the studio in two views

There's no such thing as going into the studio for "just a minute" with me.

I went up to the studio after getting off from work Saturday to pick up my drill. I needed it to work on a couple of apartment projects. My plan was to pop into the studio , grab the drill and go home. With this weekend having been the first one after the holiday, I was feeling in need of doing something creative, even if it only meant a small drawing or something.

I get there, change clothes and get to working on a couple of things. I'm working along and in my own world and before I knew it, almost three hours had passed. I called Eva to let her know that I was coming home. I cleaned up and left...without the drill. My excitement about what I was working on completely trumped my original objective...
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Over on Pam Farrell's blog, I've been included in the latest installment of her Interactive Studio Blog Posts, a project she began in November with this post. The idea is for artists to give a peek into their work spaces by sending in two photos: one showing the studio space and another with an image of artwork.

The project grew out of a studio visit Farrell had with Joanne Mattera and Janet Filomeno, of which she wrote, "In addition to seeing my work, my friends were seeing my mess, my jumbled process, my id, the stuff that gets kicked around before being perfected (or at least completed). Presentation-ready or not, meant for public consumption or not, it’s all me."

So, the ISBP is Farrell's challenge to other artists to give a glimpse into their heads, so to speak, through showing their spaces and work, ready or not.

I like the idea of this project because it makes you think about how you view your work space as a part of your identity as an artist and person, in general, as there's little separation of the two; the studio is just another conduit for aspects of our personalities to assert themselves.

When it comes to my space, I don't worry that much about cleaning up too much. I might pull out some things and hang them on the wall for better viewing and sweep, but that's about it. The paints stay out where they are usually and whatever else is out stays out. The biggest concession I'll really make is if I'm working on some new work that I'm really not sure about showing.

It depends on who is coming for the studio visit. If it's a client who is looking at particular works, then that's what I'll have out; anything experimental and considered 'not ready for prime time' is put away. If it's an artist who is visiting, then I'm more likely to have a variety of works out, to get some feedback on.