Moving Studios!
As we have decided to cancel our move to Palo Alto (husband’s new office was shut down during pandemic and he is quite liking working here from home!) I’ve been on the hunt for studio space.
If you have been following me for a while you know I’ve predominantly worked out of my home, except for a brief period in 2019 right before we got our puppy (...and then I was too busy with him to justify renting the room!)
I love working from home.
I love waking up and stumbling down the stairs to get coffee and sit in my studio. It’s my favorite room in the house.
But.
I really need more space for the ideas I want to work with and the projects I’m currently working on.
So, now that we are 100% for sure staying in Ann Arbor - I’ve begun the process of checking out office spaces and artist areas for rent.
Here’s what I am hoping to find in no particular order;
Natural light. (I have my own lighting kit for photos)
Within my budget. Needs to make sense financially.
Dog friendly. Chew won’t be with me everyday, but the ability to bring him along occasionally is really important.
Easily accessible water/not a fancy sink. ( This seems like a silly list item, but I’ve toured some places with shared bathrooms WAAAAAAAY down the hall - too far to lug jars/brushes as often as I need to. Also if the only sink is a fancy one, I’ll be spending just as much time cleaning the sink as I am cleaning brushes. Laundry tub is ideal.)
Moderate temperature control. I’m ok with underpowered ACs/heat - but I can’t have super high humidity when I’m working/storing paper.
Ability to host events, bring collectors in for tours.
How pretty is this space!? A serious contender.
I’ve got a few more tours lined up for the weekend, fingers crossed for something to pan out soon-ish. I’ve got a lot of big ideas ready to go.
On Sharing Old Work;
(Big thanks to all the artists/collectors who took the time to chat with me about how they feel about seeing/sharing old work! If you want to join in the conversation leave me a message below or follow along on instagram!)
One of the (many!) reasons for my site re-design was to allow easier access to my older work. On the previous version of my site it was there… sort of? Definitely not able to be found without several specific links or lots of digging/clicking. Which was not my intention, just merely the result of lots of little updates moving older things out of view.
Why showing past work is important:
If you’re anything like me, keeping things compartmentalized is a really important part of my process. (Like keeping separate sketchbooks for different endeavors. See: A Look Into My Composition Book)
So, for a while I was comfortable showing a small, super-curated collection of my super-current work. Like a French/Capsule wardrobe, but for my art. And yes, while it presents a quick, easily-understood snapshot of exactly what I’m interested in at the moment, it doesn’t offer any clues to the path ahead or address anything I’ve already explored.
The current work is just out there, free-floating without information on how it got there or any hints as to where it might be going.
From collectors to galleries, to viewers just interested in what you are making, giving them the access to that history is a great way to share the process and enthusiasm for what we do - without having to state it. Even if the past work is different from what’s being made right now, it’s important to show that things are being made.
Like this 10 x 10 from 2015. Is it what I’m working on now? Clearly, no. But a lot of the same motion, contour and linework is still in play in my current work. Also this was exhibited during Miami Art Basel - which is something fun to share too.
Here’s a peek at some REALLY old work. (Ink on paper, for an auction, from like 2012….)
How far back is necessary?
This changes from artist to artist, there’s no magic number of works that has to be displayed.
Factors like time spent working and style exploration play a big part in deciding what/when gets shown. For me I went back to 2015, which is about the time when I felt my work starting to speak to the paintings I am making right now.
(Plus, at 2021 - I felt like 5 tabs would be enough to dig through. )
I debated adding an ‘early life’ tab for fun, to share some my favorite paintings from growing up - but I think I’ll save those for a blogpost instead.
As the feelings around ‘old’ work can be so personal and can differ extraordinarily between artists I thought I might see what instagram had to say.
I asked two questions; one of the artists and one of collectors and had some amazing conversations about old work. Thanks again to all of you who took the time to write me messages, it is always so wonderful to get to chat with you (whether I used your message or not!)
I don’t see it as older work looking from the outside in. It is your work!
When I find an artist I really like or am inspired by, I always scroll to the beginning of their Instagram to see how their work has changed and evolved. It’s always so interesting! I’m a long time follower of you and I love your older work, but the things you’ve been doing in the past year have been cool too. I guess I like seeing it all 🤗
I feel almost naked when I show old work. I hate leaving it out for the world to see, when it feels so far removed from what I’m doing now.
-Anonymous
I think showing previous works to be very important. It shows growth and direction. As well as giving your audience a better understanding of who you are as an artist and who you want to be.
As an artist, I feel like showing my older work shows the progression of my style over time, and how my work is always evolving and changing while still being inspired by older work of mine.
