Jennifer Pinto is not one to rest on her laurels.  She is a board member of the Charles County Arts Alliance and the Children’s Aid Society, a member of the Mattawoman Creek Art Center, an accomplished graphic artist who earned her Masters in Art and Visual Technology at George Mason University.  Now she is a Charles County entrepreneur, recently inducted into the Charles County chapter of Zonta.

Jennifer’s company, Corner Studio Artworks, was seeded by her mother’s artwork and grew into a branching vine heavy with the fruit of several Southern Maryland artists. 

It all began a few years ago when her mother, Betty Carney, lost her husband Jon and not long after decided to add studio space onto the back of her home in La Plata.  Betty was a retired Lackey High School Arts teacher going through a transition phase in her life and the new studio addition inspired some changes. 

She began inviting artists to commune in the space, the walls of which are lined with windows that overlook her lush back yard.  Corner Studio began in earnest in 2004 and the natural lighting and serene wooded environment made it the ideal place for artists to gravitate. 

Her studio began hosting workshops and classes by a variety of artists.  She told The Bay Net, she simply wanted a community for artists, a place to come together and work, talk, discuss techniques and create. 

The popular “open studio” on Wednesdays is a place artists can wander into from 1-4pm and work.  They hang out with other artists, chat, trade art tips, and essentially, realize Betty’s vision for the studio as a place for artists to commune.

Jennifer had been working as a graphic designer for an Army contractor in Northern Virginia.  But around the time that her mother was going through these changes, Jennifer re-connected with her high school sweetheart in Charles County, moved back to the county and married him. 

Betty Carney in her Studio

She was dissatisfied with the job opportunities open to her locally, and didn’t want to consider ones that involved long commutes.  Spending time with her mother and observing the other artists work at the studio, she envisioned a business, Corner Studio Artworks, through which she sells high quality prints of local artists’ work. 

She makes several sorts of arrangements with her clients, depending on their needs, which provides personal service in a situation advantageous to the artist, the studio and her business.  It’s a win-win-win situation that has kept Jennifer motivated to grow her business.

She will soon launch a Corner Studio Artworks website, essentially an online art gallery where customers can purchase prints and greeting cards decorated with the artwork she offers.  In addition to making the prints available online, she will also to attend region art and craft festivals like Charles County’s River Artsfest; making the work of Southern Maryland Artists more easily accessible to the public.

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Heather Bartlett is TheBayNet.com’s Waldorf and Arts Correspondent. 
To contact her about this article, Waldorf issues or Arts events comment below or email bartlett@thebaynet.com.