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

