Arts and Entertainment The Printers, the Studio, the Gallery: F8

"Polaroid" of the F8 gallery

BRADENTON -- About a year ago the house at 1329 11 Street West was abandoned, lost in the wave of foreclosed homes in the area. The dilapidated building was halfway through a project to covert the house into a duplex. Holes in the floor revealed the dirt below in the foundation.

On February 3, that same building housed the grand opening for the F8 gallery. After major restorations, the building became part studio for Matt Allison, part photography gallery and part home for owners Allison and Tara Sell.

The two moved into the village in October to be closer to Sell’s bakery in the Village.

”We lived in downtown Sarasota, and it was just too far. We started looking for a home,“ Sell said.

To Allison and Sell, the house on 11th Street was perfect. It was a ”blank slate.“ Initially they were looking for a place that had studio space for Allison’s printing, and a home closer to the Village.

”There was all this space. What do you do with it? A gallery!“ Sell said.

Allison and Sell studied art in college with a focus on photography; Sell studied in Florida and Allison in Illinois. After studying Fine Arts, Sell decided she wanted to be a chef. Allison worked as a freelance photographer and graphic artist.

The giclee printer in the studio at F8

Allison had experimented with printmaking, but had never gotten to use serious equipment. He worked a job in Sarasota as a printer and got to learn and use a giclee printer. Giclee printers are used for high quality printing and reproductions.

Allison explained the process requires an expensive camera, expensive software, a really expensive printer, and of course lighting equipment. The process begins by digitizing the image, formatting it into the software, and then it makes its way to the printer. Along the way, Allison monitors the color. In each stage the separate devices Ôsee’ color differently. Allison ensures the colors are translated properly to make the most true to life reproduction.

Allison is the only printer in the village using giclee and carrying his particular printing skill set.

”That’s why we really wanted to open in the Village. There’s a small concentration of artists here,“ Allison said.

Allison offers an affordable and local alternative to the artists in the village who want reproductions of their artwork. Frequently artists have to send their artwork to larger, out-of-state companies.

”With us, you know who’s printing your art. The artist can sit down with me. Sometimes people want the piece to be lighter or darker,“ Allison said.

The small business is also a full service photography studio. In addition to printing, Allison also does portraits. Recently, Allison photographed a Lucha Libre warrior from Ellington, and are producing his DVD cover.

In the gallery, all kinds of photography lines the wall. Realistic, nature, enhanced and abstract photos are on display. Allison and Sell say part of their goal is ”to show what the range of photographic art is.“

Mark Allison's photography lining one of the walls in the gallery

Another major theme Allison and Sell want to promote is equality in gallery between amateur and professional photographers. One wall in the gallery displays work from a nationally-renowned photographer, who has prints for sale in IKEA. The adjacent wall showcases the work from a local high school photography teacher.

To gather artwork for their gallery Allison and Sell put out a Ôcall to artists’ through Facebook, craigslist, the Village of the Arts webpage, and word of mouth. They rent wall space, or charge by piece.

One unexpected pleasure Allison and Sell discovered on opening night was the community of photographers they were bringing together in their gallery.

”People who have liked each other from afar are now meeting,“ Allison said.

The gallery has become a place where photographers who knew each other’s work online, are meeting in real life. It has also become a place for new photographers to meet and network, and create a community of artists sharing a passion for photography.

”I see them on Facebook. There’ll be post Ôhey, I’m going to go shoot tomorrow!’ and that’s really cool,“ Allison said.

”It’s great to be a part of it and exciting to see it happen,“ Sell said.

Photography is in every element of Alison and Sell’s lives. They live in the same building as the studio. They connect with the community daily, and it even sparked their relationship.

”Our first date, we went and saw a photography exhibit. It’s a part of everything we do,“ Sell said.