and businesses should be able
to fill the rooms, and provide a safe mix in case the economy makes a change aga
inst a ‘pure’ Art Village.
Conditions that might affect one group should not hit the other as hard,
and what one needs the other may supply. After all, in a way an artist is a sm
all business, and as such, need support as much as any other small business.
If you have only a few tenants, by itself that would be a problem. But with a n
umber of different possible renters the problem may well become a shortage of av
ailable space.

Really, I feel this is not a problem. Most features attractive to one g

roup will also be of interest to the other.
An everyday example would be a loading dock. No artist is going to hand
carry off a 10 ton block of stone. So, expect a move to have a shipping dock o
n site, if there is not one already.
In turn, such an item suggests a need for some kind of shipping function
, connected to a temporary holding area - - in effect a warehouse in function.
From there, it’s a short step to possibly forming a shipping company, if needed.

An Art Village can have a support function in other ways. For example,
a simple product might be a plaster of Paris block for pottery use (a wedging bl
ock). A 3$ block of plaster of Paris goes for about $ 100 in a standard pottery
catalog. The Art village can provide there items and others for, say, teachers
giving local pottery classes. The teacher could get low cost items for setting
up his class, the people attending could have an opportunity to buy such low co
st items as well. The act of using the Art Village as a base of operations prov
ides several real world benefits - teacher has a reduced cost in first time setu
p and could even get a modest profit on such items.
 And the ability to make such devices means the handicapped person could
try most aspects of pottery for well under a hundred dollars. This would stretc
h limited funds for a handicap training program.

Pottery support
There are several pottery support functions the village can supply. Ano
ther possible support function would be the mulling of clay. This is best done
in large lots, and stored / stockpiled in plastic 55 gallon drums. The need to
process a large lot of clay would justify and support the purchase of a high cap
acity Muller (a specialized machine for conditioning pottery clay).
However, the weight of such clay restricts where a clay stockpile can be
stored (second floor storage is NOT suggested for this, even if you can get it
upstairs!).

A list of possible Art Village functions

It‘s suggested that an ‘average’ school has around 20 full size rooms.
Some of the uses given here would not take up a full room, so this is only an in
dication of the possible usage level of a building.

Teaching areas
One or more of the rooms may be retained in the original form, for holdi
ng classes.

Mail box center -

The post office does not mind if a mailbox location is set up locally -
indeed, this may free up the pressure for boxes in the local post office. This
could both provide a local jobs, and a service to the community.

Employment firm -
And just where would that firm locate?. Well, I know of a place, centra
lly located to the local area, with lots of parking, and lots of office space, a
nd a number of locations and small businesses needing workers right at hand. Hu
mm. . . At least one local job right there.

Local Bookkeeper -
Having a number of small firms in one place would be of interest to a bo
okkeeper. An ‘on site‘ bookkeeper could offer a lower cost service to the Art V
illage firms, all gathered in one place. This would provide a local job.

Receptionist -
A school starts off with offering access to a number of firms, but throu
gh a receptionist - a ‘gatekeeper’ in effect - that can be a contact point, even
though the head of the company is not present at the time. If nothing else thi
s could provide a ‘Helping Hand’ service (see League of Woman Voters for details
) to the community.

Glassblowing
 Both glassblowing and pottery have a need for kilns, but the type of nee
d is close but not identical. It might be possible to use the kilns for both fu
nctions with modern insulating materials and programmable controllers to cut dow
n on problems in building or running them. There could be problems with some of
the compounds baking out and contaminating that particular kiln, so a kiln may
or may not be shareable between the two crafts.
It may also be possible to use other money saving approaches - for examp
le, with an idea of the volume of work needed, you can plan ahead for the number
of kilns ultimately needed, and change the design. Know that and you might be
able to build the kilns in a group (the walls touching) to save on the heat loss
es through the walls, reducing operating costs.

If possible, try to collect artists that have overlapping needs or funct

ions. At least, have an idea of the process or functions that do truly overlap,
so those needs can be meant as well.
As a typical example this report assumes (but does not require) an Art V
illage renter who might be building a glassblowing studio.
For example, a woodworking artist might be used to make some of the trad
itional glassblowing tools and molds, which are wood.
A "hot shop" is the most difficult of any glass craft venture, conversel
y it would provide the greater returns. Lesser glassblowing function shops (bea
d making, lamp work, blowpipe glassblowing, scientific glassblowing,) would prov
ide almost as many benefits as well. The complex with a glass making furnace at
its core (a ‘hot shop’) has a number of features that could be shared with othe
r artists, or small businesses. These features include heat output of a furnace
also be used to other, somewhat more mundane uses, like some of the excess heat
flow going to a lumber drying kiln outside.
However, activities of a lampworking shop (an intermediate step to a ful
l ‘hot shop’) has many of those features as well. For example, a hot shop or la
mpworking shop might take a step forward and go directly to a tank of cryogenic
oxygen to run glassblowing torches. As a low use level tank normally vents ‘exc
ess’ (not drawn off for use) oxygen, so this same cryogenic oxygen tank could ru
n one, or a number of torches at about the same cost. In short, a cryogenic tan
k would support a number of torches without shortening the ‘lifetime’ use of the
tank. This could include a oxy-acetylene cutting torch, as well. Such torches
as those are a useful tool, welcome in any shop.
For that matter, any artistic function that involves ‘directed heat’ wou
ld benefit from access to glass blowing torches themselves. Because of the natu
re of glass, glass blowing torches have to be a superior design and function - t
hey are a great improvement to standard torches. They will work very well for a
ny effort that needs directed heat.
Along the way to making the plans for the Art Village I saw the possibil
ity of other features. The existence of these features depends in part on the b
uilding size, the local grounds, and the building features.
For example, a school that had industrial arts classrooms would be set u
p for woodworking or metal shop work. Those firms that wish to do woodworking o
r metalwork would be glad to move in to such an area.
The Art Village would also benefit from the presence of an auto mechanic
’s shop, if one was there before.
Related Art village support items
Community fax machine, community copier, other items. Other possible fu
nctions - Depending on demand, there might be an Internet café, probably in the
cafeteria, or possibly a room off the library.

Indoor (heated) Storage areas -

Any unused rooms can be rented out as storage areas. This alone would p
robably take up any leftover slack.

