by Cate Coulacos Prato
I picked up "Inside the Creative Studio" recently and I've been slowly working my way through it and thought maybe we'd have a little chat about what a good book it is. Because I'm all about books and this one is a darn good one.
I was intrigued because I have a thing for seeing inside other people's creative spaces. Its pretty clear pretty quickly that they carve out a special niche that reflects their creative spirit and its like getting to stand inside their head.
Cate has packed all of that into this book - a good solid view of each artist's state of mind. You've got all varieties in here - artists who built their own studios, converted rooms in houses, little nooks.
I was struck by how authentic and honest the artists are that are featured in the book. I particularly love Lesley Riley's description of "fabric creep" which pretty much sums up every fiber artists fabric collection (I admit to laughing out loud and having the urge to rip the page out of the book and tack it up in my studio because truer words have never been spoken).
There's a section in there full of oodles of organizing tips (always a good idea even if its just something we dream about) and I appreciated the chapter on using re-purposed items as studio furniture. My studio has gone through so many versions I can't even count so budget is important when you have a fickle heart like mine and I'd never thought of visiting flea markets for items to use.
I could list everything I love about the book - the section on color and light and how to make small spaces work if that's all you've got available - but I'll just say this: pick a copy up for yourself. It really is a great read, I enjoyed it and its a resource that I'm sure I'll head back to again and again.
3 comments:
Like you - I too, admire other artist's set-ups - always buy Studios - the magazine and continually browse through them. I feel that your space needs to be so special that it's the one place on earth that you feel you can escape to and let the rest of the world just go on by. Altho mine gets pretty confuddled at times, it's still my Nirvana. I will have to check out THIS book, thanks!
I could spend hours and hours looking at photos of other artists' studios.
Wouldn't it be great to do a studio tour like they have home tours? Get a bunch of local artists to participate and visit each other's studios...wow.
St Louis (CITY) Missouri does an "Open Studio Tour" at least once a year... arranges a bus tour or you can visit at your leisure. They open it up to the general public as well as the art community and it is a great time for artist & "gawker" alike.
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