Splady Art Studios

American sculptor Charles D. (“Chuck”) Splady founded the eponymous Splady Art Studios in 1971 as a sanctuary where he could apply fine metalworking traditions to art, design, and architecture. The atelier has been a vital behind-the-scenes contributor to career-making artworks of elite sculptors of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, including Peter Voulkos, Manuel Neri, Harold Paris, Dick Hamler, Claes Oldenburg, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Isamu Noguchi, Henry Moore, Paul Harris, Beniamino (“Benny”) Bufano, Rita Paris, Brian Wall, and Robert Hudson. Visiting the atelier is a treat: Splady engages in conversations with a scholar's gentle articulation and subtle humor. And stepping into the space is like visiting a 21st century alchemist’s laboratory: It is a large, open airy space, walls neatly filled with working tools old and new, plus artworks in various stages of completion by known and emerging fine artists. The atelier offers consultation, fabrication and casting of new works, shipping, installing, and repairing pieces, plus demonstrations, lectures, classes and workshops. Consultation about a proposed project often leads to thoughtful questions and suggestions for simplifying processes — and reducing time and cost. Moreover, the atelier offers wisdom, encouragement, and engaging stories: A question about a tool or technique opens the door to an education about its historical development up to and including current best practices. To visit is to become engaged, to learn, to create, and to become woven into the rich, ongoing history of San Francisco Bay Area arts