How Ulna Started
a little story
Greetings dear community, Lettie Jane here.
Have you ever wondered how Ulna Studio was started? The short story is that Jolyn taught at Radius for years, I joined her there and when Radius moved to Belmont, and we moved our drawing classes to the Northwest Storage building. Jolyn met Cole, knew he was a keeper, and the 3 of us have been running Ulna together ever since.
I’d like to take a little time to tell you the long story, it involves more people, more dates, and a little more about each of us.
Ulna Art Studio was started in 2021, when Radius moved to its new location on Belmont Street. We call ourselves a sister studio to Radius Art Studio because we were once one studio. The Ulna is one bone in our forearm while the Radius is the other.
Radius was founded in 2002 by Kim McKenna and Mark Brandau. They had several moves during the first five years as a studio before settling into the space under the Morrison Bridge where Jolyn Fry joined them as a painting instructor in 2007.
For 14 years Jolyn taught at Radius, building a painting curriculum based on meeting students where they were and supporting creative growth. Korin Schneider joined Radius as an artist in 2008 and became owner/operator of Radius in 2014. In 2019 Lettie Jane Rennekamp interviewed with Jolyn and Korin, found an immediate kinship in art and community, and began teaching her Intuitive Drawing course at Radius that September.
In 2021 Radius Art Studio moved to 2324 Belmont, leaving the space under the Morrison Bridge where they had held ceramics, painting, and drawing classes for the past 14 years. The new Radius location boasts beautiful light and a central location on a busy street, but it no longer has the capacity for both ceramics and painting. Jolyn shifted the 2D program, inviting Lettie Jane to join her in a new classroom, 2 blocks down the street at the old John Deere Building, Northwest Storage.
With the location change and split from Radius our new space was created. Jolyn named it Ulna Art Studio.
We started Ulna in a small studio space on the 7th floor, hosting 9-10 person classes and moving furniture as needed. In September of 2022 we moved into 7k, a spacious room where we could host larger classes and workshops, have studio space for the instructors and create common areas for socializing. Cole Lyons joined the Ulna team shortly after our move in October 2022 and settled in as a thoughtful, and sometimes playful instructor of Painting, Landscape Painting, Drawing and Plein Air.
During the Spring Equinox March of 2024, Ulna moved yet again, not leaving the Northwest Storage Building, but finding another space that is larger, better lit, easier to access, and even has a kitchen.
Ulna has moved 3 times inside the Northwest Storage warehouse. It’s a funky building, with a freight elevator, storage, art studios, and furniture stores. It was originally the John Deere factory in Portland, built in 1911, it’s part of the National Register of Historic Places. The elevator used to bring tractors up and down the floors. The second floor were the John Deere offices, and our “crying room” was the long distance telephone call room.
Here is a photograph of the builidng from 1928, before the highway was built.
We know that each of you come to our classes with your own background and history. This is a little window into Ulna’s.
Jolyn, Cole, and I are forever grateful we get to facilitate these classes, in this space with each other and all of you. Thanks for being part of our community.
Warmly, Lettie Jane
link to all classes
FEBRUARY/MARCH CLASSES:
Intro To DIY Weaving (Saturday AM) Feb 2025
Instructor: Flannery Smith
Dates: Saturdays, February 1st & February 8th
Time: 1:30 pm – 4:30 pmIntro to Charcoal Portraiture (Saturday) Feb 15th
Instructor: Nicole Williford
Dates: Saturday, February 15th
Times: 10:00- 4:00 pmInner Selfie (Saturday AM) Feb/March
Instructor: Aaron Piland
Dates: Saturdays, February 15th – March 22nd
Time: 10:00am – 1:00pmIntuitive Drawing (Saturday AM) Feb-March
Instructor: Lettie Jane Rennekamp
Dates: Saturdays, February 22nd – March 22nd
Time: 10:00am – 1:00pm
Deeper Drawing (Saturday Afternoon) Feb-March
Instructor: Lettie Jane Rennekamp
Dates: Saturdays, February 22nd – March 22nd
Time: 1:30pm-4:30pmIntro to Drawing (Thursdays PM) Feb/March
Instructor: Cole Lyons
Dates: February 18th – March 18th
Times: Thursday, 5:45pm – 8:15pmIntro to Landscape Painting (Tuesdays PM) Feb/March
Instructor: Cole Lyons
Dates: February 18th – March 18th
Times: Tuesdays, 5:45pm – 8:30pmIntro to Painting (Mondays PM) Feb/March
Instructor: Cole Lyons
Dates: February 24th – March 24th
Times: Mondays, 5:45pm – 8:30pmIntro to Painting (Sunday AM) Feb/March
Instructor: Jolyn Fry
Dates: February 23rd- March 30thThere will be no class on March 23rd for Spring break
Times: Sundays, 10:30am – 12:30pm
Intro to Painting (Sunday Afternoons) Feb/March
Instructor: Jolyn Fry
Dates: February 23rd- March 30thThere will be no class on March 23rd for Spring break
Times: Sundays, 1:30pm – 3:30pmIntro to Acrylics- Explorative! (Wednesday PM) March/April
Instructor: Erinn Kathryn
Dates: March 19th- April 19th
Times:Wednesdays, 5:30pm – 8:30pmFriday Night Figure Drawing (Feb 28th)
Instructor: Sarah Levy
Date: Friday, February 28th
Time: 5:30-8:30Call for art!
Exquisite Creatures Cafe invites artists interested in showing art in their cafe to send proposals to Brenda Aimonetti // Exquisite Creatures. We suggest a short letter of intention and 3-5 images of your work. theexquisitecreatures@gmail.com
Community Art Making!
Queer Crafternoon - Bring your own project to work on. This month will also have a button-making activity with materials provided.
Sunday, Jan 19, 1-4pm // Alder Commons, 4212 NE Prescott
Masks required, building is ADA Accessible
Cole, Lettie Jane, and Jolyn say THANK YOU for being part of our community. A big thanks to each of you for following our newsletter. Hope to see you in real life soon!
Thanks for reading the Ulna Art Studio newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work.
Awww this is so sweet - I can’t believe I’m in three of these pictures! The first one is when I met Teeny in 2022 when Ulna was in the first room. I see Cole and I from the 7th floor spot :,)