Day care center -

A day care function is a natural add on to
e conditions today there is a real need for it. I
ure to be given a positive vote. If this was K to
playground directed toward younger children should
e function would insure the items already in place
e kids would love it.
the Art Village, and given th
feel sure this is a feature s
grade school originally, the
be a bonus. Adding a day car
are put to full use. Plus th

Caterer support -
Of special interest to a local catering firm would be the full function,
up to code commercial kitchen. A bonus is the day to day steady customers the
site would provide for that service.
The daily customers are the artists that want to eat on site, plus the p
arents who want to spend quality time with their children in the day care center
.

Mail box function -

Some towns have outgrown their post offices - there is an acute mailbox
shortage. A local ‘Mailbox are Us’ firm would be welcomed, and could support th
e functions of the Art Village as well.

Phone Answering service -

The school has the office space and the phone lines already in place* to
support this function. There will also be a inter classroom intercom system th
ere as well.
* (standard widespread phone company policy is to run *all* local phone lines in
to such a building)
This may also include DSL (Internet) access in some cases, or some other
cases high speed Internet access

Facially support items -

They would include functions like a loading dock, compressed air, oxygen
 systems, ‘Stores’ on site, shared kilns for pottery and glass or other function
s, inside storage, outside storage, and art display areas. Also the information
provided by the collected Art Village files is also available.

Other functions
The Library area should still have the bookshelves in place. I would su
ggest against it being broken up, as there are probably better, more positive us
es for it in its original form. One such use would be to hold art books donated
to the Art Village.
Local townspeople could donate books to provide raw materials for the ge
neral library. Such a facility will be slowly restocked with donated books and
could also attract grants for books. It will also provide a place for a retired
couple to start a paperback business store.
As there will be office space on site, with the possibility of use by a
number of local firms

The auditorium is something that should not be broken up. There are a n
umber of functions possible in the original space that would work best with the
room in its original form.

Still more ‘Other functions’

Depending on the building and grounds - the display of artwork and commu
nity projects. This might include local functions that were using the grounds b
efore the Art Village was established.
The Art Village may also be a ‘business anchor’ for some functions that
are a bit hard to describe. For example; retirement homes have a number of peop
le joining them, with a number of still valuable items they might wish to donate
. Frequently they might have life experiences, tools, musical interments or sim
ilar items for donation to the Village.
“Life experiences? Yes. I suggest you read the Fox Fire books to under
stand this.
In some cases the Village can be a clearing house to do nothing more tha
n bring such people together.

Emergency functions and community support

Local support of the community is another possible function of the Art V
illage - for example, stand by church for use in case the original becomes damag
ed. Community support can also come from providing a location for the Red Cross
, or for groups providing community support.
* (The Red cross states one of the needs for disaster center is a large building
, of course, but other items like storage space and available communications is
also given as a needed item.)

As support for the Art Village, I have collected a large and diverse amo
unt of facts and information I plan to make available as a special data base. T
his information, presented as an Internet data base, could provide support to ar
tists worldwide. In effect this would create a virtual ‘Art Village’ almost ove
rnight.

Having a good showroom is one possibility, and having a number of artist

s showing their wares in one place will tend to justify trips from patrons, enco
uraging extended visits by patrons, providing benefits somewhat like having an u
pscale shopping mall in the area.

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---
The Art Village

Here are some notes on the project I call the Art Village. Because ther
e is nothing hidden about it, a wide range of people can contribute to different
parts of this project without problems. Because there are no secrets, a person
can work to promote it openly and there will be no duplication of effort. You’
ll need someone to manage a list of tasks for people to pick from.

The Art Village is a local, do it yourself art colony that also has as
pects of a small business incubator and other community services. Why ? To giv
e back to the community.
Ok, what’s a small business incubator? Consider, a home based business
that starts to get bigger begins to outgrow the basement. Too big for the basem
ent, too small for a building, where can it go? That’s one reason the Art Villa
ge has a small business incubator function, as in a way, artists have a similar
problem.

The groups uses the Net to maintain contact between users or chapters in
a kind of federation of artists and small businessmen.
 Depending on the decisions of local chapters, even non-members will have
some access to those chapter files. The Art Village is not based on secrets, b
ut makes day to day operations open to all.
Of course, a lot of this will depend on the correct use of the Internet.
There are hundreds of search engines and indices, but only eight that really m
atter. They are:
Yahoo!, AltaVista, Excite, WebCrawler, MSN, Infoseek, Lycos, and HotBot.

All the others might account for 1% of traffic, combined. So, if you’re
positioned in the top eight, you’re doing fine.

In any case. I would like to open up the possibility of you joining me i

n the creation of a combination small business incubator and art colony. That i
s not the full extent of the project, but it will do for a starting point.

Now we need a lofty statement of the project, a theme statement. The st

atement of Art Village theme might be; "To create an supportive environment for
artists."

Ok, and to help promote the existence of the Art Village there are some
corporate activates to go with that.

The Art Village chapter you work with is local, but it (hopefully) will
become a part of a national group without loss of identity or effectiveness.

There is a possibility that after we contact xxx older computers will

be donated to the Art Village

Art Village Recycled computers project

Aardvark Computer Service, LTD

5360 Arapahoe Avenue
Boulder, CO. 80303
303-447-3457
Alpha Institute
1017 Perth Street
Aurora, CO 80011
303-343-4114
Colorado Materials Exchange
Website: http://www.colorado.edu/cure/COMEX/
Campus Box 207
Boulder, CO 80309
303.492.4330
FAX 303.492.1897
Email: comex@stripe.colorado.edu
Computers for Kids
303-367-9374
Computers for Learning
Website: http://www.computers.fed.gov/
202- 501-3846

Computer Recycling Center

Cyert Hall, Room B25
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Contact: Marc Bartholomew, Coordinator
412-268-8609
Fax: 412-268-8192
E-mail: retread@andrew.cmu.edu

Computer Recycling Project

479 Bartlett Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Dale Tersey - Director
415-695-7703
Email: dale@wco.com
Nonprofit clearinghouse for older computers to go to education
and nonprofit programs to further computer literacy.

Computers and Education Computer Recycling

1700 19th Street,
San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-643-6200
Fax: 707-570-1192
Website
Fax them on your school letterhead stationery and request their Declaration Form
.

