Art shouldn't be about prestige. Nor should it be about how fancy the place where you create your art is. My first "studio" was my daughter's onetime bedroom here in Maine. It was available because she'd grown up and gone off to college. It was a difficult place for making art because it was upstairs, and I had no slop sink for rinsing brushes and the like. So up and down the stairs I went, over and over again, carrying artworks, tools and materials. ///// I began dreaming about either joining an arts collaborative or renting my very own space -- a place I could call my own. ///// then, one day, my wife said, "We don't really use our living room in the traditional way -- it's just kind of sitting there. So why don't you turn it into your studio?" ///// It was a marvelous idea, and I jumped at the chance! And because Marilyn just happens to be not just a fine musician but a very skilled woodworker, she transformed that living room into a combination art studio (pictured here) and, to the left, a piano/computer room (the place where I play and play at the piano and do a lot of my writing). ///// So never allow people to tell you you can't be a serious artist unless you have your very own studio, with high ceilings and the perfect light source. I have artist friends, highly accomplished and productive, who work out of either tiny, cramped spaces or, in some cases, at their kitchen table. ////// So you see, I have nothing to complain about! I have a warm, comfortable space to work in, and when I suddenly feel sorry for myself because I don't have more space, better lighting or other ideal features, I just think about all the artists around the world who have no space at all. I am most fortunate, am I not? -- RB, Berwick, Maine 12/10/22
Comments (0 )