and locals has just opened in St. George's.

The entire top floor of the old Meyer & Company building on Hunter's Wharf -- now named the Art Studio -- will be used as a base for Joan Aspinall's "Bermudiana'' line of hand-painted casual wear. In addition, several art teachers will offer classes in varying media. Visitors to St. George's are invited to stop by and watch as local artists paint Bermuda motifs on shirts, hats, visors and bags.

"This is a real community project to promote St. George's,'' says Mrs. Joan Aspinall, who took her idea to Mr. Henry Hayward, owner of the handsome, early 19th century waterfront building.

"This building is the perfect place to create a studio nucleus. Mr. Hayward has kindly allowed us to use the space for a nominal rent and I'm hoping this will encourage other teachers to come here, set up their own classes and teach arts and crafts. We are keeping classes at a very low cost, to encourage as many people as possible -- children and complete beginners -- to come along and try their hand in drawing, watercolours, oils and handicrafts.'' When Living visited the Art Studio, an art class conducted by Mrs. Aspinall was already under way: It seemed to be a session with a difference. A group of enthusiastic beginners sketched, scribbled (and swayed) to the strains of lively calypso music which echoed through the vast studio area.

This, explained Mrs. Aspinall, was the "warm-up'' period, designed to relax possibly nervous would-be artists.

"I want people to realise that drawing is for pleasure. But as we get older, we become very inhibited. We need to loosen up. I also like to emphasise that drawing is, to a great degree, a taught skill which anyone can learn.'' She is hoping her approach will encourage those who would feel intimidated in a more formal setting and "those who subscribe to the myth that art is just an inherited talent''.

Eventually, Mrs. Aspinall hopes to arrange weekly arts seminars aimed especially at tourists, which would be extended to include guided walking tours around the historical points of interest and architectural highlights of the old town.

Besides being a well-known artist, Mrs. Aspinall has headed her own company, Pina of Bermuda, which has been producing a line of casual wear since 1980.

During that time she has personally trained many Bermudians in the laborious and meticulous art of painting colourful Bermuda flowers on fabric, as well as the more advanced techniques of silk-screen printing. Recently, she introduced a line of men's wear, with painted chameleons and toads providing the decoration.

She explains that her basic, original design is outlined on the garments at the Pina factory (which is next door, at Hunter's Wharf). They are then painted by the artists and finally, returned to the factory once more, to be processed through the "curing unit'' which fastens the colours so that the garments may be washed.

"It's a very specialised process and we are always looking for hand-painters.

People don't have to come to the Studio to work. It's always been a cottage industry, where people can work at home, in their own time.'' Now she is hoping that her commitment to the production of genuine Bermudian craft-work will be rewarded by at least a lowering of the crushing import taxes she has to pay on basic materials.

So far, Mrs. Aspinall claims, she has received no discounts or exemptions on customs duties. This, she says, makes it very difficult to produce locally produced goods at competitive prices: "We have to pay exactly the same duty on blank materials (which we then hand-decorate) as people selling imported T-shirts. We produce what I think are beautiful reminders of Bermuda for our visitors to take home. But it's an expensive process, because the designs are hand-painted originals and the labour costs are high. Everyone complains about Front Street turning into a row of `made in Taiwan' souvenir stores but there is no encouragement whatsoever from Government for anyone attempting to produce Bermudian goods. I've written to the authorities about this on many, many occasions, and have never even had a reply.'' Now, however, it seems there may be increased interest in hand-made goods: her work is on sale at the Botanical Gardens Visitors Centre, and a Front Street retail outlet has recently shown a willingness to attempt to stem the invasion of imported T-shirts with their barrage of printed trivia (such as "I got lost in the Bermuda Triangle'') which appears to have become the predominant representative of Bermuda's souvenir trade.

Archie Brown & Son Ltd. have just placed an order for the Pina line for their Front Street store, a gesture which Mrs. Aspinall sees as an expression of faith in locally produced goods.

"So now I am desperate for hand-painters,'' she laughs. Obviously, she hopes to kill, as it were, two birds with one stone, as most of the painters will gather in the new Art Studio to paint their wares.

Mrs. Aspinall would like to hear from any teachers who would be interested in running classes in the St. George's studio. And those who would like to enrol in the classes are asked to telephone her at 293-2529 for further details.

LOOSENING UP -- Art students of Joan Aspinall (right) relax by scribbling to music at the start of class. Winding down with her are, from left, Mrs. Karen Stenhouse, Mrs. Pat Sykes, Mrs. Joani Barnes and Mrs. Colleen Banks.