Meet Karen Cope-Swatton of Cope Studios in Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Cope-Swatton.

Karen earned her Bachelors in Art from California State University Long Beach and then spent 3 years mastering Classical Figurative Sculpture and Academic Drawing at The Florence Academy of Art, in Florence Italy. Thereafter, Karen found her way to Dublin Ireland for a commission where she sculpted for Bewleys Coffee Company. Throughout theses years of travel and creating, the common challenge was the need for space to work and grow as an artist, preferably around other like-minded creatives. Karen returned home to Southern California where she opened Cope Studios, a professional fine art studio, in 2006. The studio began as one small upstairs studio & teaching space that has grown to 13,000 sq. bursting with 45 artists developing work in a multitude of mediums.

Little by little, artists would come to rent space or teach a workshop and they were seeking a transition from their home studios (usually a corner in their home or besides the family car in their garages) to the next level. Cope Studios is able to offer affordable enclosed workspace as a fresh destination for them to flourish. This change of environment is a huge game changer for most of our artists who can achieve greater focus away from daily distractions and the allowance to try out new ideas outside of their usual comfort zones.

Balancing a studio full of artists and developing her own work has been the direction of Karen’s life.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Struggles and Obstacles are a part of many businesses, but we at Cope Studios are especially proud to have made it thru the trying financial times of 2008-2009 particularly as a business built by artists from dollars earned off our creations. And mind you, we didn’t just survive, we were, and are fueled by passion; and we thrive!

Cope Studios – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Cope Studios: The Haven is a 13,000 sq. ft. professional fine art studio filled with 45 diverse artists in all mediums. Our 24/7 access studio also houses a 1,080 sq. model room fully equipped for figure modeling sessions for our in-house and visiting artists to teach workshops, classes, and demonstrations. We are a lively and productive collection of artists that cover all scopes of creativity ranging from painting, sculpting, drawing, animation, illustration, puppeteers, prop makers, writers, and costumers etc!!! We are constantly changing and evolving as new artist join us monthly.

We have prop masters and industry professionals come to rent cleared fine art works, props, costumes, etc. for film and TV and have location rentals as well. Curators stop by with clients to bring their patrons right into the artist workspace where they connect, discuss and get to experience the magic we create on a daily basis. These are treasured relationships that grow and become woven into years of watching an artist develop their ideas and these patrons are an integral part of this creative journey.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
One of the proudest moments was creating a studio that would allow me to create work but also include others. It has grown beyond what I’ve ever imagined which has been a truly magnificent accomplishment.

Pricing:

• Studio Rentals Start at $300/mo.

Contact Info:

• Address: 926 Western Ave.
  Suite A & B
  Glendale, CA 91201
• Website: www.copestudios.com
• Phone: 818.913.7187
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/copestudios/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CopeStudiosLLC/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CopeStudios?lang=en
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cope-studios-glendale-2

Image Credit:
Timothy Clark
Bruce Burr
Jacqui C. Smith

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