I consided a different title for this, possibly “I’ve moved on” or “I’ve moved out”, but that just sounds so dramatic, as in “I’m fed up! I’m outta here!”. But, this is not what I’m feeling. I simply have moved to a different workspace for my art. This week, I left my art studio at the Stamford Loft Artists Association after 3 years and moved all my supplies back to my tiny apartment. Now it is more of a “creative corner.”

I enjoyed my time with the studio space. It allowed me a space to be messy, be inspired by other great artists, meet wonderful people, show off my artwork as a whole body to visitors, store loads of crap that does not fit in my apartment, and leave projects undone and not put-away. Also, I think my big brother thought it was cool that I had a studio and this gave it huge points for me.

Particularly enjoyable was having that designated space to meet once per week with a few close friends and have “art night.” We would all gather at a set time and place every week to chat, listen to music and work on our own respective creative projects. Sometimes we talked a lot, sometimes a little, topics ranging from pets to employment, music, poetry, addiction, friends, family, politics, religion, tv, philosophy, books, the news, family, aging, and art. It was wonderful and I do hope we find a way to continue even though we will have to find a different space to do it.

My new “studio spot” is very small, just a corner in my apartment living room. It consists of a very comfortable rotating bar stool that I found in a trash heap in the apartment garage, my A-frame easel, and a “Farm Fresh” cart from Home Goods that is supposed to be for things like onions and potatoes. I have a locker unit in the living room to store my pens, pencils, small canvasses and sketch books (I only need 3 lockers for this – the rest house tools, cat toys, games, random candles, foreign language dictionaries and a cat.) All my larger canvasses and paintings are stacked up against the wall in my guest bedroom (every artist has a similar stack of paintings in their home, I know it!)

I love my new space because I can turn on the tv or listen to music or my German lessons (no complaints from other studio renters). I can look out the window and see my neighbors and the city happenings. I have easy access to snacks and drinks. Most importantly for me right now is that I can leave what I am currently working on up on the easel and see it every day, thinking of what to do next or what to change. I am trying to slow down with my creative process and I think this will help me to see it be able to work in smaller bites instead of being compelled to finish a painting everytime I sit at the easel. I don’t know why this became my process, but I feel it had something to do with the lack of continuity – not going into the studio often enough.

Anyway, I wanted to share a couple of photos here of my new studio. I will miss some of the camaraderie of working in the Loft studio, but I feel this is a really good move for me and I will just have to stay in touch by visiting the old stomping grounds and say hi now and then. I’ve moved my art studio, but I haven’t moved on.