Verified http://www.giftsinkind.org
Gifts in Kind International
Website: http://www.giftsinkind.org
Tele-fax library: 888-288-4043
PO Box 18002
Merrifield, VA 22118-0002
Email: ProductDonations@giftsinkind.org

National Cristina Foundation

1-800-CRISTINA (274-7846)
203-406-8000
Fax: 203-406-9725
181 Harbor Drive
Stamford, CT 06902-7474
Email: ncfnasd@gteens.com

PC Brokers
1911 11th Street, Suite 105
Boulder, CO 80302
303-449-2267
Fax: 303-449-2267
Website
To be included in their list of non-profits looking for computers, please mail o
r fax the following information: Organziation name, address, phone number, hours
of operation
Organization description, mission statement, and how donated computers would be
used
Non-profit status (are donations to the organization tax deductible?)
Description of the lowest end computer that would be useful, and if non-working
systems are acceptable
Provider s Resource Clearinghouse
Robert D. Ridgeway, Executive Director
303-296-8580
Fax: 303-296-8625
3100 Blake Street
Denver, CO 80205-2307
Email: prc@spintheweb.com

Some day to day details

In the beginning its projected to be at least partly housed in a unused
or ‘surplus’ school building, such as the building currently in Cumberland City,
Tn.
I include this information as an example because the Tennessee Board of
Education claims there are no ‘surplus’ schools anywhere in Tennessee. None. H
ummm… However, personal experience can’t support this. In a way, this is an e
xample of what you will find.

In any case, the lack of a surplus school building is not a deal stopper
because of the nature of the Art Village - aspects of it can be done with a nu
mber of other buildings, of almost any type. Surplus school buildings are nice,
meeting many requirements - but are not a total requirement.
As you may already know there are a very few art colonies in western Ten
nessee, and only a few in the areas over the state boarder. I feel this conditi
on can be reversed to the benefit of all parties involved. The plans I have wou
ld combine the day to day operations of the Art Village with the needs of the co
mmunity. It’s just that if the first building managed by the Art Village is a s
urplus school, there is a better possibility of positive returns showing up soon
er.

I’m picking on a school building because it seems to be a good place for

the Art Village to start out in. A school is a large, well made, centrally loc
ated, unused, multifunction building that the town is probably still paying off
on.

A number of the projected functions, particularly the community support

functions, may be reasonably based in such a building. True, I cannot promise p
ositive revenues flow for the building, but the act of putting it to use will so
on reduce most of the negative effects of an empty, unused building. This use h
as another positive side effect, an empty, unused building ‘ages’ faster than a
building in use, and that part will stop. Use as an Art Village location would
preserve for the town the building for other uses when or if the Art Village mov
es out.
There is a positive effect to the community in getting even a small posi
tive revenues flow for the building. There are also the positive effects of gen
trification* happening to a town that supports such a project.
(*Gentrification the process of transforming an un-prosperous neighborhood of b
uildings needing repair into a more prosperous one, for example, through investm
ent in remodeling buildings or houses.)
In this case, to explain gentrification one person quipped “When the art
ists move in, the rent goes up.”

Of course, whatever hiring the Art Village does is going to be local. T

he money spent on these activates is going to stay local. The money generated b
y the functioning Art Village will tend to stay locally as well.
A school building is often owned outright or long term leased by the tow
n. While circumstances vary, this usually seems to be the normal state of affai
rs.

The Art Village does not have to be located in any one place. As a matt
er of fact, there is a strong suggestion in the long run a single location might
work against the full function of the Art Village.
Why does the Art Village eventually need to be in several places? In pa
rt this is due to the nature of the artists themselves, and their requirements.
The spectrum of ‘Artist’ ranges from ‘artist as hermit’, wanting a studio locat
ion with no visitors, to the other extreme, the performance artist, who not only
wants a studio, they want it in a central, well traveled location, and are almo
st ready to kidnap people off the street for a ‘on demand’ audience. There are
too extremes here. Clearly one building can’t serve these two extremes, to say
nothing of the shades of artists in between. But there is no law requiring all
Art Village functions to be housed in one place, or in one building. Yes, you m
ight expect that would be needed, but recent developments (the Net) have changed
that.
How can the Art Village be in several places? The short, noncomplex ans
wer is by doing any linking needed over the Internet. The hardware and software
to do this already exist in several forms, all off the shelf and already owned
or purchasable by the artists themselves, if that is called for.

Possible Art Village functions

What artist support functions, you may ask. Well... For one, keeping t
rack of local restrictions that artists may encounter.
A support function of the Art Village is to put a break on some of the s
cams an artist gets hit with. The Art Village can pass on the experiences of on
e artist to other artists. This may not stop the first instance of a brand new
scam, but it does let the existence of the scam be known, and perhaps even alert
authorities to what is happening.
One important function of any Art Village is to pass on the experiences
of one artist - good or bad - to all other artists. Because they would all be o
n the Internet, that is possible.
This function will grow in effectiveness as more Art Village chapters co
me on line in different areas.

Art Village as tourist attraction

Come in and see artists at work. And shop as well.

Art Village as a “Stores’ provider

Company store function - sell lower cost items to the people who have co
me to tour the grounds. One possible way to do this is to have some of the mund
ane things often needed by artists purchased in bulk and held for later use. Th
is function will generally be known as ‘stores’. The member artists are not req
uired to buy from the Art Village ‘stores’ section, but the lower price, locatio
n, and ‘fresh nature’ of the materials should encourage this.

Local services
Of course, there are other support functions the Art Village provides.
For example - a loading dock.
A What?
A loading dock is seldom needed by a single artist, but it is projected
to have a full use schedule with a number of artists on the site, and might also
be put to use by the town and locals if needed.
In other words, an artist may need the loading dock only once a month, b
ut the requirements of 30 artists or firms in the Village means near daily use f
or this feature. The existence of a loading dock might be of use to local peopl
e as well.

A small business ‘incubator’

So I project the function of the Art Village be combined with the func
tion of a small business ‘incubator’ as well - to provide the largest number of
renters possible, and to make the venue as useful and complete as possible. Hav
ing two somewhat different groups (art and business /economics) would let the Vi
llage go after grants that may change in their availability and importance, as t
ime changes the political and economic landscape.

