A View From the Easel
“Having more light and space immediately allowed me to make larger work, which I didn't even know I had in me.”
Welcome to the 243rd installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists return to pieces they made in school, work with ambient soundtracks playing in the background, and share an update on their studio since their last submission to this series in 2013.
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.
Erik Probst, Brooklyn, New York
How long have you been working in this space?
Two years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
Lately, I've been working before or after my day job and squeezing in as much studio time as I can during the week. On the weekends I usually work all day while giving myself breaks, which includes taking a walk around the neighborhood, getting coffee, and/or reading. With this new body of work I feel more inclined to work on multiple pieces since my drawings take ample amounts of time to complete. I find it refreshing to juggle between pieces in different stages. It gives me a bit of breathing room.
Ever since I was young I'd always listen to music while drawing, and there was even a time period when I'd draw while watching cable television. These habits have funneled into my current ritual of searching for live performances on YouTube of my favorite bands or finding obscure ambient soundtracks. Though there will be days when I'll find myself listening to documentaries of any sort for the sake of dialogue.
How does the space affect your work?
My space is also my home and it's been this way for the past seven years or so. It affects my work in the sense of proximity and accessibility.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
In 2020 during the New York City COVID lockdowns, I was invited to be included in a small group show at Below Grand (an artist-run gallery tucked away in the Lower East Side) which blossomed into a community of artistic friendships and colleagues and has been a creative hub and meeting space ever since.
What do you love about your studio?
I love the simplicity and the flexibility it provides.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
Sakura Pigma Micron pens.
Lynn Basa, Chicago, Illinois
How long have you been working in this space?
Thirteen years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
I'm usually able to get out of the house by noon to walk 1.85 miles to my studio. While I'm waiting for the wax to melt, I catch up on emails and Instagram, apply to public art commissions, take the dog for a walk, or go to one of the coffee shops for a refreshment. Then I turn on my Pandora station to bossa nova and paint!
How does the space affect your work?
My studio is in a corner storefront of a former sausage shop in an old building in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood. Until this space, my studio was always in the basement of wherever I lived. Having more light and space immediately allowed me to make larger work, which I didn't even know I had in me. It also made me more confident to have studio visits.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
For two and a half years I ran a non-commercial gallery in the front of the space for artists doing immersive installations. It turned out that my neighbors couldn't care less about what SAIC grads were doing, so I applied myself to doing what I could that mattered beyond the windows of my studio. When I looked outside I saw a severely disinvested neighborhood main street with many storefront vacancies. As part of my MFA thesis project in 2016 I organized a group of business and property owners on the three-block stretch my studio is on to find out what they needed to revitalize our street. That project snowballed and turned into a nonprofit called the Milwaukee Avenue Alliance. It has been succeeding beyond our expectations. Most of our storefronts are being occupied by independent businesses led by women and people of color, with more on the way. Suffice it to say, I learned how much of a difference one artist can make.
What do you love about your studio?
The light, and the way this old corner storefront was designed to draw the gaze of passersby. The high tin ceilings. The feeling that I'm just another in a 100-year legacy of shop owners in this place.
What do you wish were different?
That I was a better housekeeper!
What is your favorite local museum?
The Insect Asylum.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
Encaustic and ceramics.
Edgar Jerins, Manhattan, New York
How long have you been working in this space?
Eleven years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
I stay up late so I sleep in and arrive at the studio around 1pm. I ride my bike from the east side of Manhattan to the Garment District where my studio is and I ride home at 11:30pm. When I arrive at the studio, I will attend to my computer obligations, check my social media, perhaps lunch, and then begin to work. I usually have a couple of different projects going at one time. One of my large drawings, and perhaps a couple of smaller oil paintings. While I’m working, I listen to either music, the radio, audiobooks, or podcasts.
How does the space affect your work?
My studio is my sanctuary. I’m surrounded by previous artwork, some of it dating all the way back to my first year in art school when I was 18 years old. Just arriving and coming into my space relaxes me, particularly after riding my bike through Manhattan. The space is large enough that I can get back from my large drawings and work on them from up close to studying them from a distance.
What do you love about your studio?
I love pretty much everything about my studio. The cement floor, the white walls, the wall that allows me to store most of my things out of sight and make it an exhibition space. The door that closes off my studio and keeps my space private. The size of the studio works for me. It’s part of a great community and about a two-and-a-half-mile bike ride from my apartment.
