Atelier - Atelier is the French word for "workshop or creative space", and in English is used primarily for the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices worked together producing pieces released in the master's name.  Apprentices usually began young, about age twelve, working on simple tasks, and after some years became journeymen, before becoming masters themselves. The system was gradually replaced as the guilds declined, and the academy became considered a superior method of training, although many artists continued to use students and assistants, some paid by the artist, some paying fees to learn. The current "Atelier method" is a form of fine art instruction modeled after the historic private art studios of Europe. An atelier consists of an artist, usually a professional painter or sculptor, working with a small number of students to train them in art.