Studio Tour: Show Us Where You Make Space for Art
BookmarkPainting, photography, dance, music, animation - whatever kind of art you enjoy, you need a place to make it happen. And we at Art&Seek want to see that space. We're creating a gallery of art spaces in North Texas, a virtual studio crawl. To get things started, we've asked several area artists to show us their space. You can browse below, and then show us yours.
Show us your art space:
E-mail jpegs of your art space to artandseek@kera.org. Or, if you're on Flickr, share your photos on our group page.
Design your dream studio; win a contest:
We were inspired to create the studio tour by a contest called Make Space for Artists, sponsored by La Reunion TX and The Dallas Museum of Art. Starting Nov. 6, you can design your dream studio at the Tech Lab inside the museum's Center for Creative Connection. The folks at the lab will get you started using Google Sketch Up. (If you don't know how to use it, don't fret; they'll show you. And you can e-mail it to yourself and finish at home.) The contest runs til Feb. 12. A jury will judge the entries and cash prizes will be awarded to the winners - a little something to help make that dream studio a reality.
Til then, take a spin through our studio tour:
Media: Books
Number of years in this space: 1.5. We turned that room into a studio about a year and a half ago. Working at Starbucks was becoming increasingly more difficult (lack of good chairs) and expensive, and I needed a home base to keep all my books and promotional materials.
What do you enjoy most about working here? I can look out the window and watch our kids playing in the back yard
How would you like to improve it, if you could? It's pretty much perfect for me. I can be at home with the family, shut the door and get some writing done. That's pretty much living the dream for me.
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Media: Photography, mixed-media, digital arts
Number of years in this space: 3 years
What do you enjoy most about working here? I love being an Oak Cliff artist and having a studio in an artist Co-op. It is completely open, with large dock doors to the outside, a private bathroom with shower and wifi. I did put the wifi in myself. The space can be used for all of my artistic endeavors. I am a mixed media artist in the fine-art world and a commercial photographer. I enjoy that my space can be used as a clean or a dirty work space. The large doors to the street allow me to move large sets into the space and move big art out. It is conveniently located to the Bishop Arts District, which I walk to for lunch on occasion. I was going to clean the studio but I decided to leave it in working shape for pictures.
What would you improve if you could? I would make a few cosmetic changes, but all in all it’s a great space.
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Medium: Oil (fine art) Digital (design, illustration)
Number of years in this space: I've been in my current space for a little over 4 years now. Previously, I was in the White Swan Building downtown (now House of Blues) for 10 years.
What do you enjoy most about working here? I really enjoy the 9-inch wide, 80-year-old pine floors, but I also enjoy the antique work tables, the mixed bag of old furniture, patinated metal yard chairs and distressed wood awnings and screen doors (on the inside). I also enjoy all my art books, stacks of paintings, paints, canvases and brushes. The 800-square-foot studio is over our extended garage, so it is up and away from the rest of the house - far enough away to be productive, but close enough to stay connected with my family. I also love all the windows that bring in lots of natural light. On nice days, I enjoy opening my 2nd floor studio door to a lush, green backyard full of trees, birds and passers-by on the sidewalk near the picket fence below. Mostly I am thankful that God has blessed me with a great space where I am close to my wife and kids and where I can do what I love to do.
How would you improve it if you could? There's really nothing I would do to improve this space - I am very happy with it. But someday I would enjoy having a similar studio - just four times the size!
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Media: mixed media, new media, fashion
Number of years in this space: 1
What do you enjoy most about working here? The best part is it's inexpensive live/work environment in Oak Cliff. It’s a nice contrast from the hectic pace working at an advertising agency downtown.
What would you improve if you could? Need more space, a larger door, more artists and assistants. Most importantly I'd like to spend more time in it.
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Media: Usually watercolor, colored pencil and gouache for children's books. For the Nasher coloring book (Moonbird, Moonbird, Fly Away With Me), pen and ink and watercolor. For large format painting, acrylic.
