CHICAGO — The 99th installment of a series in which artists send in a photo and a description of their workspace. Want to take part? Submit your studio — just check out the submission guidelines.
Amy Ellingson, San Francisco, California (site)
My studio is in the Yosemite Place building in San Francisco. I’ve been in this space for about three and a half years, and in the building for around 15 years. This shot shows two works in progress, my work tables, and work zones. I do different tasks in different areas of the studio. My studio is around 1,800 square feet, and I have a view of the San Francisco Bay from my east-facing windows. Two walls of the studio are windows, so there is an abundance of light. Outside the bounds of this photo are more work tables, a kitchen area, a seating area, my desk and computer, and my art library. I like a fairly pristine environment, free of clutter, so that I can focus on the task at hand.
Skully Gustafson, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (site)
This is a view of my current studio at RedLine Milwaukee, where I am artist in resident. My whole studio is a fun house of art making. I make paintings, sculptures, and installations in which the whole studio becomes part of the piece, or I’ll set up little sections for my partner Erik Moore to photograph me into with costumes. My body becomes an important element to the work: I frequently paint in outfits that activate with the space, or sometimes nude if it’s not cold in the basement, and make videos of myself while doing so. I usually bounce around from piece to piece and work on all the paintings at the same time. It’s really exciting to take the works out of the studio when they’re finished and see them outside of the visually chaotic land in which they were created.
Rebecca Harrell, Austin, Texas (site)
My studio contains multiple work surfaces for drawing, painting, and hand cut paper work. It also houses my mineral collection (visible in cabinet), photographs, and books on gems and minerals. The stencils visible on the wall above my drawing table are used in larger 2D work or simply exist pinned to the wall like medial specimens. My current body of work is rooted in a longtime interest in our changing landscapes, urban industrial structures, and an interest in mineral formations. I cull imagery from the books on my shelves, rocks collected in Texas, and my personal mineral collection. Having those items housed in my studio space is key to my creative process.
Lori Anne Boocks, Rockville, Maryland (site)
I rent a private space of 190 square feet in a new studio complex with 40+ other artists just outside of Washington, DC. Prior to moving here, I worked in my home. I work in a range of sizes, from small to fairly large, so I installed closet shelving racks on three of the walls. This allows me to easily adjust heights. My floor is linoleum, which is easy to clean when I use charcoal. I have no windows to outside light and prefer it that way so that lighting stays even any time of day or night.
I keep a foldaway table up in the center of the room most of the time for prep, hammering, or working flat. I often pour acrylic washes on my work, so I can quickly fold the table and make space on the floor. Another artist moving out of the DC area was kind enough to give me her chair on wheels, metal medical cart, and small filing cabinet on wheels. I often work on several pieces at once and sometimes roll from painting to painting when applying the same color to multiple small canvases. I use latex gloves because I paint mainly with my hands.
David Ohlerking, Death Valley, California (site)
My studio is a 1997 Crown Victoria. The painting supplies are in the trunk. When I’m painting outside wherever I’ve found a parking spot, I let children paint on the car.
