After recently being charged with graffiti tagging, a local designer and business owner is now advocating a free downtown space for all graffiti artists -- a plan that received a mix response from borough council members.

Simon Hawk, a designer who owns the clothing store JJ By Maxwell, 109 South Pugh St., was recently charged with eight counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief for graffiti he tagged on private property between the summer and fall of 2006, according to a State College police press release.

Hawk, who was "observed spray-painting" by police, cooperated to complete the investigation and admitted to all eight counts, State College Police Sgt. Keith Robb said.

Hawk said he has also used his arrest as a way to turn his life around.

"There was a turning point in my life," he said. "Once I got arrested, I realized I could go underground and illegal or I could do things legally and positively. Getting arrested is a bad thing. I was like, 'I can make the best of it.' "

In addition to using graffiti as inspiration for his designs, Hawk said he is working on getting a "free space" downtown where anyone could display their graffiti legally so fellow graffiti taggers can display their "art."

"I am kind of pursuing trying to find a place where people can go to do this form of art where they won't find themselves in the position I did," Hawk said.

One location he has in mind is a bare wall across from the State College Borough Council building on Allen Street.

"I'm not against doing it, but that's not the place," Borough Council member Tom Daubert said. "The library is there, we have a park there, and I just don't think that's the appropriate place."

Council member Elizabeth Goreham said she was open to the idea.

"Some graffiti is quite dazzling," Goreham said. "It's done by artists, but why, I don't know. I would like to understand better how the town could benefit from the wall," she said, extending an open invitation to Hawk to come speak at an upcoming meeting.

Daubert said he does not support graffiti as art.

"Most of what I've seen is not art," he said. "If it was real art, I would have no problem with it. Circular junk or spray-can painting -- I would not support it."

Council president Cathy Dauler had a similar reaction.

"I certainly think it's a really terrible idea," she said. "Graffiti is defacing public or private property. It is a crime. This person is certainly pushing the envelope."

In Hawk's opinion, it is an envelope that needs to be pushed.

"We need a lot of community support," he said. "It will be a struggle, but I think that if it can be successful. Anything that is hard is worth fighting for."