Number of years in this space: One
What do you enjoy most about working here? Everything! We built it just for me. I have never had such a great space. I love the light, the storage, the space for small and large projects, the proximity to [husband] Pat's studio and our house, which is just up the stairs.
What would you improve if you could? I wouldn't change a thing. I feel very fortunate to have this wonderful place to work. I was in attic rooms, our garage and/or the neighbor's garage for many years.
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Media: comics/graphic novels
Number of years in this space: 5
What do you enjoy most about working here? When my girlfriend, the product designer, moved in, we had the office divided in two — one side for her desk and one side for mine. It took us an hour pushing furniture around to finally come to an arrangement we could tolerate. I like sharing the room. As a necessity, I junked my funky amoeba-shaped Ikea desk, opting for a more efficient Container Store table. The self-important amoeba took too much space. How much square footage does a comic book writer need? Smaller desk, less mess, and while some might feel cramped, it's actually rather cozy.
What would you improve if you could? A rug might be nice to make the space a tad more friendly. Also, a rug would prevent me from wearing a hole through the wood floors when I scoot around in my roller chair. Most of my wants are computer oriented. All the cool-kid scriptwriters use Final Draft; I'm stuck with Microsoft Word. It's hard to justify the cost. I have an external hard drive, but a back-up to the back-up would help me sleep better.
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Media: photography, painting, collage
Number of years in this space: 3
What do you enjoy most about working here? It's in my backyard, it's big and comfortable.
What would you improve if you could? The floors. The concrete floors were finished badly, and I really need to have them done right. I would also like to add on so that I could separate the photography studio from where I paint. As it is right now, I have to clean up and put away all my painting supplies whenever a photography client comes in - which is often! Not big complaints, really, I love it and I'm lucky.
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Sherry Owens
Media: crepe myrtle (mostly), bronze, steel, mixed media
Number of years in this space: 5 1/2
What do you enjoy most about working here? Walking into a nest that I've built. I have greater focus in my own space. Because it is private, I don't have to keep a path clear and I can sing and dance to any kind of music with the volume up. I love the height of the ceiling, the skylights in the day and the second floor viewing area. Plus I have a “drawing room” or clean space.
What would you improve if you could? More space for more trees and storage for finished work.
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Jennifer Rose
Media: mixed media
Number of years in this space: Just under 2
What do you enjoy most about working here? The glass wall in my studio allows people who are walking through the Southside on Lamar building a chance to see into my studio. This motivates me to produce more work. It is a constant challenge to keep the space interesting.
What would you improve if you could? My space has gallery-style tract lighting, which is great for displaying art but it makes the studio pretty warm, even in the winter.
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Media: comic books, graphic design, illustration
Number of years in this space: 4 1/2
What do you enjoy most about working here? I love that I have one room in our house that I can make a huge mess while being creative (Yes, I have a cool wife). I'll get busy for weeks on end, then stop and the place looks like a twister came through. Then I straighten the place up and start all over again. Plus I can store all my stupid stuff in there. It's nice to have all this great reference material around at my fingertips. I also really like having my computer and my drawing board (that I've had since I was a kid) in the same room. It's cool to be able to jump back and forth.
What would you improve if you could? Probably just a little bit more space. My computer desk cuts across the room and make it seem smaller than it is. But that's nit picking, isn't it?
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Media: I use the studio for two things, one as my art studio where I focus on sculpture, works on paper, and wall installations, the other is for my company, Studio Six Art Conservation. As an art conservator, I work with historic objects made from organic materials such as wood, lacquer, ivory, mother of pearl, and tortoise.
Number of years in space: This studio was originally set up by my father, Samuel Lee Smith in 1956 as a sculpture studio. He worked mainly in wood and ceramic. The DMA has one of his sculptures in deep storage. He was also the creative director for WFAA TV where he designed many of the original stage props for the Mr. Peppermint show.
