St. George’s artist-in-residence Danny Broadway opened his personal studio in Memphis to student artists for extracurricular art classes at the beginning of the summer break.

“Everybody’s so busy, so in between their vacations I get a few random people who come by and want to do some art,” said Broadway.

Alexis Harshbarger, Dagny Vaughn, Elle Vaughn, Kathryn Heard, and many others visited Broadway’s studio over the summer to work on their art.

Broadway’s teaching style differed at his open studio space from his teaching style at St. George’s. Instead of giving the students projects to complete, students came up with their own ideas and worked by themselves, using him as a resource when needed.

“They weren’t really structured classes,” said Dagny Vaughn, a recent graduate of St. George’s who had been taking art classes regularly. “I really enjoyed it because I got to work on what I wanted to do, and he [Mr. Broadway] was there to help me when I needed it.”

Broadway Studio’s atmosphere lends itself to the student’s creativity.

“It’s a small but sweet studio space,” said Dagny Vaughn, “and it’s got a big window so you can watch people and get inspired.”

The first floor displays Broadway’s artwork from years past, which students can use for inspiration. The second floor, where the studio resides, has everything an artist would need to make their masterpiece.

Despite leaving most students to their own creativity, Broadway taught some students new techniques.

“We kind of doodled,” said Heard. “We used pens that weren’t permanent, and we would put water on a brush and make something look like paint that was actually ink.”

While they might seem to be geared only towards students, the art classes benefit Broadway just as much as it does them.

“It was really cool to support him in any way that I could,” said Heard, “It doesn’t seem like I as a high school artist could support him, but getting his foot in the door with his own classes that he could eventually open up to a larger community, I think that would be really good for him.”

Broadway himself has said that he has benefitted from the ongoing classes throughout the summer.

“It’s helped me stay in the mode of teaching art,” said Broadway. “A lot of times when you make art, you become like a hermit. You’re not really around people. These classes have helped me get more involved with people and stay in the teaching mode.”

Studio time at Broadway Studios will continue throughout the school year. The studio space is located at 5197 Wheelis Avenue, but Broadway prefers that interested artists contact him directly to set up studio time.