Making your workspace work for you.

Wolf girl (large) - created some DIY wall space for this big mama. — *Wolf girl (large)* - created some DIY wall space for this big mama.

For the last few months I've been working in a temporary workspace. It's cramped, kinda dark, and is really meant as a small bedroom. I'm holed up in here, making it work, while we build my new studio in our backyard. This is a project I've waited years for and I'm so grateful and excited it's finally happening.

If I've learned anything as an artist it's that the "perfect" studio is never coming. I have yet to experience my dream studio: high ceilings, big windows, a slop sink, bountiful storage and << sigh >> a mini kitchen equipped with the cutest fucking espresso maker you've EVER seen. Instead, like most artists, I've made spaces work for me so I can keep making my art.

Here are (chronologically) the studio spaces I've had over the last 13 years:

- my sketchbook
- the floor of my living room
- my parent's basement
- a coverted laundry room
- a shared classroom
- the basement of a naughty massage parlor (long story...)
- the corner of another artist's studio who I assisted in exchange for space
- a storefront
- my parent's garage
- another garage
- a bedroom

Not one of these spaces was a "professional" workspace (particularly not the massage parlor thing, but that's a story for another day...). I had to make each space work for me. I imagine this is something you've struggled with during the pandemic, when your house is also a gym/office/classroom. I thought I would share some of my strategies for making a space suit my needs.

Here are some questions to figure out what you need from your space and how to make it work for you:

1. What would make this space more comfortable?
A rug? Shelving? White walls? A comfy chair? Noise-cancelling headphones? I once had a space that required me to wear gloves and a hat, until I finally accepted that I needed a space heater. If your space is not comfortable you won't want to be there.

2. What would make this space more magnetic?
When you enter the room, where are you pulled? If you want to be pulled to your work table, make sure there's a clear path to get there. Clean the floor. Put a clean piece of paper out on the table. Sharpen your pencils. Tempt yourself to work.

3. Are work and play separated?
Where do you do professional work? Where do you do your creative work? Separate these two spaces. They require different minds. Give yourself a space to be messy and a space to be clean.

4. Do you have access, physically, to the things you need?
Can you get to your clay/paint/instrument easily? Consider what you use frequently and what you use occasionally. Prioritize easy access to the things you need right now.

5. Do you have a place to put things away?
Storage! It's life-changing. Build some shelving, go to the Container Store, organize your tools, or put your sculptures in a tupperware. Clear the clutter and you'll clear your mind. This can help with # 3 as well.

Here's another way to think about it: does your space reflect your creative process?

For example, the process I teach goes like this:

Clear - getting ready, making room
Play - testing, experimenting, learning
Fuel - informing, inspiring, expanding
Generate - creating, producing, moving
Reflect - considering, questioning, resting

Here's how that process might be manifested in a space:

For Clear I need:
Storage space to put old work away.
Containers for tools.
Easy access to materials.

For Play I need:
A work table where I can be messy.

For Fuel I need:
Shelves for my books, zines, sketchbooks.

For Generate I need:
A clean table where I can lay out sculptures.
A free wall where I can hang drawings.

For Reflect I need:
A comfortable chair where I can rest, read, and write.

So look at your space. Consider the modes you are in when you use it. Are you experimenting? Researching? Collecting? Organizing? Communicating? Resting? How can your space support those various modes of working? You don't need a lot of space, you just need some intentionality.

p.s. Remember to create space to rest! It's not always about the doing, it's about the being in your space too.