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The Next Frontier:
Wrightsville Avenue’s blossoming studios
open their doors to the public

By: Lauren Hodges

This town always seems to have a hot new artistic neighborhood: the
ever-expanding historic riverfront never goes out of style, Lumina Station
and the Forum house gorgeous upscale galleries and shops, and last
year the New Castle District became the “it” place to see and be seen.
However, this month the studios dotted along Wrightsville Avenue’s
map are aiming to become Wilmington’s freshest art locality.

“This neighborhood is great for artists,” Deborah Cavenaugh, artist and
owner of Deborah Cavenaugh Studio on Wrightsville Avenue, says.
“We have an independent coffee shop, The Smudged Pot, which sells
art and is very individual. We also have a guitar store, a dance studio
and lots of other things that make this an artistic community.”

Cavenaugh, along with Red Tulip Gallery owner Francesca Dekker, as
well as artists Mitzy Johkneer and Julia Jensen, have founded an
organization named WAWAS, which stands for Wrightsville Avenue
Working Artists Studios. WAWAS is planning a monthly studio walk,
similar to the concept of Fourth Friday Gallery Nights downtown. The
difference is a concentration on studios instead of galleries—that,
and the walking.

“Well, you can’t exactly walk to all of them, but you could if you really
wanted to!” Cavenaugh, whose studio sits on 5401 Wrightsville Avenue,
says laughing. But the drive in between is just a short distane, keeping
all the studios within the same emerging neighborhood. The founders
are embracing the difference, hoping that it will provide a new experience
for the Wilmington art community and its loyal patrons.

“We want to keep it mostly studios because this is meant to be
interactive,” Cavenaugh explains. “People can see works in progress,
watch the artists create something new and just be in a creative
environment.”

Cavenaugh, known for her history as a self-starter, decided to become
a painter 12 years ago after her children presented her with a box of
watercolors for Mother’s Day. Each painting has something to say,
literally: Cavenaugh likes to include sayings in every piece.

“They are all about making life a little easier, a little more joyful, and helping
us all to recognize that on any day, while the list of all that is going wrong
could be written down, the list of all that is going right could never be
finished,” she says.

The Red Tulip Gallery is housed in a bright blue house, which Francesca
Dekker shares with her physical therapist husband. Dekker, who was
featured in encore last year, has been busy showing her work around
town at events like Orange Street Art Festival and venues such as
Racine Center for the Arts. However, her private studio on Wrightsville
Avenue is a different experience altogether.

“Whenever someone stops by my studio, I get very excited because
they get to see my work in progress,” Dekker says. “I always invite people
out here.” The open-door policy regarding the artists’ studios is what
inspired the WAWAS walk in the first place.

“The four of us founded this because we wanted people to notice how
artistic this area is,” Cavenaugh says. “We wanted to invite the public
out to see what we do, what is out here.”

The walk is set to take place on the first Friday of every month with
hosted tours of the founding artists’ studios. Hopefully, the up-and-coming
neighborhood will be hosting many more events in the future in order
to increase Wrightsville Avenue’s artistic awareness and reputation.

“We are planning on a fund-raiser at the end of the year,” Cavenaugh
reveals. “We’re going to plan something for the holidays, too, and a few
other things are in the works for WAWAS.”

The WAWAS First Friday Studio Crawl will commence on October 3rd
from 6-8pm. The crawl begins at Deborah Cavenaugh Studios at 5401
Wrightsville Avenue. Call 910-297-5383 for more information.
Encore Publication
Oct 1-7, 2008
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