Photos by Lees Creek Photography
Dawna Magliacano, sculptor and 2020 Painter Laureate for the City of Murfreesboro, is a regular fixture in Rutherford County’s art community. Magliacano spent this past summer revamping her home studios in Lascassas, Tennessee, and in the process carved out enough room for a few other artists to have space to create.
In 2021, Magliacano started hosting 3rd Saturday Open Studios at her Acorn Haven Studios—a large workshop/barn that came with the farm that she and her husband purchased in 2016, a portion of which she uses for her studio. The open studio events were met with enthusiasm from friends and family who attended.
This year, Magliacano took more of the huge existing space in the barn only being used to store yard tools and mowers and transform it into additional studio areas for other artists to work, while also expanding space in her studio so that it could double as a “classroom” where she and the artists could occasionally teach.
“I had to get very creative with ways to partition the spaces in our tractor storage area, because I had no real budget for new wood to fill in the walls,” said Magliacano.
She ended up using a lot of donated materials that she had been collecting, like old tin roofing and barn wood and recycled windows. They all became part of the partial walls, and some windows were installed between the studios and the barn to allow more light in to the spaces—something artists need. “I think I must have had some kind of invisible beacon over the years that flashed [saying] ‘hey, I’ll take your discarded materials’ because many of my friends would call me and tell me they were tearing down a barn, or had some old windows and [asked] did I want the stuff.”
She never said no, and all of these items were collecting dust in her barn until she started this project and realized she had most of what she needed right there.
After running out of tin she made a run to the salvage yard to find more at a very low cost.
“Reclaimed materials worked fine because I wasn’t trying to do anything high-end. I mean it’s a space for artmaking, which can be very messy work, so all my mismatched wall coverings and barn tin work, it actually came out looking hip and very charming. I even found a use for old doors I have collected from Habitat for Humanity over the past few years,” Magliacano explained.
Four months of long days (often 12-plus hours) through the heat of the summer for her husband and a couple of gracious friends, and the hodgepodge pile of materials led to the studios reflecting Magliacano’s signature eclectic style. Her art adorning the walls and lighting strung across the beams, even two reclaimed chandeliers, make it feel festive.
The new spaces that were carved out are already occupied by four local artists: Kaitlin Savage, a ceramic artist; CatieBeth Thomas, a fiber artist and print maker; Dorothy Stevens, an oil and watercolor painter; and Mary Ann May, an oil painter. The spaces are divided by partial walls between each studio and open to each other in a common central area. Magliacano says having it be an open space adds to the feeling of synergy and community.
“Working in the studios, rather than at home feels more focused and spacious. I am so happy to be in a community space and getting feedback from other artists. Plus, being able to participate in the 3rd Saturday Open Studios is great,” Thomas said regarding the shared space at Acorn Haven.
Kaitlin Savage, who has been working out of the space with Magliacano for the past few years, said, “I really appreciate having a space of my own while having the ability to get feedback from other artists. Being in the same space with other makers who work in different mediums is inspiring and helps me take a more objective look at my work.”
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, will be the first 3rd Saturday Open Studio since the barn’s facelift and the public’s first chance to view the space. Magliacano and her studio mates, along with seven other guest artists, will be there from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. for what she calls a boutique “mini fall fest.” She says she hopes lots of people can come and get inspired by the art and by the use of so many reclaimed materials in the space.
For more information, find a Facebook page for 3rd Saturday Open Studio. Acorn Haven Studios is located at 8265 Lascassas Pk., Lascassas.
