Art School Grads at Factory 3

Many of our members graduated from art schools across the country, and we talked with five of them to learn about their experiences and growth at Factory 3.

Triston Antoine, an interdisciplinary artist, came from Chicago last year to Portland, where he is currently finishing a one-year term with AmeriCorps in the Portland public schools. His areas of expertise are very broad, ranging from fashion and sewing, to drawing, painting, and sculpture, to electronics and 3D printing, to writing, photography, and performance. He graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2017, and joined Factory 3 shortly after it opened. Initially using his studio mostly for painting, Triston expressed an interest in sewing, and is pleased to now be one of a growing group of members using new space dedicated to textiles. He is now also expanding into woodworking and metalworking, taking advantage of classes taught by other members. Triston says that Factory 3 is living up to the “philosophy and ethos” of its founder, attracting people who want to work in an open studio, where they can easily talk with and learn from other people, and that Factory 3 is what is “keeping me in Maine”.

One of our newest members, Liz Bahl, came to Portland after finishing a selective designer-in-residence program in Chicago.  She earned her Bachelor’s in Fashion and Fine Arts from the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago, where she was the 2015 winner of the Driehaus Award for Fashion Excellence, awarded each year to a single student selected from all of the four Chicago fashion schools. Liz moved to Portland for a job with a textile company, “fell in love with Maine”, and then looked for a workspace of her own. She found Factory 3, which she recommends to other artists as a clean environment with a diverse offering, and a place of her own to work. She is particularly impressed with the way the space is designed, allowing a maker to work by oneself or collaboratively.

Woodworker Holden Roberts graduated from Montana State University in 2019 with a BFA in sculpture and painting. After graduation, he created a series of large-scale outdoor multimedia works that combine sculpture, photography, painting, and film. At first, wood was his “tinkering material”, but it is now his primary medium that has, during the pandemic, become a full-time business making furniture and functional woodenware. He is extending his skills into metalworking, inspired by the welcoming, diverse Factory 3 community. In his words, “We are all on the same creative journey, all in it together. I give to them, and they give to me.” Holden has been giving back as an instructor through weekly Intro to Woodworking classes that he teaches with appropriate COVID safety measures and social distancing.

Naomi Russo, a native of Holden, MA and a 2019 Maine College of Art graduate, is an experienced woodworker who focuses on a combination of function and aesthetics. She remained at MECA for a 1-1/2-year residency, during which she gained an appreciation for the value of a community of makers, so was pleased to join Factory 3 earlier this year. Many of her pieces draw inspiration from her childhood such as her beloved dog. She starts with a mental image, what she calls a ”type form”, and then uses techniques such as bent lamination and bricklay to build the physical form from that image. Naomi is currently making a series of mirror frames, to complement tables and other pieces she has created that often feature hidden compartments. She finds Factory 3 is a welcoming space, where current members readily greet and help newer members, all willing to “learn from each other in an environment of mutual respect”.

Welder and metalworker Genna Worthley left her native Portland to attend Eastern Michigan University, where she was a Division I swimmer and art student. Her specialty was jewelry, but after graduating, through an apprenticeship in metal fabrication, she changed her artistic focus to building larger metal pieces that combine function with aesthetics. Back at home and looking for a community to replace the one she left behind in Michigan, Genna joined Factory 3 as one of its first members. “Being a maker is a lonely life,” she said, adding that finding Factory 3 was “pretty perfect”. She quickly began applying her expertise as the leading force guiding the development of the metal shop. Genna values the safe, clean atmosphere, where makers can leave their work on a desk, go get a bite to eat, and come back to continue working. A very active person, she says that during this pandemic, she has “no creative outlet. It’s too hot to run, and too cold to swim. Thank goodness for Factory 3.”

These five members exemplify our broader community, who range from beginners eager to find a place where they can explore, learn, and grow, to experts perfecting their skills and sharing them with the makerspace community. In Patrick’s view, Factory 3’s makers “are willing to get out of their comfort zones”. One member got a studio to work on sewing, and then took the Intro to Woodworking class to learn how to make her own table, while another member joined with an interest in 3D printing, and then he also started learning to weld. Factory 3, designed from the ground up as a clean, organized, welcoming space, is growing and flourishing because, in Patrick’s words, “So many people have amazing ideas and just need a place to get started with them”.