> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # A View From the Easel - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/a-view-from-the-easel-310/ - Published: 2025-11-06T20:49:37.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:37:10.000Z - Description: “My studio offers fewer distractions and less cat hair.” - Author: Lakshmi Rivera Amin - Tags: Community, A View From the Easel, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 09:41 (2025) Welcome to the 310th installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists turn floors into paintings and discarded items into works of art. Want to take part? Check out our [submission guidelines](https://hyperallergic.com/47316/submit-your-workspace-to-a-view-from-the-easel/) and share a bit about your studio with us through [this form](https://forms.gle/Erq7cyGEmMUxKrLe9?ref=hyperallergic.com)! All mediums and workspaces are welcome, including your home studio. --- ## Karl Mckoy, New York, New York ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/11/studio-1-karl-mckoy.jpg) ***How long have you been working in this space?*** Eight years. It's where I live. ***Describe an average day in your studio.*** I begin my studio work in the quiet of daybreak. I work on multiple pieces at a time as a way to avoid procrastination and the fear of making mistakes. Music or audiobooks are essential soundscapes and sources of inspiration for me. The mixed-media work is experimental, mostly relying on processes that often reveal themselves the day after drying. ***How does the space affect your work?*** At the moment, the intimate nature of my space connected to my kitchen leads to small, intimate pieces. The whole area provides both food for the soul and mind. ***How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?*** I have been in the past, but mainly through my community's shared interest in the art of communal gardening. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/11/studio-5-karl-mckoy.jpg) ***What do you love about your studio?*** Its quiet intimacy. ***What do you wish were different?*** Could do with a large area or dirty space for paint splashing and larger fabrications. ***What is your favorite local museum?*** The Whitney Museum, as I combine visits with a walk along the New York High Line. ***What is your favorite art material to work with?*** Most salvaged and found raw materials. I see them as jewels, even when others see them as waste. --- ## Allyn Boley, Bloomington, Indiana ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/11/studio-2-allyn-boley.jpg) ***How long have you been working in this space?*** In Bloomington since June 2020, in my studio space since May 2023. ***Describe an average day in your studio.*** My studio projects take a lot of time, and I do tend to have several pieces in progress at once. This strategy works for me; when I feel the need to take space from one, I return to another with new eyes and fresh energy. I love listening to podcasts and audiobooks to push my thinking through upcoming work — part of my brain is usually several steps ahead. Then I gravitate toward music for quiet when I realize I’m overthinking. ***How does the space affect your work?*** I do most of my administrative studio work from home (applications, web editing, etc.) and save my studio space for artmaking. For many years I worked exclusively from my living room — I often still do for smaller projects — but my studio offers fewer distractions and less cat hair. It’s pretty private up in my studio, but I love knowing I’m in the center of town and can step outside anytime to walk around the Bloomington Square or down the B-Line. ***How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?*** I love my local arts community and am so grateful to the Bloomington Arts Commission for providing exhibition space, community programs, and funding opportunities to emerging and mid-career artists. There are openings around town every first Friday for Bloomington Gallery Walk, and since it's a university town, there are also public lectures happening across disciplines all the time. A lot of local artists are engaged in fascinating interdisciplinary humanities conversations, and I really love that. I am always learning. ***What do you love about your studio?*** I love my floor! Since I work within a mixed-use office space, my lease requires me to protect the carpet. So, I figured, why not install a temporary floor mural? I painted a seven-by-14-foot raw duck canvas to cover my 163-square-foot studio floor, which I then covered with a clear garage mat. The project took about four months — I held off on moving my desk in until it was finished. It’s so much more fun than the sterile office carpet! ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2025/11/studio-floor_along-the-way-allyn-boley.jpg) ***What do you wish were different?*** I do feel that I’m beginning to outgrow my little studio, though I don’t have plans to expand anytime soon. In April, I’m booked for a solo show at the John Waldron Arts Center here in Bloomington, which will feature 63 charcoal drawings and two interactive installation pieces. I am not sure where to put it all in the meantime! Eventually, I will be looking for more wall space. ***What is your favorite local museum?*** There is currently a sculpture exhibition on view at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve. Making time to be immersed in nature is vital to my process, and I spend a lot of time there. Many of the critters and textures in my work are inspired by moments at Griffy. By way of interior spaces, I do love to see what’s going on at the Waldron Arts Center; sometimes they have a handful of shows happening at once. ***What is your favorite art material to work with?*** This is a tough question, because I like to switch things up frequently. By way of painting, I am now almost exclusively an acrylic painter, though trained in oil and watercolor. By way of drawing, I love charcoal, soft pastel, colored pencil, and Micron pen. One of these days I may play with mixed-media drawing again — that is something I used to do but haven’t explored much in the past decade. I also love taking pictures and do so every day.