Naples' Best New Art Workshop

Alina Rubio is in constant communication with her future self. “I take my 45-year-old self out to coffee,” says the 29-year-old sculptor and owner of southeast Naples’ art studio and creative workspace, MasterPeace. “I talk to her about who she is, what she looks like, feels like, even what her house, furniture and art collection looks like—I hope she has a super cool art collection.” Treating her imagined future like a present reality helps Alina understand what she wants out of life and pursue her goals with intention.

The Miami native has often felt the pull of her older, wiser self at turning points in her journey. During her college years, Alina befriended a fellow artist and introduced herself as a sculptor. There was just one problem—she’d never sculpted before. But, the voice inside compelled her to try. That night, Alina went home and created her first sculpture—a silhouette of a woman carved into wood. Years later, after a stint as a gallerist and art adviser at Miami’s blue-chip Opera Gallery, she felt the pull again. This time, the now-bonafide sculptor was visiting Naples for an art fair and stumbled across the quirky, A-framed shopping complex off Tamiami Trail that became MasterPeace.

Photography by Christina Bankson

Alina Rubio combines her passions for art, wellness, design, music and education at MasterPeace, a Naples-based studio workshop offering weekly classes, where people at any skill level can embrace creativity.

Alina set up shop in Naples in May of 2023 to create a safe space where anyone can reflect and explore their creativity through the arts. She is not an art therapist, but Alina’s classes mirror the practice’s principal ideas. “A lot of wellness comes from dedicating a little time to ourselves, whether by drinking more water, going for a walk, listening to music or writing in your journal. MasterPeace is just like an extension of that idea,” she says. In this stylishly serene, open-concept space, the sculptor blends her experience in the Miami fine arts world with her interests in the arts, wellness and education, offering art workshops weekly (and private events) suited for any skill level.

Each workshop is a bit different: One week may combine working with clay and doing yoga with Kim Quan from The Flow Body yoga studio, while the next might be painting and listening to live music from local musicians and Florida Gulf Coast University students. Each class is tailored to foster community and creative ‘flow.’ “For my dad, ‘flow’ has been an important word,” Alina says of the unbridled state of focus and inspiration often described by artists. “It’s like time is slow and fast at the same time and you are just connected.” Throughout her life, Alina watched her parents—her dad is a first-generation Cuban American; her mom emigrated from Venezuela after Alina was born—push through hardships and build successful businesses. Even in the midst of turmoil, her dad tended a lush garden. It kept him centered and present. Through years of reading psychology journals and plumbing anecdotal evidence shared by other creatives, Alina realized being present is the key to mastering creative flow—though that may be easier said than done. “Oftentimes, we get in our heads thinking about the future or the past,” she says. “I’m very guilty of doing that, and with the flow state, it really brings you into a moment of absolute presence in the now.”

Photography by Christina Bankson

The MasterPeace owner and sculptor displays some of her heritage-inspired creations, such as Chair with Pearl Earring, in the studio. The minimalist, high-back chair is adorned with an oversized stud and hoop, representing the sentimental weight of family heirlooms.

Alina earned a degree in early childhood education and a minor in fine arts from Florida International University (FIU) in 2018. There, she studied under renowned Miami sculptor Robert Chambers and found refuge in the fifth-floor library. An avid reader, Alina is fascinated by the psychology behind creativity—how it impacts people, relationships and society. Combining this fascination with her studies of teaching methods like Reggio Emilia (a curiosity-driven approach to education out of Italy that is similar to the Montessori method), the MasterPeace maven aims to expose more people to the benefits of investing in the artistic side of their brain in a no-pressure environment, so her students can be more present and tapped in with their inner selves. “It’s a very constructivist teaching style, which means that it is really led by the student and not necessarily led by the teacher. So, I don’t tell you what to do. You tell me what you’re interested in, and we work from there,” Alina says.

While the sculptor looks to her future self for courage, she calls on her past for inspiration. The MasterPeace studio is lined with sculptures and works-in-progress deeply rooted in familial relationships and history. Alina refers to some of her pieces, like Chair with Pearl Earring, as ‘sculptural heirlooms.’ The sturdy wooden chair, seemingly pierced with an oversized pearl stud, signifies the act of passing down an object imbued with memories and sentimental meaning. Recently, she has started producing ‘sculptural poems,’ a series of life-sized shadow boxes that display hand-made sculptures symbolic of her unique connection with specific family members and loved ones.

Photography by Christina Bankson

Alina follows a creativity- and curiosity-driven Reggio Emilia-inspired teaching method for her ever-evolving workshops. Themes like yoga and pottery set the stage for inspiration, and Alina offers guidance, but students create freely in a no-pressure environment.

MasterPeace itself is something of a living artwork, underscoring the significance of creativity in every aspect of our lives while weaving together all of Alina’s callings. “Growing up, it always felt like society was putting some kind of rock on my shoulders, telling me I had to pick just one,” Alina says. “ [MasterPeace] pulls together all the things that I have ever loved. This is the poetry. It’s the music. It’s the sculpture. It’s the art. It’s the wellness. It’s the therapy. This is everything.”

1 of 6