In front of the camera

photoshoot

Like most artists I know I’d prefer to be behind the camera than in front of it – I’d rather let the work speak for itself, but there are times when a decent photo of the artst in their studio is required.  So I was lucky to have the chance last weekend of getting some professional images made by Mark K Jackson, a local partrait and documentary photographer currently working on a project to photograph artists and makers in St Margaret’s House.  I confess to being totally bamboozled by the technical aspects of photography: thankfully Mark knows his subject well and has some impressive kit too.  I dutifully donned my dusty drawing shirt, held my drawing materials still and tried really hard not to blink.  Some of the resulting images will probably sneak onto the internet fairly soon!

A very different (and more comfortable) kind of publicity opportunity presented itself recently, in the form of Wolfstar Pictures and their ‘Art Drone’.  As part of our Open Week/Open Studios event my fellow tenants set out to make a short film giving a taste of the creativity in the building. I was so pleased to have my studio chosen to feature in their fantastic film – see for yourself here »

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Strange happenings in my studio

It’s been a weird day in studio 6.20 today – my charcoal coated creative sanctuary was invaded by shopping trolleys, power tools and flying techno drones.

I have to be honest and say that there’s been no drawing done there for over a month now, other than doodles over photographs of empty gallery spaces and graph paper plans of exhibition layouts.  I’ve really missed getting into my ‘grey zone’, immersing myself in the pure joy of line, tone, proportion and light.  However, I have set myself the goal of curating a sizeable group show with an adventurous concept and that won’t organise itself now will it.  So, with twenty other artists taking part and only four days to build it in the gallery, I’ve been putting all my time and effort into preparations and publicity for Make yourself @ home.

I began today by transferring most of the useful and interesting things from the shed to my car, then into a shopping trolley to take them up in the lift to my studio, which meant that the trolley was cluttering up my space.  A happy hour or so was spent wielding my power tools, making shelves and brackets and other fixings for the show – very satisfying also because everything was made from materials collected and retrieved over the years or ‘buckshee’ as the Scots say.

Then Costas and the film crew from Wolfstar Pictures came in to have a look around and see if it was suitable for the wee film they are making to promote our Open Week at St Margaret’s House.  We had a good chat, they said a lot of technical things I couldn’t understand to each other, then we agreed how I should set it up for the filming.  Here’s a quick snippet introducing their idea, which involves an ‘Artdrone’ snooping round the studios after hours – slightly creepy but in a good way I think!  Other studios are being filmed over the next few days, then we shall see the secret life of St Margaret’s House.

Want to know what an Art drone is? Have a look here »

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An artist’s workspace

My workspace is divided up into zones – this isn’t as organised as it sounds, it’s just evolved that way over the years, though I may have been unwittingly influenced by kitchen design here.  I’ve also spent many a happy and productive hour in various sheds and workshops and probably developed an appreciation of things being in their place as a result.

The space I would love to have but can’t fit in would be a ‘sit in a comfy chair and relax’ space – I have to go down to the 3rd floor of Art’s Complex for that, but that’s too far away from my drawing board!

Think space

My drawing board could be considered a family heirloom now, having been made by my dad as a 16th birthday present.  It’s on its second mdf top and the metal frame has had a few coats of paint.  The chair was a Barnardo’s bargain.  You’ll see my mind-map on the wall where I’ve collected some of the images and ideas that guide my work – I’ll write more on this in a future post as I’m a big fan of mind-maps, if you’re curious have a look at Tony Buzan‘s site.

thinkspace

There’s usually a laptop here too and some oatcake crumbs.

Make space

work-in-progress-view

This view shows my main workspace, complete with dusty hand towel.

work-shelf

My talented husband made this shelf and fitted it to the hopelessly soft plasterboard walls – this enables me to have three boards alongside each other, plus I have my giant plywood board for large drawings which I can slide along the floor.  I use foam pipe lagging to cushion the top edge of the boards.

boards   

Materials storage space

Most of my drawing materials are stored in these metal drawers which help to keep the charcoal dust off.

drawers   open-drawer

They are stuffed full of things which I use all the time, things which I thought would be useful one day, but turned out not to be, and things which I couldn’t help but buy when in the art shop but didn’t really need at all – I can easily walk past a shoe shop but am powerless to resist the pull of an art store.  I buy a lot online these days mainly from Great Art and Jacksons Art.

I also have my Work in progress space and Finished work storage space which you’ll find in the previous post.

A peek inside artist’s studios facebook page has all the studio pictures you could possibly wish for.  It’s really interesting to see the variety of workspaces artists carve out for themselves and how different they all are, a bit like different species of birds building their own individual style of nest.  I love my nest.

