I find looking at artist’s spaces just as interesting as looking at the artwork made there. In part, what I’m looking at when I look at art spaces is how people adapt their space to suit their needs (how the studio is influenced by the artwork) and how the artwork changes depending on size and light and flow (how the artwork is influenced by the studio). A studio is a self portrait, a cross connection of life circumstances, preferences, and adaptations. Few studios are perfect, so every space comes with puzzles, challenges of light, workflow, privacy, organization, square footage, and time/budget limitations. On top of adaptations, are personalizations. Some artists function best with a bit of chaos, others with organized tidiness. Few of us have exactly what we’d wish for. It’s fascinating to me.
“To have a sacred place is an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room or a certain hour of the day or so, where you do not know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody or what they owe you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be.” – Joseph Campbell, who incidentally did not have to keep up with Seattle rent prices, or provide care for any children
We have the spaces we have. Whether it’s an idillic backyard studio, a rented room, or your kitchen table between meals, those of us who work to create artwork also work to create a space to make them in. For the challenge today, record your space. Materials are artists’ choice.
I’m teaching a series on “How to SetUp Your Studio.” We’ll talk about stuff like lighting, layout, workflow, storage, small space tricks, thinking space, sacred space, photography, and ventilation. Aside from perfect studio scenarios, I’m planning to address real world scenarios as well, so participants will have a chance to problem solve the studios (or kitchen tables) they have so we can work on making the best of what we have. I’m looking for 2 more students. Care to join us? Don’t delay. We start Thursday. Click here to learn more.
Thank you for sharing your work! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post to Instagram or on Facebook will be eligible to win prizes (see details). No matter where you post, tag us so we can find it. #seattleartistleague #salchallenge #artstudio
The June SAL Challenge: Creative exercises once a day for 30 days.
In recent posts, we talked about Cezanne’s process. In particular, we talked about the process seen in Cezanne’s drawings. Yesterday, in figure drawing class, we looked at how Cezanne tends to make short marks when he draws. Those short marks accumulate into longer contours and form descriptions, but they don’t trap or the whole object …
The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists, prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution in 1972. (Wikipedia) At their worst, the Situationists could be said to have removed the requirement of specific skill and techniques from art, resulting …
[image_with_animation image_url=”10799″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Denis Sarazhin is a Ukranian-born painter whose textured works seem to be carved out of rough flecks of color. The angular joints, and compositional habit of using a body’s limbs to divide the background remind me of Egon Schiele. Notice how his style is to start with a dark …
[image_with_animation image_url=”14123″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Dan Robbins, the inventor of Paint by Numbers passed away Monday, at the age of 93. After World War II, Robbins was working as a package designer for Palmer Paint Company. Company owner Max Klein was looking for something that would sell to adult hobbyists, and Robbins had an …
SAL Challenge: Creative Space
[image_with_animation image_url=”9399″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]
Francis Bacon’s studio
Where do you make art?
I find looking at artist’s spaces just as interesting as looking at the artwork made there. In part, what I’m looking at when I look at art spaces is how people adapt their space to suit their needs (how the studio is influenced by the artwork) and how the artwork changes depending on size and light and flow (how the artwork is influenced by the studio). A studio is a self portrait, a cross connection of life circumstances, preferences, and adaptations. Few studios are perfect, so every space comes with puzzles, challenges of light, workflow, privacy, organization, square footage, and time/budget limitations. On top of adaptations, are personalizations. Some artists function best with a bit of chaos, others with organized tidiness. Few of us have exactly what we’d wish for. It’s fascinating to me.
“To have a sacred place is an absolute necessity for anybody today. You must have a room or a certain hour of the day or so, where you do not know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody or what they owe you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be.” – Joseph Campbell, who incidentally did not have to keep up with Seattle rent prices, or provide care for any children
We have the spaces we have. Whether it’s an idillic backyard studio, a rented room, or your kitchen table between meals, those of us who work to create artwork also work to create a space to make them in. For the challenge today, record your space. Materials are artists’ choice.
I’m teaching a series on “How to Set Up Your Studio.” We’ll talk about stuff like lighting, layout, workflow, storage, small space tricks, thinking space, sacred space, photography, and ventilation. Aside from perfect studio scenarios, I’m planning to address real world scenarios as well, so participants will have a chance to problem solve the studios (or kitchen tables) they have so we can work on making the best of what we have. I’m looking for 2 more students. Care to join us? Don’t delay. We start Thursday. Click here to learn more.
Thank you for sharing your work! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post to Instagram or on Facebook will be eligible to win prizes (see details). No matter where you post, tag us so we can find it. #seattleartistleague #salchallenge #artstudio
The June SAL Challenge: Creative exercises once a day for 30 days.
Related Posts
Student Works: Abstracted figure drawings inspired by Cezanne
In recent posts, we talked about Cezanne’s process. In particular, we talked about the process seen in Cezanne’s drawings. Yesterday, in figure drawing class, we looked at how Cezanne tends to make short marks when he draws. Those short marks accumulate into longer contours and form descriptions, but they don’t trap or the whole object …
Situationist International
The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists, prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution in 1972. (Wikipedia) At their worst, the Situationists could be said to have removed the requirement of specific skill and techniques from art, resulting …
Sarazhin’s Hands
[image_with_animation image_url=”10799″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Denis Sarazhin is a Ukranian-born painter whose textured works seem to be carved out of rough flecks of color. The angular joints, and compositional habit of using a body’s limbs to divide the background remind me of Egon Schiele. Notice how his style is to start with a dark …
Paint by Numbers
[image_with_animation image_url=”14123″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Dan Robbins, the inventor of Paint by Numbers passed away Monday, at the age of 93. After World War II, Robbins was working as a package designer for Palmer Paint Company. Company owner Max Klein was looking for something that would sell to adult hobbyists, and Robbins had an …