Artists support other artists

 Another possible empowerment is to have a collection of artists with act
ivities that naturally support each other. I plan to offer more than just the r
ental of space, as I have encountered in a number of ways the possibility of ble
nding the different needs of artists.
In short, I hope to ‘encourage’ artists that have overlapping needs or f
unctions – then help those overlapping needs get filled. The report assumes, bu
t does not require, the project being started in a rural area. The project migh
t be located in a surplus school or similar building – at this point a ‘surplus’
school is probably the best starting point.
I use the word ‘surplus school’ in quotes, as after talking to the Board
of Education I am assured there are no ‘surplus schools’ anywhere in Tennessee
- except that I live in Steward county, Cumberland City, with just such a school
building not more than two block from my house. Opps. This school hasn’t had
a graduating class in at least 19 years now. For a time it was rented out for a
commercial use after it was closed - but is not ’surplus’, it‘s claimed by the
Board of Education to still be under lease by the community. To date I have not
been able to find a term that will help me find the location of such buildings
that clearly do exist in other places as well. A little ‘burecacucy’ stonewalli
ng seems to be going on here. Other people may have better luck on this.
But with the baby boomers reaching maturity, there are more and more sch
ool buildings closing down across the nation.
In the beginning, size is probably more important than type, but all det
ails need to be considered. To paraphrase a famous phase, “If you have a buildi
ng, they will come.” Fine, but what they do when they get there is at least par
tly shaped by the building.
With the abilities of the Internet it doesn’t have to be a single buildi
ng anymore. Why not combine the Art Village, and a few other things like the sm
all business incubator and other functions, at a surplus or ‘retired’ public sch
ool? While an area may not be able to produce enough artists to fill every one
of the school rooms available, a mix of artists and businesses should be able to
fill the available rooms, and provide a safe mix in case the economy makes a ch
ange against a single feature of the Village.
Conditions that might affect one group should not hit the other as hard,
and what one needs the other may supply. After all, in a way an artist is a sm
all business, and as such, need support as much as any other small business.
If you have only a few tenants, by itself that would be a problem. But with a n
umber of different possible renters the problem may well become a shortage of av
ailable space in the Village building. Really, I feel this is not a problem. M
ost features attractive to one group will also be of interest to the other.
An everyday example would be a loading dock. No artist is going to unlo
ad and hand carry off, say, a 10 ton block of stone. So, expect a move to have
a shipping dock on site, if there is not one already.
In turn, such an item suggests a need for some kind of shipping function
, and temporary holding area - in effect, a warehouse in function. From there,
it’s a short step to possibly forming a shipping company, if needed.

An Art Village can have a support function in other ways. For example,
a simple product might be a plaster of Paris block for pottery use. A 3$ block
of plaster of Paris goes for about $ 100 in a standard pottery catalog. The Art
Village can provide there items and others for, say, teachers giving local pott
ery classes. The teacher could get low cost items for setting up his class, the
people attending could have an opportunity to buy such low cost items as well.
The act of using the Art Village as a base of operations provides several real
world benefits - the teacher has a reduced cost in first time setup, and the Vil
lage and the teacher could even get a modest profit on selling such items.
Of course, the Art Village will from time to time host seminars and clas
ses, so some of the rooms in the Art Village will start out as classrooms, and w
ill stay classrooms - no conversions needed there.

Given that finding an ‘average’ is a bit hard, I will go out on a limb a

bit and say an ‘average’ school has 20 rooms, more or less.
Also, there is not a ’standard size room, or a standard size use, might
It would be best that we go on a ‘one use, one room’ standard.
Other facts threaten to get in there. For example, do you need public a
ccess to the room?

Starting a new Montessori school is a complex process

You should understand from the beginning that the name Montessori refers
to a method and philosophy, but not a copyright protected name or franchising p
rogram. In many parts of the world, anyone who wishes to can open a school and
call it Montessori with no knowledge of how an authentic program is organized or
run. This is sometimes embarrassing for those of us as educators and parents w
ho understand all too well the difference. Most of these schools fail, but ofte
n not before they harm the general image of other Montessori schools in their co
mmunity.

Montessori schools are different, profoundly different, from the familia

r traditional classrooms that most of us attended in our childhood years. Those
of us who have spent years around Montessori children know that Montessori work
s! While the average person has heard of Montessori, most know little about it
and have conflicting impressions of what Montessori reflects. This is nothing n
ew or unique to our country. It has been the case since Dr. Montessori opened h
er first school outside Rome in 1907.
Some people rave about Montessori, others think that parents must be nuts to put
their children in a Montessori school.

Some are firmly convinced that Montessori is too rigid and robs children of thei
r creativity, while others object that it is completely unstructured and without
any academic standards.

"Isn t Montessori the sort of school where they allow the children to do and lea
rn whatever they want, whenever they want? Perhaps it will work for your little
Sally, but I m afraid that if my Danny were left to his own devices, he d never
choose to do a lick of schoolwork! He needs order, structure, a small-class si
ze, and discipline!"

Having spent more than thirty years leading Montessori schools, I ve tried to he
lp parents sort all this out so they could reassure themselves that Montessori i
sn t going to leave their children academically handicapped unable to make it in
the real world. Most of the parents that I ve know are sympathetic and enthusia
stic, but it is still difficult for them to defend their decision to send their
children to Montessori when the rest of the world seems so completely committed
to a very different approach to raising children.
Having made the decision to purchase this book or attend our course in starting
a new Montessori school, you are presumably seriously considering the idea of op
ening your own school.

This is a daunting task. It requires a great deal of work, the investment of a y

ear or longer, and a considerable amount of money. It is not something to be und
ertaken lightly.
But, like any knowledge, it is easier to learn if you have a guide who has been
there before. While this book cannot do your homework for you, nor avoid the nec
essity of putting in countless hours of hard work, planning, and decision making
, it should make the nature of your journey more easily understood, and may actu
ally make the process easier for you and your fellow founders.
You will have a long list of decisions to make and milestones to accomplish, inc
luding:

1. Either becoming trained as a Montessori teacher or hiring a Montessori teache

r who can organize and open the program
2. Developing a business plan
3. Finding a site for your school
4. Securing the permits and zoning required to operate a school in your area
5. Gathering the capital needed to purchase the Montessori materials for each cl
ass, along with office equipment and other costs
6. Recruiting the families
7. Establishing the day to day systems to run the school
8. Creating a school culture in which everyone, students, teachers, and families
understand and follow a set of set of basic ground rules.

