Post-Grad: The Studio Change

My old studio at SFAI and my beautiful, intelligent and hardworking mom helping me move.  The majority of my resourcefulness comes from the examples set by her and the rest of my family. 

Here you have a before of my post-grad studio change.  I went from the luxury of a large (well, large for me) studio with concrete floors and walls I could do almost anything to.  Since graduation from school, I have had to downsize my work, put my most important pieces in storage and go back to my original studio- my crowded bedroom that also doubles as my personal library.

I am constantly teaching myself to be comfortable with discomfort.  Over the years, what that has meant for me is being OK with throwing possessions away and giving cherished items to Goodwill, sleeping in a variety of spaces over an extended period of time (a couch, the floor, a small bedroom), and working under a variety of conditions, whether I am holding down multiple jobs, living in a two-bedroom apartment with four people, or being resourceful to make ends meet. 

My studio time and space is no different.  For a period, my studio was in my head and my work was merely thoughts, sketches and undeveloped film.  The work happened when it could.  Most recently, I had the luxury of devoting every day, every minute to my work in a large studio space at school where my pieces have gotten as big as 10 feet. 

All this to say that one thing I am embracing (that all artists embrace) is the idea of flexibility, that the work must happen under any condition (even if it is only able to take the form of ideas, visualizations and small sketches).  The important thing, for me, is that I am always adapting and putting my work first in all circumstances. 

So today, my room is where it’s at.  No, it’s not ideal, but it works, and I am grateful, because private space can be hard to come by for many.

My mantra: Move forward, stop and readjust, keep going and stop to adjust again.  Adjust as many times as you need to, just keep moving.  

Current temporary studio space, complete with dog, altar and TOO many books.