These are some of the first pictures I took of my studio space. The pots painting is an oil and is from last year, i've just been touching up on it as i go (and when i'm frustrating with something else i'm doing). it helps remind me of how light hits objects and how to create a round shape in still lifes. the one with the spraypainted piece is a landscape. i used sponges and acrylic paint to create the sunset sky. the other picture is just of my studio space. my desk is where i have my computer and where i do most of the drawing, i spraypaint by the window (not shown) and i paint at the eisel. 

Art & Fear

3 Quotes that I can relate to:

"Fears about artmaking fall into two families: fears about yourself, and fears about your reception by others." (page 23)

- Making art has always been scary to me. What I make always represents some part of me, whether I notice it or not. Seeing what the product is is like seeing yourself in the mirror after a hard days work. Having other people see your work is equally if not more terrifying, its like saying, here are the things i have spent all my time and energy on, please judge them. When people judge your work, its like they're judging you as a person. 

"Hovering out there somewhere between cause and effect, between fears about self and fears about others, lie expectations." (page 34-35)

- Whenever I tell people how often I spend in the studio or that I am applying to art schools, I feel like they expect me to be some magnificent painter. I don't think of myself that way, and thats not why I paint. I do it for fun and because I love it. However, there are high expectations held for someone like me who paints so much and is planning to make a career out of it.

"The lesson here is that courting approval, even that of peers, puts a dangerous amount of power in the hands of the audience." (page 47)

- It is important to remember why we make art: because it makes us happy, it's something that we enjoy. For me, when I have a paintbrush in my hand nothing else matters. I don't do it for the success or approval of other people. However, its hard to remember this when you have people staring at your work. The reasons for making art should not be to please the audience, it should be because its something that you love to do. 

Scratching, by Twyla Tharp

Twyla Tharp says that scratching is basically like finding inspiration. She suggests that we do it simply by looking at the world around us and trying to make it into our own forms of art. Even just after reading this article, I already began to use her methods. For example, I noticed an interesting design in the fabric on a pillow and in the way that my closet is arranged. Simply by being more observant, we can all be more creative. In the art studio, scratching for me is looking through art books or staring out the window or listening to music. Then, I convert it into my sketchbooks (via collage, pencil, words, etc.) and eventually it makes its way onto a canvas. 

The Artist's Studio

One thing that I noticed to be common in all of the studio spaces that I looked at was lots of stacks of magazines and papers. I think that this is because everyone uses these materials to brainstorm and get new ideas. There's nothing more inspiring than looking through a dense art book full of paintings and drawings. Also, looking through magazines can help people determine what kind of message they want to send with their work, or what types of pictures they want to model after. Also, a lot of the studios I looked at had [nearly] finished work placed or hung around the room. I do this is as well, because after looking at a piece that you think might be finished, you can get better ideas of what you might want to do to fix it. Having these products all over the room can help you get distance yet come back to them if you want to change something later. 

artists at work: workspaces and processes

I think that developing a work space is all about the specific person. In our powerpoint, we saw lots of different types of spaces: organized, cluttered, empty, messy, etc. For me, I like my work space to have lots of natural light and space. I also like it to be pretty organized, and have all my general supplies right there in front of me. For example, I cant start working unless I have my paper towels, scissors, glue stick, sharpie, and pencil right there in front of me, unless i'm painting, then its a whole new list of supplies. I love to brainstorm by looking through magazines and books, so there's always clippings and photocopies all over the place. My workspace can get very messy while I'm working, but every few days I like to clear out the junk and clean my pallet and organize it a little, because it makes working easier. I think that for each person, their workspace reflects their personality. For me, I am organized when I need to be but once i'm on a roll there's no stopping me. Some people have their stuff scattered all over the place, while others have labelled draws and one of every size paintbrush organized by color. It all depends on personal taste. 

Picture of Idea Map