In most cases, Montessori schools tend to exist on a very fragile year-to-year e

xistence if they lease space or have less than 100 students paying an appropriat
e tuition that allows you to do the job right. They tend to become financially
more comfortable and stable at 150, and, despite a common misperception that lar
ger schools necessarily lose their sense of community, experience strongly sugge
sts that an enrollment of between 250 and 400 students on one campus is ideal.

Some people prefer to organize a school made up of two or more smaller campuses
(less than 200 students).

Many think of Montessori as an early childhood program, and are reluctant to ven
ture into the more difficult and expensive venture of establishing an elementary
program. Montessori as a method extends up through the secondary level, however
in communities where parents (or the local department or ministry of education)
expect to find a traditional education, it is common to see Montessori schools
that stop at age 6 or sometimes age 10 or 12.

A major challenge is to gather sufficient funds to appropriately capitalize your

new venture.
A second is the great lack of trained and experienced Montessori leaders who are
willing and capable of building and running new schools. Often schools compromi
se with either a parent or other non-Montessori trained educator who seems to sh
are the Montessori philosophy and vision, or an experienced Montessori teacher w
ho is anxious to learn how to lead a school.

The Center for Montessori Leadership

You may be interested to know that Montessori is sometimes known as the
"school for entrepreneurs." This is because this highly unusual approach encoura
ges children to be independent, resourceful, and self motivated. It teaches chil
dren to think for themselves, to think outside of the box, and to think about ot
hers. Unlike traditional schools, which drill children to memorize information a
nd give it back on demand, Montessori teaches children to become joyful scholars
and innovators, traits not loved in authoritarian schools, but highly admired i
n some circles of enterprise.

Starting a school is a complex process, like opening any business. Here is a so

mewhat expanded list of tasks to be accomplished.

Exploration of a wide range of models used by successful schools Defining your s

chool’s identity and core values Deciding on the legal structure of your school
Securing the licenses and permits that you will need to operate Resolving any zo
ning issues with your prospective school location Conducting some sort of market
study Development of a business plan Finding facilities for your school Prepari
ng a financial plan, which includes: Determining your potential income Setting u
p your initial budget Establish systems and policies for managing your finances
Establishing your student - teacher ratios Projecting salaries Projecting enroll
ment - tracking enrollment patterns Setting tuition and fees Gathering capital o
r financing Projecting cash flow Determining your staffing requirements and recr
uitment strategies Defining the skills and interests describe your ideal staff m
ember? Where will you find your staff members? Establishing the salaries that yo
u can offer Recruiting new students and retaining them over the years Establishi
ng a sense of community Establishing policy Developing a plan for your education
al leadership Curriculum Development of a plan for program evaluation Coordinati
ng several different classrooms Communicating to families about their children s
development Organizing parent education programs Health and safety issues Devel
oping a plan for internal and external public relations Setting up and working w
ith your board (nonprofit schools)

Every year we offer a wide range of online distance learning courses on the enti
re gamut of designing and leading a Montessori school through our Center for Mon
tessori Leadership.
Our online Montessori Leadership Courses use state-of-the-art distance learning
technology. Today, the options available to us include:
v Recorded talks presented as video files that students can see whenever they
want on their computers
v Recorded talks downloaded as MP3 files to participants’ IPods
v Videos of school campuses
v Sample forms, files, and a host of documents, from parent handbooks, curric
ulum guides, enrollment agreements, health forms, and so on that may it far easi
er to structure a school effectively from the start
v Digital images of ads and brochures used by schools
v Recommended lists of materials, suppliers, and budget templates.
v Files that will be helpful in preparing your business plan
v Video recordings of radio ads designed for schools
v Audio recordings of cable TV ads designed for schools
v Links to excellent school websites
v Reflections on their school’s experience shared by admissions directors and
Heads of Schools
v Case studies
v Online EBooks
v Links to excellent marketing resources on the web
v Thoughtful dialog among the participants done online in forums and in live
conference calls
v Collaborative projects and assignments that will lead to specific resources
and outcomes helpful to each participant’s school
Check our website, www.montessori.org or look in the current issues of Tomorrow’
s Child or Montessori Leadership magazines for a list of upcoming seminars.
For example, three times a year we offer an intensive eleven-week course on star
ting a new Montessori school. Here is some basic information.
The Montessori Leadership Institute
Building A World-class Montessori School - Step by Step
Dates: Fall, 2006 (October 2 - December 11)

Location: Your office or home, on your computer!

Time: Set your own schedule, working on weekly learning activities and projects
that will directly benefit your school next year. You should expect to invest at
least ten hours a week reading the extensive course materials, viewing online v
ideo presentations or listening to audio mp3 files on your IPod, collaborating w
ith fellow students and Montessori Foundation, Tim Seldin, and working on the de
velopment of your new school. While schools can vary to a great degree, almost e
verything covered will be directly applicable to your school, if not in year one
, in the near future.
Do you have vacation planned during this period? No problem. While it is best to
participate with the entire group in ongoing discussions, You can either work f
rom your hotel room, or catch up when you return.

Some of the advantages of distance learning

No travel and hotel costs

Course are spread out over eight weeks

You can set your own weekly schedule - there is no need to be on line at a speci
fic time
Multi-modality presentations — video and audio which you can replay whenever wis
h
A printable ebook copy of Organizing A New Montessori School by Tim Seldin (1400
+ pages)
Access to an extensive collection of resource files that will be invaluable in o
rganizing your new school, including business plans, finances, staffing, marketi
ng and admissions, facilities, educational program, parent relations, board issu
es (nonprofit schools), ownership issues (for profit schools), banking relations
, insurance, risk management, health and safety, fund raising, and much more.
A collaborative community of colleagues
The course blends experience, wisdom, and practical application focused on your
school
Individual coaching from Montessori Foundation President, Tim Seldin

