Something that has really stuck with me while being a fellow all summer is how important having an "artist's space" is. This space obviously varies from person to person but it is vital to the creative process.
Working in Kay's studio surrounded by her fabric station and sewing station, dark room and ink shelf nook I found myself constantly wanting to gravitate t an area and just make stuff! I would think back to my space at home and everything was scattered. On box of paints in one room and my ruler and cutting supplies in another, whenever I got an idea of something to create by the time I rallied all my supplies and got a "nook" going I felt like the steam had burnt out, especially since everything was now not in a comfortable accessible place.
It made me realize how important it is to a professional working artist or a student to treat your work space with respect and put as much love into it as you would your art pieces.
In Kay's printing studio she had a few shelves of ink jars but they were not cataloged some jars were not labeled correctly, colors weren't grouped together. So one of my tasks as a fellow was to sort through everything. Opening colors checking their consistency, adding water to ones that were drying out and try to revitalize them. Throw away anything that was completely dried out and then mix together color that were the same but in multiple jars. Then on little swaps of paper sample each color and tape it onto the jar. Finally once done, group all blues and greens etc so that it was easy to navigate the wide selection of colors. When done it was so satisfying to see all the inks shinning with possibility, it made me want to go home and paint!
I know have an organized and art orientated space at home that is ready to be taken advantage of and made into something, it is neatly tucked away but still in eyes sight. A space like my own is not for everyone of course, we all have different processes however seeing Kay's daily routine and working in her studio was a big insight into how she makes art and what her process is, and having an accessible process /space is vital to making art. So whether it is having a box of all your supplies together or labeled boxes categorized alphabetically I found out that your space plays just as important a role as your artwork.
As I was reading this I definitely was seeing things that ring true to me as well! Organization makes it so much easier to get work done efficiently and knowing where things actually are really helps. I've found that in the past I've been unorganized and that it can be incredibly disruptive to my creative process. I'm hoping to try to change that.
ReplyDelete