2008 Woodie Awards
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The Scene
Factory displays diverse media, artists
By Anne Godlasky on 9/22/03
"People always say, 'I'd hate to see what your nightmares are like,'" Covey said, grinning.
However, besides improved relations with customers, Covey says that building relationships with other artists makes the Torpedo Factory a good working environment.
"I always find one or two artists, or more even, where we share a lot of ideas. We share an interest in each other's work, so there's a huge amount of help from that. When you get stuck you can actually go get them and say, 'What do you think? Do you think this gray is right or is this gray right?'" Covey said, explaining that she'll consult "Susan, the jeweler, who's right across there, Marsha who's next door, Jack, who's down the hall or Edward," when she's caught in a non-creative web.
"They're different kinds of artists but they're still very visual. It actually helps that they're in something different because they come in with a fresh eye," Covey said. "And we know each other's work well. One of the things about being here is that over time you slowly get to know somebody's work and you get to see their development."
Covey's friend, jeweler Susan Sanders, agreed that this experience sets the Torpedo Factory apart from galleries and other artistic venues.
"The chance to be in the company of other artists is really special. There's nothing really comparable to [the Torpedo Factory] and I've been here since it opened," Sanders said.
The Torpedo Factory Art Center's opening in the summer of 1974 occurred after Marian Van Landingham, a woman who served on several boards and commissions in Virginia, proposed that the space, which had accumulated 40 truckloads worth of debris, be converted into an art center.
Prior to her proposal, the government and the Smithsonian used the factory to store items as diverse as dinosaur bones and Nazi war films, according to a history currently posted above a giant green Mark XIV submarine torpedo on the first floor of the factory. Between 1918 and 1945 the factory had produced more than 10,000 submarine and aircraft torpedoes and employed more than 5,000 people.
However, besides improved relations with customers, Covey says that building relationships with other artists makes the Torpedo Factory a good working environment.
"I always find one or two artists, or more even, where we share a lot of ideas. We share an interest in each other's work, so there's a huge amount of help from that. When you get stuck you can actually go get them and say, 'What do you think? Do you think this gray is right or is this gray right?'" Covey said, explaining that she'll consult "Susan, the jeweler, who's right across there, Marsha who's next door, Jack, who's down the hall or Edward," when she's caught in a non-creative web.
"They're different kinds of artists but they're still very visual. It actually helps that they're in something different because they come in with a fresh eye," Covey said. "And we know each other's work well. One of the things about being here is that over time you slowly get to know somebody's work and you get to see their development."
Covey's friend, jeweler Susan Sanders, agreed that this experience sets the Torpedo Factory apart from galleries and other artistic venues.
"The chance to be in the company of other artists is really special. There's nothing really comparable to [the Torpedo Factory] and I've been here since it opened," Sanders said.
The Torpedo Factory Art Center's opening in the summer of 1974 occurred after Marian Van Landingham, a woman who served on several boards and commissions in Virginia, proposed that the space, which had accumulated 40 truckloads worth of debris, be converted into an art center.
Prior to her proposal, the government and the Smithsonian used the factory to store items as diverse as dinosaur bones and Nazi war films, according to a history currently posted above a giant green Mark XIV submarine torpedo on the first floor of the factory. Between 1918 and 1945 the factory had produced more than 10,000 submarine and aircraft torpedoes and employed more than 5,000 people.