Success Story– A2 Art Studio   
      (ARTistic ASPirations)

1688 Perryville Road
Perryville, MD 21903
410-642-9278
artisticaspirations@yahoo.com
www.a2artstudio.com

Alysia Asp, the owner/operator of A2 Art Studio, is an experienced, national award winning art educator and jewelry artist.  She holds a MA in Art Education and is only one of three certified instructors in Art Clay Silver in Maryland.  A2 Art Studio provides quality artwork alongside art education for all age groups.  Alysia is interested in providing opportunities for students to develop achievements in creativity, thinking, flexibility and overall well-being that can be developed from artistic involvement. 

“Our society has become more stressful, and people want to relax and have fun in a safe environment while CREATING something meaningful.  There is a need now more than ever for art programs in our communities,” says Alysia.

Alysia has dreamed of owning her own studio and school since she was in middle school.   After eight years of public school teaching and seeing the changes being made in public schools that downgraded the importance of art in the curriculum, she decided it was time for her to set up her own school where she could bring her love and experience of art to others.   She and her husband located a cute house in a perfect location in Perryville, in front of the high school and down the street from the middle school, for an art studio/school.  They bought it, began renovations, and on Saturday, September 29, 2007 they held an open studio event.

A2 has an art studio, an art supplies store, classrooms and a gallery.  Art classes and workshops for all ages are offered evenings and weekends.  Memberships are available to jewelry artists who want to utilize studio time. The gallery space will display works by students, members, instructors and the owner.  Hard-to-find art materials will be sold also.

A2’s logo is a creative design that shows the landscape orientation of Alysia’s artwork. The two peaks of the mountains represent two A's (the first initials of ARTistic ASPirations and her name Alysia Asp).  If you look closer, the river creates an S and the tree creates a P.  This spells out her last name in a more hidden way. A2 Art Studio (a-squared) represents the first two letters of ARTistic ASPIrations and the owners’ names.  It was also her nickname in college (given to her by her art history professor).

Alysia was referred to the SBIC and Lera to work on her business plan, by Michael Garrity of the SBDC.  Alysia knew art, but she was uncertain about business execution.   She wanted to make sure she covered all the important issues  in planning her art studio and applying for licenses, taxes, and legal designations required for a business.  With some assistance from Lera, Mike, and the SBDC, she took some seminars and developed a business plan that showed a clear understanding of her market, her start-up finances, assessed her competition and explored avenues of further funding for art programs.              

A2 is no longer just an aspiration.  It is now an actual achievement; a source of learning for local aspiring artists