A View From the Easel
“I like to use oil paints on a reflective surface, bending the light to my will.”
Welcome to the 262nd installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists who are both new to their studios work to the soundtrack of neighbors' footsteps and consider opera the sonic equivalent of paint.
Want to take part? Check out our submission guidelines and share a bit about your studio with us through this form! All mediums and workspaces are welcome, including your home studio.
Ornella Bayigamba, Chicago, Illinois
How long have you been working in this space?
Four months.
Describe an average day in your studio.
I don't plug my ears or play anything as I work because I enjoy listening for life's random rhythm: the catch of a freight elevator, sneaker squeaks from the children's legal center next door, or the cart rolling around in the wine seller's suite upstairs. This playlist makes three hours pass in the blink of an eye. I typically break at the three-hour mark when the squatting and paint fumes make me light-headed. I bike home to eat, go to the gym, then often back to the studio for more.
How does the space affect your work?
One month into being in this studio, I started and finished my five largest pieces, one of which was invited into a museum. The studio radically transformed my practice; working from home, I simply didn't have the wall space to make works of the scale I wanted to push myself to.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
I am blessed to have a studio in the Chicago Art District. The environment is diverse and eclectic, a constant source of inspiration and yummy food. I host open studio nights, paint sessions with sommelier-guided wine tastings, still life parties, and more open to the community! I can also always be found supporting other local artists at events and pop-ups.
What do you love about your studio?
Though I share it with two other artists, I frequently have the large space all to myself. I love that it isn't in a building solely dedicated to art because I am exposed to new sources of inspiration. The loft style, brick accent wall, and roughened-up wood floors make it feel like a home; friends and collectors alike frequently comment on how welcoming the space is. I've even had someone ask if I could redesign their home interior after my studio — the biggest compliment!
What do you wish were different?
My studio is located in Chicago's historic Central Manufacturing District and surrounded by abandoned industrial buildings. As great as that is for my imagination, walking through the loading dock late at night on the way home does little good for my nerves.
What is your favorite local museum?
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. I love how it really highlights the evolution of the featured artist and the maze-like structure.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
Aluminum! I like to use oil paints on a reflective surface, bending the light to my will based on where I place the paint.
Carolyn Schlam, Poughkeepsie, New York
How long have you been working in this space?
One month.
Describe an average day in your studio.
My routine is fairly regular — swim in the morning, lunch, then an afternoon at the studio. By 1pm, I am anxious to get started. I have thought about what is on tap and have a plan — there are always several pieces in process, as I must work around drying and resting times, both for me and the work. Always classical music — the radio dial is set. I am ecstatic when it is opera for the day. I find opera totally copacetic with paint.
How does the space affect your work?
This is a new studio in a Victorian building which I have gifted myself. It is warm and inviting beyond belief and I experience deep gratitude when I step in the door. This propels me to excellence. I feel I must honor the opportunity I have been given with serious, beautiful, thought-provoking work.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
My studio is in a center for art but there are businesses also in the building. The rent is not exorbitant, but above the ability of most artists. I connect with artists through life drawing sessions, and other events that attract people in the arts. I know many artists because of my books and they share their practice with me, as I do with them.
What do you love about your studio?
I went to art school in New York City in what was then the Carnegie Hall studio building. I have incredible memories of this place and the happiness I felt there as a young art student. When I completed my studies, I rented a studio in Soho that was about the same vintage and had a similar vibe. My current studio building is very much like both of those places. It is old and incredibly toasty, so quiet, and there is a hint of a light flowery scent as I walk the stairs to my third-floor studio. It is a place where art is made and enjoyed, and it has been so for over 100 years. What a marvelous sanctuary I have found!
What do you wish were different?
Nothing. It is perfection.
What is your favorite local museum?
I have only been in Poughkeepsie a month or so and have not sampled the cultural venues yet, with the exception of the Bardavon Opera House where I attended an afternoon concert. I am only a little over an hour north of New York City, where museums abound. I love them all and can always find something of great interest in any of them at any time.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
I am only painting and making collage these days, but have worked in glass, and clay and wood, too, when I had the space to do so. I love glass to look like paint, and paint to look like glass.
