One catchphrase for the Pier 11 Studio is apt.

“Let creativity flow.”

The newly opened art space overlooks the Columbia River in Astoria. Its principals, Elise Wagner and Ren Allen, hope it will become a focal point for collaborations.

The business partners moved from Portland in 2023, seeking distance from the city so that Wagner’s art, which is inspired by nature, could breathe more easily.

Wagner, a painter and printmaker, taught classes in other locations, including Canada and Mexico. On the North Coast, she has shown work at Imogen Gallery and participated in the Astoria Open Studios Tour.

Her studio was established in the basement of an Astoria house. In those cramped quarters, she created encaustic art, paintings that combine wax and pigments with abstract themes inspired by geology and astronomy.

“When people visited, I had to keep saying, ‘Be careful. Watch your head!’ I was feeling it was a bit oppressive in the basement. I had come from a studio with lofty ceilings and it was the opposite of that.”

‘Ripe’

As they pondered a broader space, an estate sale for a private artist who was leaving Pier 11 lured them to the waterfront.

Allen is a multimedia creative whose abstract artwork features a jelly plate print process. She recalled their reaction as they bought items and viewed the space. “Wouldn’t it be amazing to paint there?”

“We stepped into it. … It was very fortuitous,” Wagner said. “This community is ripe for something like this. We are ready and excited to step out.”

“It is all about inspiring new collaborations,” Allen added. “The very nature of art is communication between people, collaboration between the artist and people viewing the work. Artists feed off each other. … Let’s see what’s possible.”

‘Heroes’

Once they signed up, they spent a month getting it ready.

Allen, who has a master’s degree in counseling plus business acumen, recruited artists and fellow musicians to lug their supplies across town. Her Hyundai and three loaded pickups — piloted by “our team of heroes” — accomplished that. Included was a 400-pound Takach etching press, which now overlooks the water.

As well as a workspace for Wagner and Allen to create, the studio will be a location for adult classes, with space for up to eight students. One early class will feature watercolors capturing light reflecting off the Columbia. Programs will be designed to “foster creativity in a supportive environment.”

Atelier services for artists will be available and the smallest of the five rooms will house a mini art supply shop. The largest, a gallery, includes shelves with books about art and maps — another of Wagner’s inspirations. It exhibited work from supportive artists for the recent opening which will stay up through March 8, then become a print gallery wall with local artwork for sale.

‘Confidence’

The location is already a hit, with Wagner taking digital photos of the water to incorporate into her art. “The view is very inspiring,” she said. “It’s already inspired ideas for new work for a solo show I am doing in May in Seattle.”

The pair are delighted with open-ended possibilities.

“These are times when we need to be creative,” Wagner said, mentioning how she savors her research library for inspiration. “We are open to ideas from other artists for future collaborations and classes. That way we can come together as a group and feel a sense of community and place.”

Setting up for their public grand opening, both wiped away a tear as they recalled their path and celebrated their mutual support.

Allen, who designs websites for artists, said the last two years have proved they belong in Astoria. “We have been made to feel at home here,” she said. “That inspired us to have the confidence to spread our wings.”

Pier 11 Studio

Grand opening tours from noon to 8 p.m. Feb. 8 during Second Saturday Art Walk, Suite A, 77 11th St., Astoria.

Check online for upcoming classes in gel plate printing, watercolors and artist web coaching.

@pier11studio

www.pier11studio.com