In April 1993 Terrance Sullivan met T. J. Dixon, Sculptor and Instructor, at the NCECA ( National Conference for Education in the Ceramic Arts ) being held in San Diego, CA. Mrs. Dixon was giving a demonstration lecture on large scale ceramic sculpture there. Mr. Sullivan was an aspiring ceramist/sculptor from Pasadena (Los Angeles) area attending his first NCECA conference.

During the demonstration she solicited the audience for anyone who might know of studio space available for her sculpture class which was about to loose it’s venue at Mesa College due to budget cuts. Mr. Sullivan (Terry) had recently taken over management of family business interests and knew of a large abandoned industrial space which the family owned in San Marcos, CA (north San Diego county). He was thinking of establishing some studio space there and offered the use of land and a large building for three years to Mrs. Dixon if she and her group would keep the place secure and looking fairly clean. The sculpture group agreed and began work in May 1993. They stayed until May 1996.

Over the next few years the initial idea of a co-op studio grew into a dream of a nonprofit studio arts organization. Terry began the process of closing all the family's affairs in the Los Angeles area and moving the family to north San Diego County. During this time Terry would often commute to the San Marcos property with friends to work on buildings and grounds. The moving process took until April 1997, when the family took residence in the large 2.5 acre site in Vista, CA.

Starting with 4.2 acres of Industrial / Manufacturing property, much of which would have been described as a disaster or perhaps an EPA superfund site, Terry and many others have created an attractive and very serviceable studio complex.