New Horizons
for InterOcean Studios

A Message from Diane Tomasso

F​​ine artist and papermaker Ray Tomasso contributed greatly to the arts community in Denver for over thirty years until his death in 2020. Though Ray's home base was Colorado, he achieved international recognition, primarily for his handmade paper with an emphasis on paper casting. As his widow, I struggled with the question of how to honor his memory and make best use of his studio, located in Englewood, Colorado. I began, with the help of friends, to find new homes for the many tools, equipment and supplies peripheral to Ray’s core work, often donating them to worthy causes. 

This past summer, I began to reach out to friends and associates with the idea of keeping the studio operating as a collaborative workspace. Rhiannon Alpers, a Denver native who recently moved home after long stints in San Francisco and Chicago, was introduced to me by a mutual friend. Rhiannon is a papermaker, letterpress printer and bookbinder. She is also an accomplished and internationally recognized book artist under her personal imprint Gazelle and Goat Press. She has long experience as a book arts educator and administrator, and was seeking new ways to make use of her talents in Colorado.

Together, Rhiannon and I are now working to bring Ray’s studio back to life, creating a flexible educational workspace for residencies, classes, workshops and exhibits. Like Ray, we plan to focus on encouraging new and established artists to explore the boundaries between the fine arts and book arts – utilizing papermaking, letterpress printing and bookbinding. Rhiannon will take the lead as both Executive and Creative Director, while I play a supporting role in my retirement. We’ve been joined by Ray’s longtime friend, Alicia Bailey of Abecedarian Gallery, who will be organizing selected exhibitions. See About Us to meet other friends and associates.

Please join us in making the new InterOcean Studio a success as a place of artistic expression and individual and collaborative endeavor in the book arts! 

— Diane Tomasso