In the light of the setting sun the frames of the wide windows by the front entrance shined in the fresh color of the famous "Sunflowers". Stefan Miarka picked up his wet paintbrush with a Tom Sawyer-ish gesture and yelled: "I am Van Gogh!"  Lucjan Nowinski pried himself away from his gigantic paintings, ran out of the studio, looked at Stefan's work and said: "Splendid masterpiece master".

Lucjan is always like this: friendly in every word.  Stefan, on the other hand, always has crazy ideas.  Lucjan is the tall, bald one spattered by paint from his shoulders to the clogs on his bare feet. Stefan is the one with the silver lion's mane and a bully's expression.

They are standing in front of their studio in the last rays of the sun smiling, delighted, always ready for jokes. They are both wonderfully photogenic. They met here in Red Hook several years ago. A painter and a sculptor. When they are talking about art even a banal picnic by the grill becomes an artistic journey.

But how much can one talk about art? An artist needs fulfillment in creating and in working, through space, and through freedom. They had all of that here. Only it was under the naked sky of the beautiful Hudson Valley. So when the neighboring property with a stable was vacated last year they decided immediately: "we will change the stable into a studio".

And that is the beginning and end of a romantic tale about an eccentric idea. The rest was brutal reality: a rotting ceiling, a roof that was falling down, a cracked foundation wall, ugly furniture, dirt, smells, piles of horse manure, a lack of light and electricity, no stairs, doors or windows. In short: a ruin.

There are two ways to deal with brutal reality: 1. Start work investing a large sum of money; 2. Start work without money. The second way was so attractive that Lucjan and Stefan, along with their friends, were able to start work right away, the very next day in fact.

Whatever the options, there was really only one way to their own studio - by starting the rescue of the ruined stable immediately.

And that is how the studio came to be called One Way Studio. This year, in the early spring, art invaded the stable. Lucjan began. The idea of an open studio was realized from the first evening. This meant that when the artist started to paint none of his visiting friends left. The creator was not left to his intimate loneliness.

The principle took hold - the studio is open and it is possible to observe the artists at work every weekend. The only things necessary are a cheerful disposition, a lot of patience, and a love of art.

It can only be revealed that Lucjan's creations are metaphoric paintings of spacious forms that go beyond traditional frames. Stefan, on the other hand, shockingly transforms music and the shape of Ludwig Van Beethoven into sculpture.  They are both planning to finish these series towards the end of August and to open to the public an exhibition of their works in One Way Studio.

It is all very close in Red Hook, NY, 199 Feller Newmark Road. TEL 914-758-1540

by Bronek Kowalski
(translated by Patrycja Warda)