A View From the Easel
“My studio, in a sense, is an escape where I can re-enter my art world and create.”
Welcome to the 267th installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists cultivate a printmaking community and liken a paintbrush to a conductor's baton.
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.
Manuel Guerra, El Paso, Texas
How long have you been working in this space?
Seven years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
I am a full-time, non-tenured professor of instruction at the University of Texas at El Paso. I work in my studio Fridays through Sundays, or any chance I can get. I start my day early in the morning and work until I feel satisfied with the day's ideas or production. I listen to a variety of music depending on my mood or the process I am working in — idea development stage is blues, big band, or jazz, and when I'm printing it's always rock 'n roll.
How does the space affect your work?
I have several examples of prints on the wall from artists I have collaborated with or who have donated to my shop in friendship. My presses, inks, and materials as well as the location of my shop are an inspiration. The atmosphere and energy in the shop is always welcoming.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
I have open print calls or print exchanges for artists and printmakers to submit prints (open-themed, non-juried) for public exhibitions. The shows are open to artists anywhere in the world who make prints using the "hand-pulled" process. I support emerging and established artists. These exhibitions or print exchanges are about artists and printmakers supporting one another so that the practice of print can be sustained and prosper wherever it may be in the world.
What do you love about your studio?
Everything and anything in it! It's my fortress of solitude. My studio encapsulates everything that motivates and matters to me. It holds relics from my greatest exploits and rooms dedicated to all of the most important things in my life ... prints!
What do you wish were different?
That I owned my own studio and that it had a guest house in the back. This way I could invite artists and printmakers from around the world to come over and produce work, give workshops, and have a place to stay in the Sun City.
What is your favorite local museum?
The El Paso Museum of Art. In addition, I look forward to the Mexican American Cultural Center opening here in the near future.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
I love working with stone lithography. It's a printmaking technique that involves drawing directly onto a smooth stone surface with greasy materials, such as crayons or tusche. Artists can use a variety of drawing tools to create effects that range from delicate, fine lines to rich, textured areas of shading. Unlike other printmaking methods, stone lithography allows artists to draw freely on the stone or plate. It was developed around 1798 in Germany and is based on the hydrophobic properties of grease.
Vian Borchert, Germantown, Maryland
How long have you been working in this space?
Twenty years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
My studio is at home. Thus, I wake up from the crack of dawn before anyone in the household, so I can work from the start of the day quietly. Before I embark on the painting process, I make myself a strong cup of dark roast coffee. Coffee sets me in the right mood to start painting. I do one painting at a time till it is done. Once I start hearing footsteps and noise within the house, I stop.
How does the space affect your work?
I like to work from the comfort of my home, where everything I need is within arm's reach, especially coffee; if I run out of it, I can easily brew myself another cup. I like to start my day sweet and strong. Sugar crescent cookies along with dark coffee is how I roll in the morning.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
I am an art educator. I've taught for 18 years in the Washington, DC/DMV area. I teach painting and drawing classes to adults. Being a working artist, I've made multiple connections within my community and beyond. The center where I teach does annual events that I get involved in. I also serve as a juror in art exhibitions. In the last one, I was a juror for a DMV high school students’ contest which was rewarding and productive.
What do you love about your studio?
I like that I have all the needed materials within my studio. I hate running out of materials while still in the midst of working. I have a good amount of paint tubes and brushes to sustain my painting process. I also like that it is a quiet space where I can reflect and revisit my ideas about my painting projects. My studio, in a sense, is an escape where I can re-enter my art world and create.
What do you wish were different?
I wish my studio were bigger. I like space, and I would like to have more of it ... but for now, I am grateful for what I have.
What is your favorite local museum?
I live in the DC area, so the National Gallery of Art is my favorite museum. I also used to work there years ago. I loved it — back then, during my lunch break, I would go around the sculpture galleries and sketch quick drawings of famous statues like Edgar Degas's "Little Dancer of Fourteen Years." We also would get some of the best retrospectives, such as Albrecht Dürer's master drawings and Alexander Calder's moving mobiles.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
Brushes! It's like being a conductor of a musical symphony where a baton is the form of communication. As I tell my painting students, good brushes can make all the difference in creating a pleasing work of art and making the process enjoyable. I also like to have an array of brushes, from bamboo brushes to round ones to fan brushes.