I totally understand Anonymous’s gut feeling about sharing past work, it can be really scary to show the world something we believe we have ‘moved past’.
It is an act of real vulnerability to let others see where we came from. But in the case of our work, our art - it’s so important to leave that visual history trail behind. (To a point, no one is demanding the macaroni collage for 2nd grade… though I always love to childhood projects!)
What do you think? As a collector do you enjoy seeing earlier pieces? Or, as an artist how do you feel about sharing those pieces?
On Art and Writing (and how I know to re-write my artist statement)
I’ve never been able to carry small bags. I’ve always looked longingly at small clutches and petite crossbody bags, but the reality is I just can’t ever use them - I carry too many books.
I’ve mentioned that I always have multiple sketchbooks on my person (here’s a list of other posts with some of them) but in addition to those, I also always carry a dedicated notebook/journal.
Which is why those cute little bags will never be a possibility for me; my bag destiny lies in big totes and backpacks.
I’ve always kept a journal of some sorts. When I was younger these journals focused on the day to day, when I traveled I would document where we would go and what we would do, and when I painted - I’d write about painting.
When it started;
I began the writing about my art part a long time ago when I was frustrated with everything that I was making. I couldn’t describe to anyone else why I wasn’t happy with my work, so I tried taking a few pages to tell myself why I wasn’t happy with my work. It ended up taking a few more pages than that, but I was able to see where I was going wrong and where I wanted my work to go - and why it wasn’t there yet.
It was a bit of a ‘eureka’ moment for me, and I’ve continued to make this a layer in my art process ever since.
Why I Still do it;
If I’m starting a painting with a nebulous idea, before I start sketching I’ll take a few minutes to write about that idea. It doesn’t have to be complete sentences or make sense to anyone other than me. Sometimes it’s just words, or jumbled thoughts, but I always find myself going back and underlining certain words, maybe crossing others out, and through that process I end up distilling the idea into something a little bit more concrete. Then I move to my sketchbook.
It’s also helpful for me if I don’t have any ideas but am itching to paint. Rather than just start throwing paint around and potentially wasting materials (though, I do this sometimes too…) I’ll sit and record some streams of consciousness. I may not think I have any ideas to paint from, but usually through a bit of writing to myself something will bubble up to the surface and I’ve got a place to start.
Another reason I keep up this practice is for my customers. Buying an original piece of artwork usually stems from a connection to the piece. Be it the color, movement, title sometimes - there is something that wiggles it’s way into the heart of the buyer and stays. When someone is interested in a piece and is looking to know more I can flip back through the pages of my book and provide additional indepth details about the painting’s inception.
Titles! This is often how I narrow down the title of a painting. Words will pop up as I work and I write them down here, giving me a list to choose from.
However, the most important reason for me to write about what I paint is my Artist Statement. Re-reading what I’ve written can greatly inform the status of my statement and in the past has even written it for me. I use these pages to check in and make sure my statement is correct and that it is the place I’m actively working from, as well as a marker for noting if my work is moving away from that. If there are words that come up regularly, that I feel like speak to the nature of my work I’ll factor those in and build the statement around these tidbits. As an artist who formerly hated the whole statement writing/revising process, this has made that process painless and definitely more truthful.
What I write with: *Note; some of these links are affiliate links
My current notebook is a Shinola book. I’ve used Pentalic books, random blanks, anything and everything.
My pens; I love the Pilot Plumix collection. I use all three of the nib sizes and I adore the lines and letters I can make.
Currently I use only blue ink. I think it’s ingrained from childhood - I loved looking through my dad’s notebooks and and he also tends to use blue.
What about you? Does writing factor into your art process at all?
Happy 2020!
Happy 2020!!
I hope this new year greets you with warmth and many fun creative endeavors on the horizon.
I’m taking a few more days off to see family, work on house projects, eat too much food and paint without a goal. The shop and commissions will reopen on January 6th.
In the meantime, I thought I might share a few of the goals/focuses I have set for 2020.
Every year on the 1st I take some time to myself to brainstorm my hopes and dreams for the coming year and to dig into the numbers from the year past. I do this partially to just stay organized - but also to make sure I spend the first day of the new year in a headspace that will influence how the next 365 days are experienced.
I divide these into ‘goals’ which have a concrete, measurable way to determine if I have achieved them or not, and ‘hopes’ which are judged by more feelings/emotions.
Goals for 2020 //
I want to update/rearrange our office area - end of January.
Right now our office feels very thrown together, because it was, and it just doesn’t give off any productive vibes. I’m looking to foster a more professional environment in this space.
I’ve got fun activities/contests/giveaways planned for the subscriber list for the majority of the year, and I’m just excited to grow a smaller more personal community via the newsletter.
