Pocatello art studio has new location, big plans
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POCATELLO — A fire that gutted his business hasn’t stopped Sixes Creatives co-owner Josh Pohlman from chasing his vision.
The February fire left Sixes, Polhman’s art studio, a charred husk, with Pohlman and his business facing an uncertain future. But less than four months later, Sixes has a new location on Yellowstone Avenue and a full slate of future plans.
The new location gives Sixes a lot more space and flexibility.
“It’s just shy of 4,000 square feet,” Pohlman said. “Our old shop was 560. We keep thinking back to what we were able to accomplish with 500 square feet. Now, we have the ability to spread out and have a professional space for artists. We have a garage space for doing shows, events and classes.”
The increased space will also help more fully facilitate Polhman’s vision for Sixes to be a fun, safe environment for young people. Pohlman said Sixes is seeking a grant that will help the studio to provide a clean, non-threaten space that can act as a haven for kids with trouble at home.
The new building also places Sixes in a position where they are more visible to the public.
“We’re up on Yellowstone now,” Pohlman said. “Now we have daily traffic counts passing by this building that downtown sees annually. We get more eyes on us. We want to be a Pocatello business. We want to be accessible to everybody, not just the folks who do business downtown.”
The new Sixes location is open to the public and staff is currently busy building out the interior of the new building to prepare for a very busy slate of upcoming events. First up, Sixes has its Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting on Thursday, June 23.
On Saturday, June 25, the studio will hold the 2022 edition of Mural Fest. This is an event that offers businesses a chance to get art on their buildings at greatly reduced prices while providing wall space for up-and-coming artists.
Pohlman said they have six or seven confirmed walls around Pocatello they’ll be painting and they’re bringing in a mix of local and out-of-state talent to do the artwork. Mural painting began on Tuesday, June 21, with a wrap-up party upon completion of the murals on Saturday, June 25.
The wrap-up party will double as Sixes’ grand opening celebration. Pohlman said it’s going to be quite the bash.
“We’re inviting everybody to come down to the shop,” he said. “We having food trucks down here, we’re having bands and DJs playing in the shop. We’ll have tattoo artists doing flash art in one of the creative bays and local artists displaying art on tables around the shop for you to peruse and purchase. It’s going to be really cool.”
Sixes is planning more events throughout the coming months as they continue to carry out their mission to bring vibrancy and color to the walls of Pocatello. They are doing monthly “Art Untamed” events every fourth Sunday at Zoo Idaho and they have another edition of their popular art battle event coming up in October.
The new Sixes Creatives location at 225 Yellowstone Avenue in Pocatello is currently open to the public. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram for more information on upcoming Sixes events.
