The Tiny Studio in Port Coquitlam: Make Art, Take Art, Leave Art
Updated: Aug 30
Along Taylor Street in Port Coquitlam, a small colourful studio is inviting the community to make, share, and discover art completely free.
Created by local artist Feona Schalk, the Tiny Studio is a free community creative space located outside her home art studio at 1670 Taylor Street, Port Coquitlam. Anyone can stop by to discover art, leave something they have created, take or contribute art supplies, or simply see what others in the community have been sharing.
The idea behind it can be summed up in three simple invitations:
Make art • Take art • Leave art.
What Is the Tiny Studio in Port Coquitlam?
Feona describes the Tiny Studio as “a little free creative space built for the community — sharing art, encouraging creativity, and fostering connection in Port Coquitlam.”
Unlike a traditional gallery or art class, there is no need to register or consider yourself an artist to participate.
Someone might leave a drawing or small painting for another person to discover. Another visitor might find a piece of art they would like to take home. Others can contribute art supplies they no longer need or take available supplies that might inspire their next creation.
And you don't have to bring or take anything at all.
Stopping by to look inside and see what the community has been creating and sharing is part of the experience too.
Make Art • Take Art • Leave Art
The words displayed right on the Tiny Studio explain how the community can participate.
Make Art
Create something and consider sharing it.
It doesn't have to be elaborate or created by a professional artist. The goal is simply to encourage creativity and give people another reason to make something.
Take Art
See something inside that catches your eye?
Available artwork can be taken home and enjoyed. As pieces find new homes and other creations are contributed, what's inside the Tiny Studio can continually change.
Leave Art
Community members can also contribute their own creations for someone else to discover.
It's a simple exchange that can connect neighbours who may never actually meet. One person creates something, leaves it behind, and another person discovers it later.
Art Supplies Can Be Shared Too
The Tiny Studio isn't only about finished artwork.
Visitors can also leave art supplies for other people in the community or take available supplies to create something themselves.
Paintbrushes, paper, and other creative materials that may be sitting unused in one person's home could become the beginning of someone else's next project.
That makes the Tiny Studio more than a place to exchange art. It can also help provide some of the materials needed to create it.
Making Art More Accessible to Everyone
At the heart of the Tiny Studio is a simple goal: making art more accessible.
Experiencing creativity doesn't always have to mean walking into a traditional gallery, purchasing artwork, or signing up for a formal class.
Sometimes it can happen while walking through your own neighbourhood.
By bringing art outside and placing it where people can easily interact with it, the Tiny Studio creates an informal way for children, adults, experienced artists, and people who may not consider themselves creative to participate.
There is no pressure about how someone should interact with the space.
Make something.
Take something.
Share some supplies.
Or simply stop and look.
Everyone can experience it differently.
From Feona Paints Studio to the Community
The Tiny Studio is a natural extension of the community-focused approach behind Feona Paints Studio & Gallery, Feona's home-based working art studio just steps away.
Her main studio has become a welcoming creative space where visitors can discover her West Coast-inspired artwork, attend small-group Creative Evenings, and discover work from other local creators through the Community Showcase.
Poco Living previously visited Feona and took a closer look inside the studio, the story behind the space, and the different ways she is bringing art and community together in Port Coquitlam.
With the Tiny Studio, some of that creativity moves beyond the walls of the main studio and directly into the neighbourhood.
Instead of having to walk through a gallery door, art is waiting right along Taylor Street for the community to discover.
A Tiny Space That Can Keep Changing
Part of the fun of the Tiny Studio is that what you discover can change from one visit to another.
Its contents are shaped by the people who interact with it.
Someone might contribute a painting. Another visitor may take it home. Art supplies can be added, picked up, and eventually become part of another person's creation. New pieces can appear as others leave.
That means the Tiny Studio can continually evolve as the community participates.
It also gives people a reason to stop by again.
You never quite know what someone may have added since your last visit.
Inspiring More Creativity in the Community
The idea doesn't necessarily have to stop at one Tiny Studio.
Part of making art accessible is showing how creativity can become part of everyday neighbourhood life. Someone who discovers Feona's Tiny Studio might be inspired to create more art themselves, contribute supplies or even think about ways to encourage creativity in their own neighbourhood.
A small project can inspire another idea somewhere else.
And that ripple effect- people creating, sharing, and encouraging others to participate- is part of what community art can be about.
Where Is the Tiny Studio in Port Coquitlam?
Want to see what's inside?
The Tiny Studio, 1670 Taylor Street, Port Coquitlam, BC.
The Tiny Studio is located outside Feona Paints Studio along Taylor Street, where members of the community can stop by and interact with it.
Visitors can check the information displayed directly on the Tiny Studio when they arrive or contact Feona Paints or Poco Living if they would like additional information.
Find the Tiny Studio on the Map
A Small Space With a Big Community Idea
The Tiny Studio may be small, but the idea behind it has plenty of room to grow.
Someone can leave a painting.
Someone else can discover it.
Another person can contribute supplies.
A child walking past might be inspired to make something of their own.
And someone who hasn't created art in years might be reminded that creativity doesn't have to be complicated.
It's a simple way for art to move from one person to another while bringing a little more creativity into the neighbourhood.
So next time you're around Taylor Street, stop by 1670 Taylor Street in Port Coquitlam and take a look inside.
You never know what the community might have left for you to discover.
Make art • Take art • Leave art.
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