Course description
A school is nothing but people. It lives in their hearts and minds. A great scho
ol is group of people acting in accordance with a common set of beliefs and valu
es, who feel a sense of commitment to each other and to the institution.
Organizing a new Montessori school is a daunting task. It requires a great deal
of work, the investment of a year or more, and a considerable amount of money. I
t is not something to be undertaken lightly.
How to Organize a New and Successful Montessori School is a highly practical dis
tance learning program designed to provide invaluable guidance and support. Whil
e we can t do your homework for you, nor avoid the necessity of putting in count
less hours of hard work, planning, and decision making, this program will help y
ou go through the process successfully.
How to Organize a New and Successful Montessori School is in part an introductio
n to the theory of Montessori school organization, finances and operations, and
in part a step-by-step guide and vast library of resources that can save you cou
ntless hours of struggle and aggravation in getting your new school started on a
sound foundation.
The heart of the program is on-going individual consultation with Montessori Fou
ndation President, Tim Seldin, normally spread out over a year, to help you to d
evelop your business plan and address your questions and concerns as you begin t
o organize your school. Consultation may be scheduled at mutually convenient tim
es.
This online course offers a clear introduction to the issues and tasks involved
in the organization of a new Montessori school.
Topics include:
The Montessori legacy
The fundamental nature of independent schools
Develop and/or refine your school’s institutional mission and blueprint
a. Board/staff retreats
b. Involvement of other stakeholders
c. On-going institutional self-study/accreditation
Preparing your basic business plan
Finding initial space
Capital needed to get started and survive your first few years
Developing a family-friendly school
Establishing your program model(s)
Curriculum
a. Development
b. Coordination among two or more classes
c. Pre-established and spontaneously created curriculum
d. Curriculum guides & schedules of key projects, units, and themes
Financial planning and management
Determining your potential income
a. Student - teacher ratios
b. Staff salary scales
c. Projecting enrollment - tracking enrollment patterns
d. Setting tuition structures and fees
e. Charge enough to do the job right - Montessori is not a commodity
f. Explore every possible source of income
g. Financial aid
h. Collecting tuition
Develop your expense budget
a. Identify your fixed costs
b. Establish variable costs
c. Equipping your classes
Cash flow
Sources of capital
Role of the Head
The administrative office
Policy as a leadership tool
a. Policy as values and perspectives
b. Leadership through policies
Build with the best - Finding the right employees
a. Organizing for results - job descriptions
b. The 3 elements in finding the right fit between applicant and job
c. Staff evaluation - the clinical supervision method
Recruit and retain the right families and children
a. Who are the children that you can serve very well?
b. How will you recognize the right families
c. Marketing strategies
d. The admissions process
e. Orienting your new families
Keeping parents (and staff) informed
a. Newsletters
b. Class and Community meetings
c. People nights
d. Fireside chats
e. Parent-teacher conferences
f. Reporting student progress
g. Standardized tests
h. Homework
i. Parent Ed
j. Tomorrow’s Child magazine
Buildings and grounds
 a. Developing a pattern language
b. Master plans
c. Finding space for programs
d. Modular buildings
e. Creative strategies to pay for construction
f. Developing a maintenance schedule for the year
g. Janitorial
School law
a. Records
b. Safety
c. Child abuse
d. Insurance
Creating an atmosphere in which your school will flourish
a. Getting your community involved through volunteer efforts
a1. The needs of today’s parents
a2. Break projects down into short and easily accomplished tasks
a3. Strategic planning
Board-run schools
a. What does non-profit status really mean?
b. The two types of non-profit boards
c. Role and responsibilities of trusteeship
d. Relationship to the head and staff
e. Make-up of the board - Selecting trustees
f. Committees of the board
g. Three stages of board development
Board Bored beyond belief!!! What goes wrong with most boards
a. Time spent on the trivial
b. Short-term bas
c. Reactive stance
d. Reviewing, rehashing, redoing
e. Leaky accountability - Board bypassing the CEO to deal directly with sta
ff
f. Diffuse authority - Everyday staff and administrative decisions made at
board level

Developing an effective Board

Getting serious about trusteeship
a. Confidentiality
b. Focus not on special interests or self-interest, but good of institution
c. Board spouses and friendship circles
d. Relationship with CEO
e. Evaluation of CEO
f. Board self-evaluation
g. Big donors and “highly influential” trustees on your board
Making meetings work - Board process
a. The CEO and staff’s role
b. Do’s and don’ts with boards
c. Choosing the issues - setting priorities
d. Using committees effectively
e. The decision-making process
f. E Pluribus unum - encouraging different perspectives
g. Finally achieving “unum”
Fund raising
a. Annual campaigns
b. Special events
c. Corporate partnerships
d. Capital campaigns
e. Planned giving
Planning for your departure or retirement
a. Strategies for untangling your finances from the school - land purchases
, etc.
b. Empowering an independent board
c. Transitioning to headmaster/headmistress emeritus

Institute Leader
Montessori Leadership Institutes are led by Tim Seldin, President of the Montess
ori Foundation and Chair of the International Montessori Council. His more than
35 years of experience in Montessori education includes 22 years as Headmaster
of the Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland, his own alma mater (age 2 throu
gh high school graduation). He was the cofounder and Director of the Institute
for Advanced Montessori Studies. He also served as Director of the Foundation s
Lab School, the New Gate School in Sarasota, Florida. Tim Seldin earned a B.A. i
n History and Philosophy from Georgetown University, an M.Ed. in Educational Adm
inistration and Supervision from The American University, and his Montessori cer
tification from the American Montessori Society. He is the author or co-author o
f several books and hundreds of articles, including The Montessori Way, The Worl
d in the Palm of Her Hand, Celebrations of Life, Building a World-Class Montesso
ri School. Developing a Summer Program for Your Montessori School, Finding the P
erfect Match-Recruit and Retain Your Ideal Enrollment, Master Teachers - Model P
rograms, and Organizing a New Montessori School. He also served for many years o
n the Board of the American Montessori Society.

Registration:
Leadership Institutes are small group, intensive, and collaborative learning exp
eriences, and enrollment is limited to 15 participants. Participants will be en
couraged to explore issues that they are currently working on at their schools.
Many have described the experience as individual school consultation for a much
lower cost, with the added advantage of the shared perspectives and experience
of the other leaders participating in the course.
Registration Fees for Non-IMC Members:
Tuition for the 11-week course is $1,250 for the first person from a school/$1,0
00 for each additional person enrolling from the same school.
Registration Fees for School and Individual Members of the International Montess
ori Council (IMC).
Attendees sponsored by a ‘school in development’ that is a school member of the
International Montessori Council will receive a 10% discount: $1,125 for the fir
st person from an IMC affiliated school/$900 for each additional person coming f
rom the same IMC member school.
For more information about IMC membership, please call 800-655-5843.

