Located at 761 Monroe Street, Building A in Herndon, Ran Farmer and wife Yana Farmer opened art studio Monroe Street Studio this spring. An open house will be held April 25 and 26. Photo by Ryan Dunn.
A new art studio on Monroe Street in downtown Herndon boasts the only purpose built 3-D printing studio in the Northern Virginia area. “My wife is an experienced artist and art teacher who wished to open her own teaching studio,” stated Ran Farmer, founder of Herndon’s newest art establishment. “It was her dream that inspired us to open the Monroe Street Studio.”
Located at 761 Monroe Street, Building A in Herndon, Reston residents Ran Farmer and wife Yana Farmer opened their studio this spring. An official community open house will be held April 25 and 26. Town of Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel and Economic Development Manager Dennis Holste both toured the facility. “This is going to be a great addition to our downtown,” said Merkel. “The intersection of arts and technology are exactly what Herndon is about. This new community of innovators will bring a new sense of vibrancy to downtown, and plays right into the Town Council's Vision statement regarding arts, technology, and building community. I wish them great success!” Mayor Merkel will assist with the April ceremonial ribbon cutting.
YANA FARMER earned her degree at the Vitebsk Arts College, founded by artist Marc Chagall. Yana began her career teaching art to students of all ages in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania. She came to America in 2004 and taught art while developing her vision for combining the freedom in America with her traditional European educational style. Her vision is to help children and adults achieve their highest potential through the appreciation of art. Monroe Street Studio represents a realization of that vision.
Ran Farmer, a former satellite communications company founder and economic consultant, founded the 3-D printing studio as part of the larger Monroe Street Studio. South Lakes High School sophomore Pouyan Ahmdi runs the MakerBot 3D design and printing studio. Farmer hired Ahmdi in March when he opened the MakerBot 3D studio. MakerBot is the name of the New York City-based manufacturer of the desktop 3-D printers used and sold in the studio.
“To do 3D design and traditional 2D animation you have to be able to combine technical skills with traditional artistic skills. That’s the beauty of it,” says Farmer. “For Yana and me this turned out to be the perfect opportunity to combine traditional fine arts programs with the latest emerging creative technologies. In this case, art and technology complement each other perfectly.”
3-D printing is the process of creating solid objects from computer-generated computer models. 3-D printing technology has been used from the creation of spacecraft parts to human organs using a process called “additive layering.” This creates a computer-conceived object by applying successive layers of material over and over again within a 3-D printer in whatever pattern and material is chosen. At the Herndon studio, Farmer’s 3-D printers use a filament of composite plastic made primarily of cornstarch to create plastic-like objects.
Farmer has worked with Reston nonprofit NOVA Labs on previous 3-D printer projects. “We appeal to the same people who want to have a hands-on experience with some of the same types of creative technologies but we offer a totally different opportunity. Many of the people who participate in NOVA Labs activities also participate in activities at the Monroe Street Studio,” said Ran Farmer. A studio membership is required in order to use the 3-D printing facilities independently at Monroe Street Studio. Members must have suitable prior demonstrated experience with MakerBot printers which may include completion of a workshop at Monroe Street Studio.
THE MONROE STREET STUDIO is home to studios and classrooms designed to support high quality programs in the arts and creative technologies. The facility is equipped for programs in drawing, painting, ceramics, printmaking and stained glass. There is a kiln for firing hand built pottery, a press for printmaking, and there are cutters, grinders and hand tools for stained glass work. There is also an advanced video webcasting and animation studio designed as a premiere center for learning to create cutting edge online media productions.
For more information, visit www.monroestreetstudio.com.