Apply to 50% more shows and events throughout the year.
I am thrilled I was able to be a part of so many shows last year, and I’m looking for a bit more of a challenge for 2020. For every show I apply to, I’m going to find one more.
Spend 1 day every month photographing and cataloging new work.
This is a big one. I love the creation aspect of my work - not necessarily the business part. But I can’t have one without the other, so setting aside real time to photograph and add work to my site would be immensely helpful.
Build basement studio - Spring 2020/
I’d love to have a bit more space for multiple projects, large work or a group painting session. We have a space in our very, very unfinished basement that would be perfect for this - I just need to get to work painting and building walls.
Hopes for 2020 //
More house progress!
Learn basic woodworking
Stay on top of short-term goals and emails.
So happy 2020 again, thank you all for being here and best wishes for an amazing year!!
Why I keep a physical portfolio (and why you should too!)
Being an artist in this digital age is nothing short of amazing. I can send photos to galleries and customers across the world in the blink of an eye, swap stories and ideas with artists I’ve never met, have a image gallery of my current work accessible at a moments notice, and sell my work via a small metal box filled with chips and screws. Maintaining a digital presence has been an integral tool in my art practice, and being online has opened so many doors for my work.
But not everything is online.
It’s important to have some physical records of our work too. Things we can hold in our hands, share tangibly, and have a real face-to-face conversations over.
One of these things is my actual, printed, physical portfolio.
Why I Use a Portfolio (instead of pulling up my website)
The experience: I like books. I love my kindle and do *most* of my reading digitally nowadays - but certain, special books demand a physical copy. I can’t read Tolkien on a screen. Flipping through actual pages, holding the object in my hands is a different level of interaction and it gets stored slightly differently in my memory. This translates to using a physical portfolio - I can share it with customers, refer to it during gallery meetings, pull it out for open studio nights, have it on a table during art shows, and yes it’s more-or-less the same thing as having a screen up with my website - but a book is experienced differently.
It allows the viewer to flip through it at their own pace, no digital navigation to contend with and lets them have a more personal interaction with my work.
For my records: I exist in a constant state of organized chaos. My studio is *usually* a mess, but I know where everything is. My work is spread out around the house, a storage unit, galleries and venues, and in private collections. I have a mental list of where some of my favorite pieces now live, but it can get muddy with new collections and new shows. My website changes and updates frequently enough that keeping a dedicated “favorites” corner doesn’t really make sense - even if it’s just for my own records. Enter, my portfolio. In addition to being a book that showcases my best work, it also serves as a physical collection of some of my favorites. When i finish a painting that I feel is particularly strong, or answers a question that’s been hounding me for awhile - I photograph it, print it and load it into the portfolio. Depending on page count I’ll either replace something older, or add a new page. What results is a book that I am proud of, that serves as a reference for me personally.
How I made my Portfolio:
I debated about getting one printed and professionally bound and all that fancy jazz - but realized I change and update it too frequently for that to be a financially sound choice. So I picked out a slim, black classy binder with tight spiral binding and nice shiny page covers. For each page I added a sheet of black card stock, one to add some thickness to the page and two for giving each printed image a black border.
I printed my images on thick, semi-gloss paper and then laid them out on the table to select an order. I followed the rule of best images first and last, with favorites and notable projects making up the middle section. I tried to find a pleasing flow of movement and color - something that would be interesting to flip through. (To see a video of the flipping through head over to my IGTV!)
Tips to make your own:
Gather your images! Once you have a good collection of 15 - 20ish, find a trusted friend or mentor to help you narrow then down. For books like these (designed to be a summary of work) I like to keep it at 12-14ish - not so many images that it’s overwhelming, but enough to give a good idea of my work.
Pick your form factor. I went with an 8.5 x 11 book, though I almost picked an 11 x 17. In the end, I decided to go a little smaller for portability - but I love the look of the bigger books.
Gather your materials! Get your images printed, or purchase the paper to print yourself. I don’t use super fancy paper for this, just something that looks professional, reproduces the colors well and is relatively thick. Archivability isn’t a huge concern here, this is just an overview of my work - nothing I’m going to turn around and sell.
Make a cover page! Use this as an introduction to you as the artist and your work. Think of the book on a table at an art show by your paintings, but you’re talking to a guest across the room. What do you want them to know? I include a bit on my process, my statement and my contact information. It speaks for me when I can’t.
Consider a price page! At the very end of the book I have a page with titles, sizes, mediums, availability and depending on the event - prices. Sometimes I leave the prices out, sometimes I add them in - just depending on where I’m at.
Do you keep a portfolio already? How do you use yours in your practice? Also if you have any tips for artists just starting theirs I’d love to read them!