19 May 2010

Welcome to My New Studio!

Twelve days ago I moved across town to a one-level ranch house on a quiet side street just off our local 11+ mile bike path. There's a detached one-car garage that I hope to someday turn into a studio, but for now I've set up a spare bedroom that looks like it will serve quite well as my woodblock/illustration studio.

Here are photos going clockwise around the room. Soon it will NOT look this neat :)

StudioNorthWall
North Wall - eight feet of surface for printmaking. I love the high window with its view of sky and treetops.

StudioEastWall
East Wall - laser printer plus seven feet of desk surface. Views of the neighborhood and a pear tree.

StudioSouthWall
South Wall - old library card drawers plus flat files

StudioWestWall
West wall - closet with shelving added for storage. I may or may not keep the tambura in here, but isn't it pretty?

I'm anxious to get back to work and fix up my last Pilgrim print.

22 comments:

Melody Knight Leary said...

Looks like a beautiful studio Annie. Lots of nice light! It's funny how a space always looks so pristine before one really gets down to the business of creating.

Wishing you many happy hours of creative inspiration and successful prints from your new digs!

Gather and hoard your inspirations as you live, then recapture them as needed in the studio. (Nita Engle)

Nicole Geary said...

It is gorgeous! Wow, you have two great windows and massive storage. I can't wait to see more from you soon. Also, I just love your library file.

betsy best-spadaro said...

Wow, it looks wonderful! Thank you for giving us a peek!

d. moll, l.ac. said...

Looks perfect! has Ty chosen his spot?

Bette Norcross Wappner -- said...

congrats on your new creative space!

Anita Thomhave Simonsen said...

Congrats with your new studio....
this looks so nice and clean...hope you will enjoy working here......

Ellen Shipley said...

Woo and Hoo! Looks great. 8-]

Wendy Willis said...

Annie,
Thanks for reminding me what is important in the actual studio space. Where will you hang your prints to dry?

Annie B said...

Wendy,
No hanging involved with moku hanga printing. The nature of the pigment is such that prints can be stacked between printings without any color offset. In the end, they're dried between boards.

Katka said...

Looks like a lovely bright space! I like the idea of looking out at trees.

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous space! I'm so envious! ;-) You'll be truly inspired here. All that plus a cycle trail....

Anonymous said...

Hi Annie- I'm a lurker but wanted to pop out of the woodwork and tell you that I LOVE your new studio! I just bought a new house too- I close at the end of June- and am salivating over my new printmaking space. Your work tables are wonderful- may I ask where you got them from?

Jen

Annie B said...

Hi Jen,
Congratulations on your new house!

The side-by-side desks on the north wall came from a place called National Business Furniture back in the mid 1990s. They weren't cheap, but have lasted well all these years with heavy use. One of the desks has a top that can be lifted up into a slanted drafting table. I have no idea if they're still available.

The wooden desk on the east wall is simply a finished piece of plywood with molding on the front to hide the raw edge. It sits on top of a file cabinet on one end and a basket-drawer set on the other. Very economical.

In my old studio I used a well-built folding table (like the kind you can find in every church basement!) for printing which also worked very well.

Good luck!

Maria Pinto said...

WOWWWW!!!!
what a nice place!
be happy there and good luck

Sherrie York said...

Oooooooh! Bright and dedicated and uncluttered... qualities I keep striving for but never quite achieve. Some day, some day. Delighted that it's your time to shine in a new space. Can't wait to see what comes out of it!

Lana Lambert said...

Wow, Annie! Congratulations on the move! I must admit I wish my studio looked like this and was relieved to read that it will not stay like this for long. The creative process usually leads to an explosion of supplies all over the place followed by stacks of reference materials and sketches crammed next to bottles of various supplies and stains of different colors accumulate and document efforts both current and past. LOL, it's great to document the pristineness of ones work space so you can back up statements like "I'm not a messy person. Really! I can prove it!"

Amanda said...

What a lovely space!

Oscar said...

Blessings on your new studio. Gaston Bachelard says some wonderful things about how we and our own spaces cross over together - somehow the space changes us, as we act and move within the space, just as we change the space.

Looks like a great place from which to launch :o)

Oscar

Diane Cutter said...

How utterly delightful, Annie... It will be fun thinking of you creating in your new (and beautiful) environs...

Inspiration from letters said...

very nice!

Alexiev said...

Beatifull studio... It seems very comfortable...

Best wishes from Buenos Aires...

http://www.alexiev.com.ar

Proyectos - Illustrations

Alexiev Store - venta de originales

Leslie Moore said...

Your new studio is lovely, Annie! So bright and light and pristine. I hope you'll post another picture of it in the middle of artistic ferment.