For most of our property history studio and room names shifted and flowed based on the work being done in the space (eg. the Blacksmith Forge, the painting studio, the recording studio etc.); and based on who was in the space in a given year (eg. Scott’s room, Alex’s room, Summer’s apartment etc.). Loosely defined by which building they were located in, and sometimes their names were connected to their orientation (eg. The Penthouse, Eastern Window Light Studio, or the basement).

Needless to say after 25 years, this informal system of naming, became increasingly complex and complicated. As multiple studios have hosted well over a dozen ARQtists through the decades, all spaces have experienced varied renovations, and some had their literal walls change and morph (adding closets, dropping ceilings, you get the picture). Especially when conversing with former residents, describing the various studios and their current inhabitants became somewhat tedious.

“Oh you know they are in Haus’ old studio. No not that one, the one that Deb lived in, well she was there after Teo left, and you know…no not that one, we re-painted that one, the one that had the big bay window on the Eastern side.”

To simplify the studio names we floated a few ideas with current residents from 2019-2023. We briefly thought of naming each studio a color - that was quickly nixed by our visual folks - “What if someone paints the room, and it’s still the “Blue Room” but it’s no longer blue?!”.

We then thought of naming each studio after an artist or teacher who had inspired their practice; as students of history, we shied away from naming spaces after particular people, wanting to avoid the negative stories that sometimes emerge connected with individuals years to decades after their social/artistic/cultural impacts; furthermore this might pigeonhole studios named after potters for example - to forever be pottery spaces. That concept didn’t mesh with the dynamic and varied uses each studio has seen in its use life so far.

In 2024, we finally landed on an idea that we all intuitively liked. Naming each studio or room after something growing on the property. Everyone who has lived or worked at ARQ has also had a some manner of relationship with the plants, trees, bushes, and foods grown on the property. We watch our natural world shift through the seasons, we consume the bounty of fruit, vegetables, and nuts; we caretake our lawn, meadow, orchard, and grandmother trees. YES - let’s name our human-built spaces after our natural neighbors who inspire and help us caretake this land.

We offered the opportunity to the ARQtists currently in the space as of 2024 choose a name for their studio. After a few months of reminding, we landed on a name for each studio, floor, and room on the property; including The Metal Shops, ARQ Barn, Grey Barn, Carriage House, and the Farm House; Some of these are storage areas, some of them are shared work spaces, some of them we decided to name just to help us organize our upcoming repair and improvement projects. . The chosen names include native plants, our invasive species that share beauty regardless, to our tended foodstuffs. This list will continue to grow, we’ve got plans for outhouses, tool sheds, possibly even more studios spaces in the years to come- but it’s a real sweet place for us to land with each space holding its own name, and invites us to remember the outdoor beauty of our landscape in our indoor spaces.

Raspberry, Taproot, Cattail, Hickory, Chestnut, Black Walnut, Black Oak, Maple Sky, Cedar, Hazel, Spruce Tips, Acorn, Grapevine, Birch, Mullein, Willow, Goldenrod, Deadwood, Bittersweet, Mycelium, Wild Rose, Quince, Milkweed, Black Ash(es), Redbud, Sungold, Iris and David’s room; Dandelion.

Be gentle and generous with us, as we all work to memorize these names, and call each studio and floor by it’s proper title in the seasons to come.

Growing Names - Formally Naming the ARQ Studios (Finally!)

Grant Received for Summer 2025 ‘Community in Bloom’ program series

Designing our Logo