Photos and story BY SEAN LEROUX
NNB Student Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG – Tucked inside an old, ramshackle building at the end of a bumpy driveway is the studio of an artist with a national reputation and ambitious plans for the city’s growing arts community.
Mark G. Aeling, a sculptor and fabricator from St. Louis, moved to St. Petersburg in 2005. A small sign on a rusting fence directs visitors to his MGA Sculpture Studio at 515 22nd St. S.
For 66 years, the 4,000-square-foot building that houses Aeling’s studio was part of Midtown’s Softwater Laundry, which served the area’s hotels and employed many nearby residents. It closed in 1989.
Now it’s the place where Aeling and his staff produce large-scale commissioned works that can be seen in office buildings, shopping malls and public gathering spots around the country.
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Aeling has a master’s in fine arts from Washington University in St. Louis. Before he came to St. Petersburg, he spent three weeks driving around the eastern United States to investigate possible sites. He uses large templates, like this shoe, in his work.
Spherical metal sculptures hang outside the entrance to the studio, which has a client list from Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg to United Artists in California.
Ryan Michel carefully carves detailed feathers in the wing of an eagle, which is part of a larger sculpture that will be displayed in Discovery Park in Gilbert, Ariz.
A book shelf holds pieces of the studio’s work – relief carvings, molds and two of its signature cast fish.
Nearly 600 cast fish were used in this sculpture of Nevada’s state fish – a Lahontan cutthroat trout – at a shopping center in Reno, Nev.
Courtesy of MGA Sculpture Studio
Natural sunlight and 25-foot ceilings mean the studio can handle huge projects like a Pony Express rider and his horse in Nevada, a bronze panther atop a rock formation in Illinois, and 20-foot-tall horseshoe sculpture in Austin, Texas.
The studio, which handles projects from conception to installation, works with a cornucopia of tools and supplies.
Chris Patto files down a metal pipe for a piece – 20 feet long and 7 feet tall – that will cover the wall of a local company’s break room. The studio has a number of clients in the Tampa Bay area.
Aeling’s metal sculptures are complemented by brightly colored glass spread around the studio. Catherine Woods, the owner of C Glass Studios, shares studio space with Aeling. She specializes in multi-layer glass art created by melting sheets of colored glass together in a kiln.
George Retkes works on a small scale of a 20-foot-high sculpture that will end up in a roundabout in the Washington, D.C., area.
Small molds and carvings sit atop a work table. The studio creates ornamental pieces for public buildings and private homes.
Retkes and Michel, at work on different projects, take a moment to chat.
A family of life-size dolphins – created by MGA – grace the fountain and mosaic lagoon at the Sundial in downtown St. Petersburg. Security workers there have affectionately named the dolphins.
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Aeling is also president of the Warehouse Arts District Association and leader of a push to bring even more artists to the district. In December, the nonprofit organization bought six buildings on 2.7 acres at the corner of 22nd Street S and Fifth Avenue for $975,000. The 50,000 square feet of space – called the ArtsXchange – will become a multipurpose arts complex with studios, galleries and classrooms.
By guaranteeing that rents remain affordable, the nonprofit hopes to prevent what often happens in art meccas: Artists move into a run-down area because the rent is cheap. Over time, the area becomes trendy, attracting restaurants and then housing. Suddenly, the artists can no longer afford the rising rent and have to move.
By holding down costs, Aeling said, artists should be able to remain in the neighborhood.