A Coming Together: Morean Workshop Space
A Coming Together: Morean Workshop Space
On Florida’s Gulf Coast, St. Petersburg stands as a hot bed for the arts that dates back over a century. Starting with small art clubs and gatherings, the city is now home to world-renowned museums such as the Dali Museum, the James Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, among a multitude of others.
Artists focusing on a variety of mediums have flocked to the region in recent years, opening studios throughout the greater Tampa Bay region, creating arts districts and annual festivals that draw thousands of tourists. The arts scene is unique, vibrant and ever-changing. From the glass art scene and top museums to performing arts and more than 600 street murals, there is something for every art lover.
Beth Morean, well-known artist and philanthropist, has taken the next step in her 40-year quest to solidify St. Petersburg as a top destination for ceramic artists and continues to build on the ever-evolving expansion of the city as a worldwide arts destination in all mediums. Originally relocating to the area for family business reasons, Beth quickly fell in love with the clay community in St. Petersburg and decided it was going to be her legacy to create something special for the local art community.
“The new Morean Workshop Space is the last piece of the puzzle,” says Morean. “This all started after taking a clay class at The Arts Center – now known as the Morean Arts Center - and falling in the love with the local arts community. This new space is the culmination of my dream, adding to the extensive offerings in the city, a space for large-scale immersive studies in all mediums.”
Opened in the Fall of 2022, the Morean Workshop Space offers large-scale, multi-day immersive workshops in a variety of mediums, drawing artists from a wider horizon and opening new perspectives for local artists. In the two short years of operations, the vision has proved successful with a large focus on ceramic art. Both Morean and Morean Workshop Space Director, Valerie Scott Knaust make and collect clay art on a grand scale. 
“The Morean Workshop Space is the grand finale of all we have done in the city”, Knaust explains. Knaust, who previously ran operations at St. Petersburg’s Morean Center for Clay, one of the largest working pottery studios in the United States, now concentrates on bringing world-class artists to the city.
The Morean Workshop Space recently concluded Florida Heat, a three-week anagama wood fire workshop where roughly 1,000 pieces from 22 artists were carefully loaded for a 4 1/2 day firing that using five cords of firewood. Guest presenters, including some of the best wood fire ceramicists in the country – John Balistreri, Matt Long, Brad Schweiger and Trey Hill – oversaw the project and provided education on the process.
Over the past year, potters Peter Pincus and Chandra deBuse have presented workshops, as well as Gainesville metal artist Leslie Tharp who presented the basics of blacksmithing. 2025 will see a full schedule of national artists, including resident artists from Montana’s Red Lodge Clay Center, potters McKenzie Smith and Suze Lindsey on pouring vessels, Russell Wrankle on sculpting, and Ellen Kleckner, who will present a unique skill of weaving on clay.
Knaust says that the Workshop Space fills a need for both artists and the community. “Having an affordable space to stay,” she explains, “is integral to the concept. Hotels are expensive here, so the on-site lodging makes it possible for artists to gather and stay.” The Morean Workshop Space aims to collaborate with other art institutions in the region who want to offer similar workshops but don’t have the space or schedule availability. Next up in March is the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, offering a Cyanotype Workshop with Jill Enfield.
Valerie Knaust, Beth Morean, and Sarah Aldrich
Knaust says, “This can really raise the bar for the arts community, not just in St. Petersburg, but internationally as well.” The enthusiasm that Knaust exudes for their work drives the creative motor of the operation. The enthusiasm comes from her belief in the importance of the arts, a belief she shares with Morean, who now houses her extensive private collection at the Morean Workshop Space. Knaust says, “I heard Jane Fonda recently state that the arts can save the world. I think people are very stressed these days, and they need outlets to alleviate that stress. We are creating those outlets.” Certainly, the coming together of people to create, to learn, and to share can make a difference, as they MAKE. STAY. PLAY. at the Morean Workshop Space.
Learn more at www.moreanworkshopspace.org