Red Ink Studios, a gallery/artists' workplace at Santana Row in San Jose, is a case of making the very best of the bad situation that was the dot-com bust. The studios originated in Palo Alto in 2002 when Peninsula-based advertising agency DMNA found itself with an overabundance of leased space after many of its dot-com clients disappeared when the bubble burst, and the ad company itself had to downsize.

"We took a look at what happened during the Internet boom. We had been in downtown Palo Alto for a few years, and during the last two years of that, we saw a lot of interesting boutiques and shops go out of business and a lot of artists go with them," says Stuart Morgan, who with fellow DMNA partner Todd Diamond co-founded Red Ink Studios. With office rents plummeting, rather than sublet to another company, DMNA, which would have taken a loss on the rent anyway, offered the space to artists, rent-free, as studio and gallery space. Small commissions on artworks sold would compensate for the rent that the company would have made on a sublet.

"With arts funding cut from city governments and state governments, a lot of us have to look for ways to preserve the arts," says Morgan.

Last May, when the lease expired on DMNA's old office space in Palo Alto, the studios sought a new place to call home, at least for a little while, and found a large space at Santana Row that wasn't spoken for. Morgan recalls that after a few inquiries, Santana Row's management expressed interest in offering the studios an interim residence.

As before, modest commissions on art sales offer the landlords some compensation. Also, the studios are prepared to clear out in 30 days should a paying tenant for the space be found. "As our mission statement says, we're a guerilla art movement that takes advantage of space that's not being leased out," says Morgan. In fact, artists are forewarned of the potentially transitory nature of their workspaces. "It's part of the agreement," says Morgan.

The current incarnation of Red Ink Studios is a bright, airy, multistory store along Santana Row's main street. The studios have not only attracted the attention of many artists interested in studio space or an exhibition--one of whom traveled all the way from Oklahoma for a month's occupancy, says Morgan--but have captured the imagination of community organizations looking for a place to host special events.

In December, 49ers player Terrell Owens held a charity fashion show, in conjunction with CityTeam Ministries, at the gallery. Last weekend, Red Ink Studios played host to an exhibition sponsored by the Silicon Valley Young Adults Division (SVYAD) of the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose. The Colors of SVYAD, a one-day exhibition that showcased works of emerging young Jewish artists from the Bay Area, was also the inaugural event for the program's mission of bringing educational and social programs to members of the Jewish community ages 25­40.

The artists who work at the studios are chosen for a spot, with Red Ink Studios curator Linda Hughes overseeing the selections. Hughes, who is an artist herself, says that when it comes to choosing artists, no particular medium or subject matter is favored, but that Red Ink Studios does have an emphasis on young artists. "We tend to look more for young artists; we want to give them a leg up," says Hughes.

Such a nurturing sensibility seems to inform the whole project. Collaborations between artists are common, and some of the artists also volunteer extra time to help out with gallery operations, hanging pictures, sweeping the floors and doing whatever is needed. "It is a community here. They help each other out," Hughes says.

With any luck, that community spirit will extend far beyond a single space. Red Ink Studios hopes to expand to many other locations, with several places in San Francisco looking like real possibilities. Morgan says that, in particular, a spot in the lower Fillmore has been secured, with a landlord who is "very pro-Red Ink."

In fact, the studios hope to encourage other Bay Area landlords to see the benefits of sharing unoccupied office space with artists. "It doesn't cost the landlord anything and draws attention to the space," says Morgan. If anything, the loan of empty offices to artists gives back "an incredibly good-feeling spiritual space," says Morgan, because of the art that has been created there.

Given the impermanence of the very idea that inspired the existence of Red Ink Studios, with all the different artists and spaces that may eventually contribute to the project, Morgan expects the studios to change "not unlike a piece of art itself" that an artist may rework many times.

Though the space may change, it's clear that Red Ink Studios aims to be more of a movement than simply a place or collection of places. "I hope it will be a movement important not only in artists' lives but in people's lives. We want to embrace the public and have them come in and feel it," says Hughes. "I think I'm the luckiest person in the world to be a part of this."

Red Ink Studios is located at 356 Santana Row, Suite 200, San Jose. For more information, call 408.260.9153 or see www.redinkstudios.com.