The View from the Studio
My new workspace. No cats allowed.
The
workspace, the studio, the shop.
Whatever you call it, you need one. Setting aside a space for you to do your work as an artist
is crucial for lack of distraction and an increased sense of
focus/purpose. I’ve struggled with
a dedicated space to work as my “digital darkroom” sits upon a desk in the
living room collecting mail, bills, and the clutter of daily life. As a result, my photography has
suffered. I would still get out to
shoot, but I was noticing that when I came home, the hard tedious part of
bringing an image to life waned.
My creativity was stifled with the daily running of a household;
clearing untidiness, removing cat hair from my keyboard and printer, and (worse)
surfing the internet mindlessly.
What
do to? I decided to move my
workspace to our guest room. When
I say, “guest-room” I mean a room that is occupied maybe once or twice a year
when we have visitors. What’s more
is that this guest room has an unobstructed view out onto towering red
sandstone and gently rolling hills (inspiration). It’s also in the quietest part of the house, away from the
kitchen, living room, and corridors of business. The walls are bare and I can do what I want with them, I can
close the door to keep the cats out, and I can sit quietly and listen to the
wind, thunder (its monsoon season here on the reservation), or rain pound down
upon the roof. Mostly, I have
carved out a small space separate from
my daily task oriented life, and though it is still a new thing, I am finding
it helps.
I
have friends who’re great photographers and I’ve always admired the spaces that
they work in. They’re all unique
in their own way, reflecting the artistry of the resident, and serve as a
source of inspiration in their own way.
Some are in cramped corners of a small room, others are completely
disconnected from the house; but they all achieve the same thing. Separation.
As
an artist with a foot in two worlds it can, at times, be hard to straddle the
line of professional self and creative self. That is why carving out a detached space, whatever that be
for you, is so important. Make
that space mirror your ambitions, fill it with pictures of people and things
that inspire you (I just hung a large portrait of Ed Abbey above my computer and
a poem titled “Advice from a River”, and am planning on doing more in the weeks
to come). Let it serve as a well
for your creativity and passion.
Leave that space alone except when you doing something artistic. I promise it will pay off.