Refunds and Cancellations:

The Montessori Foundation maintains the right to cancel courses if there is insu
fficient enrollment. If a course is canceled, all registrants will receive a fu
ll refund of all fees paid. Registrants requesting a refund prior to commenceme
nt of the seminar must notify The Montessori Foundation in writing at least two
weeks prior to the seminar in order to receive a refund.
Have a question or need more information? Please contact Tim Seldin at the Mont
essori Foundation at 800-583-5843 (941-729-9565) for more information or email t
imseldin@montessori.org

Tim Seldin President, The Montessori FoundationChair,

The International Montessori Council
PO Box 1302400 Miguel Bay Drive
Terra Ceia Island, FL 34250-0130941-729-9565 941-729-9594 (fax)email timseldin@
montessori.org

Possible production support functions

Pottery and ceramics
Pottery is a popular function that is sure to be in most Art Villages.
Another possible artist support function of the Art Village would be the mulling
of clay - done as raw product production. This is best done in large lots, and
stored / stockpiled in plastic 55 gallon drums. The need to process a large lo
t of clay would justify and support the purchase of a high capacity Muller. A h
igh capacity muller means the lowest amount of time for a person to be on hand t
o process the clay. It also means the machine can be left uncleaned overnight w
ithout drying up as a smaller machine would. By itself this not a huge advantag
e, but these things do add up. A high capacity muller could discharge a ‘log’ o
f processed clay directly into a 55 gallon drum lying on its side. A plastic op
en top 55 gallon drum is a great way to store processed clay.
A high capacity muller requires the kind of high capacity power lines th
e Art Village would have if it started as a school. A facility with industrial
wiring and power can support the power usage of such large machines.
Once mulled, the clay is best stockpiled by storing in open top 55 gallo
n drums, which among other things keeps the conditioned clay in a ready state.
The Art Village will know they will be dealing with a number of such items and w
ill have speculated equipment for handling and storing them.
However, the weight of such items restricts where a clay stockpile can b
e stored (second floor storage is NOT suggested for this, even if you can get it
upstairs!). A 55 gallon drum of clay is not light. The size of muller recomme
nded for the Art Village could easily turn out some 50 or so such containers in
a standard batch.

High speed Internet access company -

Chances are the area does not have the level of Internet access people w
ant. This, plus a growing need at the Village will be a general need for more I
nternet access for the firms and artists at the Village. This can be a good rea
son for a larger than normal capacity Internet access line, and an opportunity t
o support a company providing such access. I suggest you look into trying for t
he next higher capacity line.
A T1 line will do the job for the immediate period, certainly, but those
Internet needs are sure to grow over time. You may want to add a second T1 lin
e, or possibly look at doing a T3 line. An Internet support company? I know of
a place, centrally located to the local area, with lots of parking, great locat
ion, lots of office space, and a number of locations and small businesses needin
g such services, all right at hand.

Mail box center -

The post office does not mind if a separate mailbox location is set up l
ocally - indeed, this may free up the pressure for boxes in the local post offic
e.

Employment firm -
And just where would that employment firm locate? Well, I know of a pla
ce, centrally located to the local area, with lots of parking, and office space,
and a number of locations and small businesses needing workers right at hand.
Humm. . .

Bookkeeping firm -
Having a number of small firms in one place would also be of interest to
a bookkeeper. An ‘on site‘ bookkeeper could offer a lower cost service to the
Art Village firms, all gathered in one place. Sure saves on gas that way.

Other services
A school starts off with offering access to a number of firms, but throu
gh a receptionist - a gatekeeper, in effect - that can be a contact point even t
hough the person is not present at the time.

Economics of scale
Both glassblowing and pottery have a need for kilns, but the type of nee
d is not identical. It might be possible to use the kilns for both functions wi
th modern insulating materials and programmable controllers to cut down on probl
ems in building or running them. There could be problems with some of the compo
unds baking out and contaminating that particular kiln.
It may also be possible to use other money saving approaches - for examp
le, with an idea of the volume of work needed, you can plan ahead for the number
of kilns ultimately needed. Know that, and you might be able to build the kiln
s in a group (the walls touching) to save on the heat losses through the walls.

If possible, try to collect artists that have overlapping needs or funct

ions. At least, have an idea of the process or functions that do truly overlap,
so those needs can be meant as well.
As a typical example this report assumes (but does not require) an Art V
illage renter who might be building a glassblowing studio. A woodworking artist
might be used to make some of the traditional glassblowing tools and molds, whi
ch are made of wood.
A "hot shop" is the most difficult of any glass craft venture, conversel
y it would provide the greater returns of any glass venture. Lesser glassblowin
g function shops would provide almost as many benefits as well, including the ne
ed for kilns to anneal glass. The complex with a glass making furnace at its co
re has a number of features that could be shared with other artists, or small bu
sinesses. These features include heat output of a furnace that also be used to
other, somewhat more mundane uses, like some of the heat flow going to a lumber
drying kiln outside.
However, activities of a lampworking shop (an intermediate step to a ful
l ‘hot shop’) has many of those features as well. For example, a hot shop or la
mpworking shop might take a step forward and go directly to a tank of cryogenic
oxygen to run glassblowing torches. As a low use tank normally vents ‘excess’ (
not drawn off for use) oxygen, this same cryogenic oxygen tank could run one, or
a number of torches at about the same cost. In short, a cryogenic tank would s
upport a number of torches without shortening the ‘lifetime’ use of the tank. T
his could include a oxy-acetylene cutting torch, as well. Such torches as those
are useful in any shop.
For that matter, any artistic function that involves ‘directed heat’ wou
ld benefit from access to glass blowing torches themselves. Because of the natu
re of glass, glass blowing torches have to be a superior design and function. T
hey will work very well for any effort that needs directed heat.
Along the way to making the plans for the Art Village I saw the possibil
ity of other features. The existence of these features depends in part on the b
uilding size, the local grounds, and the building features.
For example, a school that had industrial arts classrooms would be set u
p for woodworking or metal shop work. Those respective firms would be glad to m
ove in to such an area.

Related Art Village support items

Internet café
There are support items such as a community fax machine, community copie
r, and other items. Other possible functions - depending on demand, there might
be an Internet café, probably in the cafeteria, or possibly in the library.
A teen club is another possible function. That is not totally contained
to the Art Village.

Local youth club

As requested by local interests or needs.