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Studio storage secrets

My studio isn’t particularly tidy but I do like my space to be organised – I think it’s the 3D designer in me still trying to make things functional and pleasing too.  So here’s a peek at my storage solutions…

bed

Flat storage

I can honestly say I have never fallen asleep in my studio, not even a little nap (though I know other artists who have!) but I do have a bed there.  ‘Upcycling’ is such a happy word – this is what I did with an unwanted ex-bunkbed that was hanging about the loft.  It was one of the first things built for my studio and had to be carried in pieces up eight floors by some handy helpers as the lifts didn’t work then.  The 12mm ply on top gives me a big sturdy worksurface and there’s loads of storage space for things that need to be kept flat.  The under the bed space is great for bunging the awkward stuff that won’t go anywhere else. 

Work in progress

Super strong magnets + adhesive ferrous strip = storage solution number two.

wall

This is where I put things for review and rumination, it’s where ideas and sketches gradually evolve into finished works.

tests-magnets

These Neodymium magnets are amazing and a little big dangerous too – they actually come with a warning leaflet.  No small children or pacemakers and under no circumstances put them in your mouth! Unless you enjoy A&E of course.  The best thing about them is that they don’t mark the paper at all and one little magnet can hold a surprising weight of paper.

magnet-strip

Unframed work

I like to work on a large scale and the charcoal drawings I make are quite fragile until framed so I have a system of wires running along the studio wall where I can hang work safely when finished.

wires

They’re from Ikea again and intended for curtains I think, find them here.

clips

These are the clips supplied with the wires which are perfect for hanging works on paper.  I also use them to attach weights to the bottom edge of paper if it’s still curled.

Framed work

shelves      shelf

Built around the doorway is shelving designed to accomodate my framed work, made from Ikea’s Gorm range and some odds and ends of timber, hardboard, brackets and the like to make it stable.  I planned this carefully to make it fit the sizes of frame I usually have and to make best use of my space.  It looks a bit empty just now as I have work out in other places, but it will hold quite a lot and keeps it safe.

See my next post on ‘An artist’s workspace’ for more designer ideas!

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Studio views

My studio is essentially a private place, but I’m curious about other people’s spaces so thought I ought to share mine…

studio-view2

I’ve had my studio for four years now, so I’ve had plenty of time to organise it to my liking.  It’s set up for working on paper with charcoal, pastel and inks, which is why there’s no paint on the floor.  What you can’t see here is the layer of charcoal dust clinging to everything – sometimes I have to hoover my drawing board!

studio-view3

This wall is a sort of vertical shelf where I stick up ideas in progress, things that look scruffy but may in fact be useful to my thought processes.

studio-view

Being on the 8th floor has its benefits (unless the lift’s broken) and I love my view out across the Firth of Forth.  The Edinburgh velodrome below is an entertaining distraction during the racing season. 

If you fancy seeing Art’s Complex for yourself there are regular Open Studio events which I participate in.  If you are interested in my work in particular please contact me to arrange a studio visit – I may even dust!

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Take a look…

open studio baubleWe’re opening our doors again at Art’s Complex soon – the second Open Studios event is over the weekend of the 8th and 9th of December and I’ll be welcoming visitors to my studio on the top floor.

I’ll be displaying some of the works from my recent show ‘Damaged woods’ along with field drawings and sketches. More details to come on my facebook page.

 

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Why I love wood

stick drawingThere are many reasons why I love wood, but right now it’s just for the pure pleasure of drawing it. And the fact that I’m using carbonised wood, taped onto dead wood to draw living wood on a surface made of pulped wood – what versatile stuff!

I’m hoping this newest drawing will be ready for my upcoming show ‘Damaged woods’ which opens on the 5th October.  It’s an ambitious one, being much bigger than I’ve attempted before, but I’m optimistic it’ll be finished in time – you’ll just need to come to art’s complex to see if I’ve managed it.

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Crichton giant

big drawing in the studioWith two shows on the horizon I’m busy putting in the hours and the studio is filling up nicely with work.  I have four charcoal drawings going to Open Glass Doors this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing the whole exhibition at the end of September.

Then my solo show ‘Damaged woods’ opens at Art’s Complex on 5th October, which will feature more charcoals, pastels and this really big drawing I completed today.  I first discovered this tree in January of this year, very shortly after it had lost one of its limbs in high winds.  It was so striking that I’ve been back four times to draw and photograph it – I think there’s a whole series here.

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A blank sheet

blank sheetsAs the Art’s Complex Summer Show comes to an end, so the work begins to get ready for my second solo show coming up in October.  Entitled ‘Damaged woods’, the exhibition will explore the way trees respond to damage and disease and how their forms record it in three dimensions.  All the research and field studies were done in the early spring and now it’s time to face the blank sheets and start drawing!

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