What do you enjoy most about working here? An art conservation studio has to be well lit, clean, and organized, where as an art studio tends to be reactionary and much more touchy feelly. These two disciplines do compliment each other by the interesting crossovers between different materials and techniques. I have lived in lots of different cities, and I have set up quite a few studios. Some had great windows with lots of electrical outlets. Others were in dark, damp basements where I had to fight to keep the bugs from eating my egg tempera paints. What I like best about this studio isn't the space or the tools, it's the almost surreal feeling of creating and preserving art in the very same place where I held my first Crayola.
What would you improve if you could? Of course no studio is perfect. You could say they are works in progress. There are always new tools to get, changes to make, and expansions to dream about. I do keep a list of items to buy, build and change. Here is a random sampling from that list: Buy a wood planer. Rework the overhead lighting to provide a more constant even illumination. Build more flat files and clean storage for art work and artifacts. And put a door in the south wall to access the raw materials storage room, of course I will have to build a raw material storage room first.
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Media: Mixed. An amalgam of fiber paper, acrylic, plywood, pen, wood stain and just about any drillable, pokeable, adherable found material I can get my hands on.
Number of years in this space: 24 years in this space, in this universe. 2 years in this art space, in this space, in this universe.
What do you enjoy most about working here? Unconventional convenience. Since this workspace isn't directly connected to my apartment, I can easily step away from the comfortable temptations of home and concentrate on the endeavor at hand. Decorated with a few oil stains and some carpenter's markings, it's a bare bones garage without any built-in storage or proper work surfaces, so I'm forced to improvise. Sorting through the shambles of yesterday's Macgyver-like mess offers me a renewed challenge whenever I venture downstairs and cross the threshold.
The makeshift state of mind in a detached space is great for catalyzing creativity, but I also treasure the fact that my home is literally just a hop, skip and (depending on my caffeine intake) a jump away. When I'm worn out from playing Twister with power tools and paintbrushes, or if I need anything that's not already down there with me, I can just as easily run upstairs for a quick restart. I'd like to think that the setup, if nothing else, offers a fair balance of comfort and motivation.
What would you improve if you could? I desperately need an industrial sink, a sawhorse and a space heater; but for now, several Gatorade bottles, a horizontal ladder, and a scarf will do the trick. Also, since the only way in is by way of a fickle garage door remote, I'd like to add another entrance, perhaps involving a daring rooftop descent or anything a la Batman.
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Media: HD-video production and digital music/sound design
Number of years in this space: 3
What do you enjoy most about working here? I really enjoy having my studio setup at home. I get the company of my two dogs during the day and enjoy the opportunity to get out and take them for walks. That provides a welcomed time to think outside my box. It is also nice to have the conveniences of home just a few feet away.
What would you improve if you could? I would like a more modular setup where I can easily define my workspace depending on the project. A Zen like environment where simplicity is key. Everything would have a well designed space, and I wouldn't be distracted by clutter. I really love a studio that connects with my personality.
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Media: All works are composed of mixed media, which may include the following: acrylic paint, ink, colored pencil, enamel (nail polish), powdered pigment, eye shadow, pastel, silver or gold leaf, individually punched perforations, quilled paper, beads, sequins, rhinestones, pearls, cameos, buttons, mother-of-pearl, metal findings, paper ephemera (found or constructed), ribbons and trim, vintage cigarette cards, matchcovers and postcards, vintage glass and plastic forms, vintage enamel medallions, mirrors, balsa, photo transfers, stamps, fimo (polymer) clay, hair, embroidery floss, silk, nymo and mylar threads, vintage metallic thread, silver gimp, colored sand, scientific slides, vintage daguerreotypes, beetle wings, paint chips, etc. painted or hand sewn onto the paper.
Number of years in this space: 7
What do you enjoy most about working here? It's a white box; it's out my back door (it’s a converted garage).
What would you improve if you could? More natural light, which has diminished as all my neighbors have built second stories. In fantasy moments I’d like to raise the roof (which leaks because it’s old-1930s-and flat) and add more clerestory windows.
Very cool behind-the-scenes peak at where art happens!
Thanks for posting this — it's really interesting to see where artists work. I'd love to see more!
Great article. It really illustrates the wide difference between each artist's approach to creating a studio. I hope more artists send in photos.