It has been named Lovelight. It is every artist’s dream to have one. David Mallin made it happen for himself. What is it? An artist’s studio located at Mallin’s home. There are several features that make this studio a bit unusual. First, it is not attached as an add-on to the Mallin home. It is a completely separate space behind the home and the reason it is freestanding is really quite wonderful. Mallin could not bear to cut down a crabapple tree that stands directly behind the house because that particular tree attracts lovely goldfinches and orange-chinned tanagers. How refreshing to know that these things still happen ... Nature being so highly regarded that the easiest course is not always taken.

After meeting David Mallin and visiting with him for awhile, I found it easy to understand why the crabapple tree had to remain in place. Mallin is an artist who centers his work on the concept of the Earth Mother, and the loving, nurturing aspects of life. Mallin also uses themes of spiritual realms juxtaposed with graphic realities. Preserving the tree caused a very wonderful space to be created.

The studio itself is made of a product called Rastra BlockTM, which is a wonderful material consisting of recycled styrofoam and concrete. It has an R32 value and is a very sturdy building material developed in Europe approximately 25 years ago. Mallin did almost all of the work himself in the construction of the studio, relying on his experience building adobe homes a number of years ago. He cites Mark Rosenbaum, owner of Strawlorado, and Mark’s crew as good assistants on the job.

The exterior of stucco combined with a colorful touch of art at the entrance is a hint of what lies inside. The structure itself, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling, is in truth a Quonset-style building with some shearing off of the full curve to the ground on the south. The south side instead has a vertical window that looms upward, flooding the studio with natural light. Mallin said that lowered angle of the sun in the winter brings warmth and light across the concrete slab floor to a dividing wall which stands approximately two-thirds of the building width to the north side of the studio. That wall and soon-to-have door enclose the “paint booth” so to speak. This is where (when the piece of art requires it) the final finish(es) will be applied. Mallin took precautions to invest in and install a non-explosive exhaust fan so as to not have any problems with combustible fumes.

Much of the design incorporates large and very small windows and there is a reason. The large windows and skylight provide good working light and passive solar on the south side of the building, while the small windows allow for cross ventilation while still containing the sounds from his work. Mallin’s studio was planned and constructed in such a way as to be neighbor-friendly. Knowing that the sound is contained, Mallin is free to work whenever he needs or wants to, and this is all part of the dream. He has the convenience of walking out his back door, no longer needing to commute, and no longer paying rent.

When visiting the studio there is a sense of the art all around, the materials to create more art and the quiet energy of a highly creative but peaceful space. Of course, much of that comes from the artist himself, but it also comes from his overall plan in knowing what he needed from the studio to do his work. Glass brick windows resembling the letter T remind one of the doorways in the dwellings at Mesa Verde. On top of this “T” is a semi-circular window with its straight edge aligned with the cross of the “T.” Then one sees a Kachina. Treatments such as these are construction examples that mimic Mallin’s art philosophy and symbolism. Mallin has intentionally built a space that is sacred to his work, almost as a temple for his visions of yet-to-do pieces of art.

The shiny, metal barrel-vault ceiling will soon be insulated ensuring comfortable use of the studio in the winter months. It is so inviting, it could probably function as a very small abode (700 square feet in all). And where did all of this inspiration come from for the construction of this semi-Quonset structure? Mallin saw a Quonset hut building with some modifications and it gave him an idea. And where was that Quonset? Center Colorado. Center, Colorado? Yes.
(Never underestimate the mind’s eye of an artist.)