Studio Space: Consider all your options

If you don’t have a dedicated space in which to create art you know how difficult it can be to find a space to spread out your art supplies and put yourself in an emotional place to be creative.  Then you have to put everything away once you are through for the day. Bummer!

For a number of years after we retired to Arizona, my art supplies were scattered and stored from one end of my house to the other. Just finding them was a problem. If I wanted to paint, I had to first locate the appropriate supplies, gather them together and then think about trying to be creative. By that time, who cares! That never worked for me. I’m the type who has to have everything out where I can see it so I can start painting whenever I have time or in the mood.  As a result of not having everything handy, my creative energy was limited to what I could do using a computer. That wasn’t all bad because I created some very neat works using some unconventional tools. However, it’s not what I really wanted to do.

Then about three years ago my sister moved out of a park model trailer that has been on our property for about ten years. One day I was down there doing some clean up outside and it dawned on me that the trailer could be my answer to having a studio space.  (Talk about being slow to figure things out).  Anyway, I started looking at the trailer as a possible studio and discovered it had a lot going for it: it sat far enough away from the house that I could work undisturbed, it has about 800 sq ft of floor space, has good north facing light, lots of windows, and tons of storage space. What more could you ask for?

Well, for all the good things to consider there was one tiny little issue that might prove to be a problem for a watercolor artist.  It had no indoor water! Right after my sister moved out the trailer developed serious water leaks that were too expensive to repair so we shut the water off.  However, there was water just outside the door that we left on. Now being a watercolor artist I need ready access to a water supply. So I had to decide whether or not the inconvenience of having to go outside for water was offset by all the other things the space had going for it.  Duh! That’s a real no brainer when you desperately want a space to paint. I decided to go for it and have not regretted it one bit.

A little paint went a long way in making the space brighter. Removing some cabinet doors opened up the storage space to where I could see most of my “stuff”, installing a stereo system meant I can turn my music up as load as I want without disturbing anyone and it already had a refrigerator.  One studio in the making.

The point of this rather rambling post is to encourage artists in need of studio space to look for un-used or under used space around their home or property. It could be a shed, workshop, travel trailer and under-used room in your house or any space that will give you a place to work without having to put everything away after a painting session.  It doesn’t have to be perfect.  Look beyond any obvious drawbacks and work around them. You will not regret it.

Shryl Miles

 

Shryl recently joined our Board and has been a supporter of the Council since its inception.  You can read more about Shryl on our web site at http://sprarts.org/visual-artist/shryl-miles/.