Time … well, that’s a given.

Do you work from home, on vehicles, build things, sew? You can sympathize. There is never enough space. Studio space … that’s it!

A true studio is cavernous and mostly concrete, and one can just let it splash.

Being an artist is usually, and with any luck, a solitary pursuit. We’d all like to have a private, comfortable, dedicated space, where we can leave unfinished work out. Storage for supplies and completed work, good lighting and a clean-up sink are on our lists. It’s a messy business! Closing a door on it all is great. Within many homes this is a tall order.

Studios are as different as artists. No, no. That doesn’t sound right. That’s just hearsay. No, we can’t always get what we want. It’s personal. I have asked association members to briefly describe their work areas.

“Catch as catch can!" Dr. Brooke Baggett said. "My kitchen island sometimes works for my studio space. If it’s harvest from the garden time of year, that area is occupied. I’m consigned to the corner of the dining room. If I’m bumped out of there too, I may have to work on the back half of the dining room table! Family dining becomes a crowded and very intimate affair, with my work in progress (somewhere between painting, drying and varnishing) the unwelcome guest.”

Johnene Ellis shared, “Our ‘forever home,’ called that because I do not plan to pack and move ever again, is small."

"Finding a place to paint, with adequate light, is challenging," Ellis said. "My studio is our garage and works well until the cold makes me think that maybe I can paint at the dining room table. That works for an hour or so, until the interruptions start … questions or comments … nothing urgent mind you. They make me want to yell, ‘Can’t you see I’m busy here?’ But I don’t yell, and just pack up and move back to the garage. On goes the space heater.”

Terry Blakemore asks, “How can I complain when I have an entire separate house for my studio?"

"Quite easily, actually," she said. "There never seems to be enough room to hang finished paintings on walls. Somehow, I still end up working on the kitchen bar. When I am giving a workshop, well … it’s crowded! I paint in oils, and there is the needed ventilation. A break may also be needed. I have the gift of stepping out into a lovely flower-filled backyard, and can listen to the birds and wind chimes. Who’s complaining?”

Diane Barron finishes with, “My husband and I use the upstairs as our work areas." 

"Nobody needs to venture there unless invited," Barron said. "I have the more generous side, and there is a bathroom sink where I clean brushes. There are sliders to a Juliet balcony and a shop light overhead. I paint on a shrouded antique library table, and the floor is carpeted! It’s different. Not me, of course!”

• • •

Diane Barron is the secretary for the Coeur d'Alene Art Association and the 2023 artist of the year.

    Barron