28 | JANUARY 14 • 2021

M

y mother, Lois
Teicher, began renting
her 2,000-square-foot
studio at the Atlas Building on
Gratiot Avenue in Detroit in
1982. The building was a well-
known artists enclave and, today
at 82 years old, she is the last art-
ist to move out of the building.
The Atlas Building, across
from Eastern Market, was home
to the Atlas furniture company
in the 1920s. My mom decided
on the Atlas Building for sev-
eral reasons. “There were other
artists in the building, and it’s

always nice to have a communi-
ty,
” she said. “Plus, the rent was
reasonable.
” The rent was $350,
and it was never raised.
For 40 years, she drove her
truck and later her work van
down the cobblestone street
behind the building to her stu-
dio where she would ponder,

create, use the Mig welder, store
her work, party with other art-
ists and have her sacred space.
“We were all serious art-
ists,
” she said. “They were well
known in my generation, John
Piet, Gary Kulak, Christine
Hagedorn, Gloria Joseph and
Gary Eleinko, to name a few.
We were all making art in that
building, and it was wonderful.
”
Teicher welded in her studio,
throwing fireproof drywall on
the wood floors, so nothing
caught fire. “I welded my sculp-
tures for 38 years in this raw

space,
” she said. “We didn’t show
our work here; this was just to
create the work.
”
Artists usually worked during
the day and held some sort of
teaching job at night to keep a
steady income.
“We had wonderful parties on
the roof,
” she said. “We looked at

the city. We had music and food.
It was a blast, and we danced.
Whatever field you’re in, it’s nice
to have your people to hang out
with.
”
My brothers, Noah and
Joshua, and I thought the
studio was the coolest place.
Later, when my girls were born
and old enough, I would leave
them for hours with my mom
at her studio. I believe the
experience was life-changing
for both my girls. They spent
hours creating, learning from
their grandmother and being
messy.
My mom’s work can be seen
everywhere (her sculpture
outside of the Scarab Club
in Detroit, for example), and
her awards and accolades are
endless.

NEW STUDIO
The new owners of the Atlas
Building are relocating her to a
new studio on Division Street in
the Eastern Market, and the rent

is reasonable. We’re so grateful
to Sanford Nelson of FIRM Real
Estate.
“Your mother, Lois, is truly a
treasure,
” he said. “I feel lucky to
have had the opportunity to get
to know her over the last couple
years, and she has been a great
resource of information for me
given her long history in the
market. I am also an admirer of
her work and have collected a
few pieces from her.
”
Nelson says a lot of renova-
tions need to be made to the
Atlas Building because it’s in
major disrepair. The six-story
Atlas Building will be trans-
formed and completed into resi-
dential apartments by 2022.
When I am 82 years old, I
want to be like my mother:
still working, going with the
flow of life and cherishing the
memories. This is the end of an
era for the building, but not for
my mother. She’s not slowing
down; a new era begins for her
in 2021.

Last artist moves out of Detroit’s
Atlas Building.
End of an Era

IN
THED
JEWS

TEICHER/BONNELL

LAURA BONNELL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ESSAY

“WE WERE ALL

MAKING ART IN

THAT BUILDING,

AND IT WAS

WONDERFUL.”

— LOIS TEICHER

TOP: Lois Teicher stands

over her grandchildren:

Carsen Teicher, Caden

Teicher, Max Teicher, Molly

Bonnell, Mischa Teicher

and Emily Bonnell.

TEICHER/BONNELL