Sculptor and textile artist Anastasia Azure weaves at her large floor loom in a beautifully lit studio space at Hope Artiste Village. The delicate blue and gold wires in the machine will eventually form a complex organic shape.“You get the different color variations, and you see how they react with the different types of weave structure that you’ve created,” remarks Frankie DeMars, Anastasia’s studio assistant, as she helps her hang a new sculpture on the wall.

“There’s a moiré effect that happens since you can see through the different layers, and it’s like screen looking on top of another screen,” Anastasia says, “so there’s this aliveness that comes through when you actually are the person moving around the sculpture.”

At the entrance of Azure’s studio is a collection of hand-crafted jewelry, which she describes as “Rhode Island-inspired.” The state’s rich histories in textile and jewelry manufacturing have informed her art. “There is a long, historical costume jewelry industry in Rhode Island. Rhode Island has the history of jewelry making as well as the history of textiles, and uniting those two art forms is what my sculpture and jewelry is about.”

Anastasia has been working in the building for 5 years. She started out in a space less than half the size of her current one, but says it allowed her to grow her business. A commission from a hotel chain allowed her to move upstairs to a much larger studio, which she calls “an artist’s dream come true.”

Patricia Weltin, an exhibition curator whose gallery is located just down the hall from Azure’s, agrees: “We have the exposed brick, and the hardwood floors…you know, they’re beautiful spaces.”Hope Artiste Village has provided a strong sense of community for its dozens of artists and curators, who share their work with the public and with each other.

“I’m just starting to meet people,” Patricia laughs.

“I know. I’ve been here five years and I still find new turns and twists in the building.”

“[The owner] was telling me about people who are in the building, I’m like, ‘where?’ and he said ‘Right in the main thing!’ I’m like, ‘What? I never saw that.’ So, yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

Currently, the Village holds an open studio night once a month from 5-8 pm, where guests can visit and catch local artists in action. But Azure and her neighbors hope to start organizing their own open hours more frequently, still coordinating dates and times so there’ll always be plenty for visitors to discover.

Anastasia Azure also joined The Public’s Radio for a panel on the arts economy in Pawtucket, as part of our One Square Mile series on Pawtucket.