Light. A Heart. Personality.
These are the 3 things I believe every art studio should have. Well, these are the esoteric things I consider important. [There are, of course, many practical things you'd want to have too.] In this photo you see all three in my home studio: light from the large window falling across my art table...which is the heart of my studio; and personality: you can see bits and pieces - the old painting of my grandfather's, the tv set/dvd player and part of my dvd collection [I work to the tv; other artists work to music or their own thoughts]. There is a huge silk peony standing up next to the tv set and soft sheer drapes edging the window.
To be more serious, however, there are certain things important to having a workspace in which an artist can be creative and let loose the muse.
I found a great article by well known artist Nita Leland titled, "Setting Up Your Studio" that she wrote in 2000. She lists some things to consider including in your studio such as "...work surface...taboret or small kitchen cart to hold palette, paints, brushes, water, etc...comfortable chair...storage...shelves...good lighting...." And the last is one I love how she words: "...floor covering that doesn't matter...." Be sure to go to the article as it's loaded with great advice.
When we moved six months ago to this new [to us] community to be close to our grandchildren, the house we chose has three bedrooms plus a bonus room. This room sits kind of between the living room and the hallway to the bedrooms - in the center of the house, sort of. I walked in and just knew it would be great as a studio. It does have two doors, but we blocked off the door to the hallway and kept the one to the living room free. It has a built-in desk [with drawers] and shelves which was awesome. The desktop part holds my printers and gives some extra worktop space.
Artists' spaces/studios are so very individual. In October of 2010 I did a series of posts about artists' studios based on the book "Art Making & Studio Spaces" by artist and author Lynne Perrella. This was a fun and fascinating look into the working space of many different types of artists and the environments they craft for themselves.
My studio is a room roughly 14' by 10 1/2'. It's not huge, but it is big enough that when I need extra work surface I can set up a couple of folding tables. My desk - which holds my laptop and scanner, is a unique piece of office furniture my husband found for me. One day about 9 years ago, he came back from shopping for bookcases and exclaimed that he'd found the perfect "artist's desk." He liked it because it had character. I immediately loved it. It is triangular in shape and fits perfectly into a corner, yet is open and esthetically pleasing to my eye.
As you rove around my working space there is what I term the 'table wall.' I have a 2' by 4' work table that sits against the wall under the large white board upon which I keep the current year's calendar of events and to-dos. Shelves higher on the wall hold more of my ever-growing dvd collection. My studio allows me the room to do quite a bit; everything from mosaic-ing to painting to even a bit of scrapbooking from time-to-time.
Now, there is one thing in my studio that is probably not in the work space of too many other artists: a play stand for our parrot, George. This bird feels it is necessary to hang out with me during the day as I work. So to accommodate this very important flock member, just inside the door, on the wall with the storage shelves, is his huge play stand.
*A note about safety: artists sometimes work with materials that could be toxic if not handled properly. So ventilation is important as well as knowing your materials and supplies well: their properties and how to use and handle them. Because George does spend a great deal of time in my studio with me I'm extra cautious. I found a good article on the Winsor & Newton website titled "What to consider when setting up your studio," and it includes some good tips and advice along these lines. The article includes some cool photos from some artists' spaces.
You're wondering where I store my completed artwork? And where are the things needed for doing outdoor shows [like display racks, ez-up canopy, chairs, umbrella et al]? I'm fortunate to have a portion of our garage devoted to my art biz.
Someday I think I might like a little separate building that is specially designed and built to be an artist studio, but for now I'm content. I have a room of my own that allows me quick and easy access to the rest of the house yet feel separate. Our parrot has easy access to either his main cage in the living room or his play stand in the studio. I have enough space in the garage so that I don't have to cram stuff into my studio, yet the stuff in the garage is close by when I need something. I really can't complain. Well, okay, maybe I can a bit. There is something I need more of, as an artist, and that is Time.
Although, a little less "help" from the birdie would be good.
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