so … i’m in the studio today and will be packing up some supplies to take with me for the holiday break. i’ll be in the southern vermont area with very limited internet service so I’ll likely pass on next monday’s post. in the meantime, i’m thinking about my practice and how i’m moving away from photography and how it feels. if one has spent 30+ years in one discipline, how do you move through the discomfort of transition?
Space has a lot to do with how we think and create, and sometimes when the space gets extra messy the brain will follow shortly after and it can interfere with the art making process. I am currently in the middle of a major clean up at my place and needed a break so when I saw an exclamation of exasperation from our own Steph about the state of her studio I hopped in my car and headed up to Massachusetts. For me it’s always more fun to clean up someone else’s mess and I’ll take any excuse to hang out with Steph, something I don’t get to do nearly enough of.
So here is what we were working with.
Six hours, 47 cups of tea, and a lot of gossip later, we had this.
Lots of space, some new floor covering, and everything is labeled and findable. I wish I had gotten a shot of the desk/shelf area because it’s where we saw the most space made, but I spaced and only took this one. Ah well. My hope is that with all the new room that Steph with make a whole bunch of those yummy spinning balls. What’s fun for me was midway through the process I realized I’ve gotten my mitts on four out of six Darteboard studios. So Jason and Daniel, if I ever find myself in your part of the world and you have a little clutter to sort out I have a perfect record I’m looking to tick off…
I may have finished something. Maybe. It’s not dry though so I can’t show you yet. I’m working on a few paintings that are functioning as sketches to try and find footing in a newish direction. The more I think about it and the longer I work on this new stuff, the more I find direct and not so direct references to the rest of my work. These links are starting to make more sense to me now which makes me feel more confident in what I’m doing. That translates to me feeling more excited about working. I like this part of the process–the part where I’m still figuring out what the big problems I’m setting up for myself are and what possible ways there are to solve them. As fun as this is for me, I realize it’s prolly pretty damn boring for you. Images are generally the most interesting part of a personal art blog. With that in mind, I’m posting a bunch of photos of details of my studio for you to look at. These are things I look at everyday that stay with me because there is something about them I find interesting.
I’ve had the old paint sign above since the mid nineties when I worked in a gem of an old art store that also sold paint and wallpaper. The store was located in a historic old theater building in Western Massachusetts. The art store has since moved and the theater has been restored. It took years for the restoration to gain enough support to get underway. When I worked there, Hilary Clinton came and gave a speech as part of her campaign to preserve America’s historic architectural treasures. I should dig out the funny photo of me and the rest of the staff posing with Hilary. That was a fun day! In person, Hilary was friendly, engaging, very pretty and VERY short. I remember thinking she was a great public speaker–better than her husband.
an eyeball I made
the beginnings of some 3D art
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(I had this set up to take shots of some camera gear that I was selling.)
A few weeks ago, J.D. posted some shots from his Berkeley studio, and I threatened to do the same. And then, Steph posted some of hers, so here they are….I figure that this post has a two-fold asset; 1. it enables potential models to see that I actually do have a space set aside for photography, and 2. it shows potential thieves that there is really nothing worth taking here (unless of course they’re artists or junk collectors).
All shots Nikon D300 with Tokina AT-x Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens attached.
Cindy Sherman’s big, beautiful Manhattan live/work space is featured in Vogue magazine’s August issue. After checking out the writeup and slideshow on Style.com I’m wondering if anyone out there would like to buy some of my paintings to help fund a StephG studio renovation project. Anyone?
not Cindy Sherman’s space
Agora Gallery - the proud sponsor of the Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, which offers contemporary artists the opportunity to show their original art at one the most acclaimed juried art shows in Chelsea, New York’s art galleries district.
darteboard
jdhastings
ssstephg
Tom Bennett
Toni Tiller
Jason Gray
probrucer
laelia e. mitchell