Local museum
Some locations may have a need for a local museum. This would be on the
public access side.
The local library
Other possible functions - depending on demand, local need, or building
design there might be a local free public library. This would be on the public
access side. And there could be a paperback book store

Day care center -

A day care function is a natural add on to the Art Village, and given th
e conditions today there is a real need for it. I feel this is a feature sure t
o be given a positive vote. If this is was K to grade school originally, the pl
ayground directed toward younger children should be a bonus. Adding a day care
function would insure the items already in place are put to full use. Plus the
kids would love it.
With a day care center in place, or just because of the nature of the bu
ilding, it’s possible a Montessori school might also find this location of inter
est.

Montessori school notes

It’s difficult to give generalities. It will depend on many factors, inc
luding size of the classrooms (1500 + sq is highly desirable for a Montessori sc
hool, although most US states allow a 35 square feet per child ratio). Classroo
ms should be large enough to hold 24 to 30 children and all the Montessori mater
ials, and allow at least another 1/3 beyond for floor space for children to work
on the floor with small rugs.
There should be bathrooms in each classroom (not centralized down a hall
). This is very important for children under age 6. An all purpose room for in
door play when the weather prevents them from going out. In other word, keep th
e gym available for rainy day use by the children.
Bright airy rooms are strongly suggested for Montessori type schools.
Many older schools do not meet current building codes for young children
. You may need to install sprinklers, fire doors, etc. Watch out for asbestos,
obviously. Lead paint is another possible problem.
Finally you should consider whether your costs of ownership can be cover
ed by a school tenant. Many operate with very limited incomes, which has to do
with a mindset and limited business experience.
Tim Seldom, President, The Montessori Foundation Chair, The International Montes
sori Council
PO Box 1302400
Miguel Bay Drive
Terra Celia Island, FL 34250-0130
941-729-9565 941-729-9594 (fax)
email timseldin@montessori.org
Might be able to suggest price as well.
Caterer support -
Of special interest to a local catering firm would be the full function,
up to code commercial kitchen. A bonus is the day to day steady customers the
site would provide for that service.
The daily customers are the artists that want to eat on site, plus the p
arents who want to spend quality time with their children in the day care center
.

Mail box function -

Some towns have outgrown their post offices - there is an acute mailbox
shortage. A local ‘Mailbox are Us’ firm would be welcomed, and could support th
e functions of the Art Village as well.

Phone Answering service -

The school has the office space and the phone lines already in place* to
support this function. There will also be a inter classroom intercom system th
ere as well.
* (standard widespread phone company policy is to run *all* such local phone lin
es into such a building)
This may also include DSL access in some cases, or some other high speed
Internet access through the phone lines.

Facially support items -

They could include functions like a loading dock, compressed air, oxygen
system, ‘Stores’ on site, shared kilns for pottery and glass or other functions
, inside storage, outside storage, and art display areas for large items like ca
rved tree trunks.

Other functions
A local library
In getting started the Library area would have no books, but the room sh
ould still have the bookshelves in place. I would suggest against it being brok
en up, as there are probably better, more positive uses for it in its original f
orm. One such use would be to hold art books donated to the Art Village. Anoth
er is to be the local library.
Of course it won’t be just art books that are donated. Local townspeopl
e could donate books to provide raw materials for the general library. It may s
tart out small, but then, most libraries do that anyway.
Such a facility will be slowly restocked with donated books - It will al
so provide a place for a retired couple to start a paperback business store.
As there will be office space on site, with the possibility of use by a
number of local firms

The auditorium is also something that should not be broken up. There ar
e a number of functions possible in the original space that would work best with
the room in its original form.
Still more ‘Other functions’
Depending on the building and grounds - a use could be the display of ar
twork. Another could be community projects or events. This might include local
functions that were using the grounds before the Art Village was established.
As a ‘business anchor’ for some functions that are a bit hard to describ
e. For example; Retirement homes have a number of people joining them, but havi
ng a number of still valuable items they might wish to donate. Frequently they
might have life experiences, tools, musical interments or similar items for dona
tion to the Village.
In some cases the Village can be a clearing house to do nothing more tha
n bring such people together.

Emergency functions and community support

Local support of the community is another possible function of the Art V
illage - for example, stand by church for use in case the original becomes damag
ed (possibly in the gym). Community support can also come from providing a loca
tion for the Red Cross, or for other groups providing community support.
* (The Red cross states one of the needs for disaster center is a large building
, of course, but other items like storage space and available communications is
also given as a needed item.)
Sometimes just the existence of the organization is enough to get useful
A heavy duty (industrial) propane fired generator free for the hauling was once
offered to me. I wanted to take it but was under a general ‘NO!’ for any new ad
ditions to the homestead. Damn!

Art Village operations:

Donated equipment
There may also be donated computers as a part of Art Village operations

The virtual ‘Art Village’ used computer center

There is a strong possibility the Art Village will receive donated compu
ters as a part of Art Village operations. I have all ready located a number of
programs for this.
I have collected information I plan to make available as a special data
base. This information, presented as an Internet data base, could provide suppo
rt to local people or worldwide. In effect this would boost the virtual ‘Art
Village’.
The virtual ‘Art Village’ information center
As support for the Art Village, I have collected a large and diverse amo
unt of facts and information I plan to make available as a special data base. T
his information, presented as an Internet data base, could provide support to ar
tists worldwide. In effect this would create a virtual ‘Art Village’ almost ove
rnight, open to all.

The virtual ‘Art Village’ store and Art Gallery

Having a good showroom is one possibility, and having a number of artist
s showing their wares in one place will tend to justify trips from patrons, enco
uraging extended visits by patrons, providing benefits somewhat like having an u
pscale shopping mall in the area.
Of course, not all Art Villages will be in a location to support a great
gallery (building not large enough, not located for easy access, act). But tha
t would not stop a ‘virtual gallery’ from displaying all Art Village art to the
public. This could be a natural as a shared resource - one gallery for all Art
Villages everywhere - a one stop ‘shopping for art’ point.
(Because of the function of this service it would not be open to all.)

On being “Green”
While I’m not excessively ‘Green’ (ecologically supportive) I do feel ec
ological solutions to problems should be encouraged.

Yours,
David Smith
david_s_14850@yahoo.com

The main location of the Art Village

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArtVillage/
And then, create a kind of ‘stand by’ area. Call it the Art Village Annex. Lik
e this:

Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ArtVillageAnnex

Group email address: ArtVillageAnnex@yahoogroups.com