photo gallery
since i share my art with you my dear friends, i also wanted to share where i create my art.
i love my studio (which i designed myself) and wanted you all to see it.
background: i have always had a studio. when i was very young i painted on the kitchen table. in every home we've had, i have had a studio. in our first apartment i painted on the floor in the t.v. room. i was more "supple" then, so down on the floor worked for my knees! when we lived in italy and twice in germany our apartments were large enough for me to have my own room for making art. when neal and i first bought our house here (years ago) i was creating 2d art, mostly acrylic painting. i also was a part owner/artist in a gallery on conn. ave (in washington, dc, usa) working in stained glass. since i was cutting glass i needed a hard floor surface (easier to clean up). the downstairs of our house lent itself to this and i was happy there. then off to heidelberg, germany for 12 years. when we returned to the states i was no longer doing stained glass and david (our son) was off at college, so i turned the small upstairs bedroom into my studio and again spent many happy years in that room. but....i out grew the room! i was making many art pieces, acquiring more objects to use in my art, etc. neal and i had renovated our house twice (i did all the design) and now it was time for the third renovation...turn our huge attic, with very high ceilings, into a studio for me (by the way...we renovated another time after that...the kitchen. four renovations in all! i think we are done now).
so..back to the attic renovation: i knew exactly what i wanted......a studio that would look like a (french) artist atelier.....i did the design, found a contractor and viola! my new studio! when i look at it (it stretches across the entire house) i am amazed that i was able to work in the small room below. i removed the ceiling in the small bedroom...now i have a wide open space in part of my studio which affords me access to the window below (since i do not work from nature natural sunlight is not that important to me, but i do like to be able to see the beautiful maple tree that is outside the window. i used the framing for the original attic stairs and made a glass block floor...now i can see down below and light filters up into my studio. the cat was very cautious when she first saw the glass block floor. she wouldn't walk on it because she didn't realize that there was a "floor" since she could see down. now she sleeps on it. many folks who come to my studio are also similarly cautious. i always give a demonstration and walk on the glass. i have a small closet at one end with a sink (i ran the plumbing up) so i can wash my brushes. i stained my floor white and used 5" wide oak planking. i know, white in an art studio, what could i be thinking!!!!....but i am looking forward to it aging and getting lots of colorful paint splatters on it. i have built-in shelves and also several stand alone book cases to hold my found object treasures, paint, etc. my table is an old work bench that i found in the trash and painted "bubble gum pink". since my studio ceiling is so high i was able to use the (former) attic stairs and now also have a stand up "upper attic" for camping gear, and various other odds and sods. i insulated the upper attic and the walls. i am warm in the winter and cool in the summer (a ceiling fan also helps). i have sloped walls on three sides of my studio. that adds to the "old studio" look that i like.
i have a lot of "stuff" in my studio that i use in my art. my studio is rather organized, as i would never find anything otherwise. although when i work there is art stuff everywhere. actually neal likes it better when it is messy!
what i like best (aside from everything!) about my studio is location location location! i try to work every day in my studio. the fact that it is just upstairs gives me no slothful lazy excuse to not work. also i can even work without getting dressed (though of course i do dress), i can work in my studio in all sorts of weather...i don't have to worry about snow, sleet, ice, record heat, etc. and, when i need a break, i can trundle downstairs, go out in my garden, write on my computer .
do i mind working "alone"...not in a shared space as some do? no...because when i work i am not alone..i am with myself and my art. i never feel lonely. and if i need feedback, i always ask neal, my biggest fan, what he thinks. i don't always follow his opinion, but i always like to have it. and my cat likes having me in the house with her. she is such a baby! she stays in my studio with me, and has often gotten paint on her paws!
so...that is as "short" a write up about my studio as i was able to make it. i am a "talky" new york gal and once i get started.....!!!!
COMMENTS MADE:
Fantastic tour! Great creative space, augmenting that within you..
lovely studio .. love to work here with you
What a fascinating space....
Nice Studio! Great room for Art-Works! Artistic Spirit inside this place!
nice studio where you produce good art..congrats
un gran espacio de trabajo
I love this, so many things, so much inspiration wherever you turn.
Bellissimo studio. Eccellente scatto.
WOWWW I dream of having a studio so cool!
what a delicious artistic chaos!
nice place! love the pluriformity of the stuff inside and the fact that you have enough space to stack it all!
i'm delighted to see your creative space. looks like a great place to have a cup of tea and conversation.
What a wonderful world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
what a terrfic space.. and you.ve filled it with so much wonderfulness..
