I don’t mean this in a weird way! I just enjoy being an art studio voyeur…a bit of a peeping tom, ogling and sneaking a peek into artists studio spaces! Art (both the making of and viewing) can be a cure for stress and it’s certainly something I turn to when I need a break.
These photos are from a trip back in 2016 to Athens where a friend (MFA candidate at the time) gave me a tour around UGA Lamar Dodd Studio’s. I had the chance to wander the classrooms and studio spaces of students while it was virtually a ghost town.
We visited the whole textile school, including screen printing, the dye lab, weaving studio, paper making and the ceramics classrooms. There’s something intriguing about looking at work in progress, an artist space, their inspiration boards, materials, and equipment.
There’s so much possibility in the process of making, seeing ideas bubble up and dance across the surface with no idea of who’s behind it and where it’s headed.
UGA Lamar Dodd Studio’s
This is what I mean by being an art studio voyeur. It brings me pleasure to see the possibility of creative dreams on the horizon. In my organizing work-whether in a home, business or studio space, I hope to help others realize how important it is to recognize our creative voice. To create space for our creative dreams brings us one step closer to realizing them.
In the slideshow above, I don’t know who made the work, their background, their inspirations, their process and because no one was around this really did feel like I was art studio voyeur! Taking a peek into a moment of creative birth is a gift!
I celebrate the creative spirit with camera in hand and often questions for the maker. I am happy to capture a glimpse of that spark, inspiration, and creative dreams yet to be fully realized.
This curiosity led me to launch the Inside the Artist Studio series (which I will bring back!) and that thread led me to embark on a whole new adventure where the process of studio work, my interest in why makers make and digging into the cultural implications of our current “makers movement” have led me to return to Graduate School this year.
Starting in July, I will be attending Warren Wilson for my MA in Critical and Historical Craft Studies. I realize that a lot of people might wonder why a professional organizer might be embarking on this path and my answer is, because I’m a Weaver and I see connections where others may not. I am extremely excited to explore the intersections between making and organizing, artist process and observation of that process. There is a certain energy that emanates from both the maker and the objects/materials being used and being in that space to observe, pick up inspiration and carry it forward.
There is Chaos and there is Order in all creative cycles…what do you see when you peek into the creative process?
Heather, congratulations on your decision to take the MA in Critical and Historical Craft Studies @ WW. I wish I could do it myself. I’ve set up an ‘independent MA” and I’m doing it myself. I already have a committee.
I’d love to follow you through your journey and discuss any and all subjects related to the making of things. Ghandi felt it was an indispensable ingredient of a happy life in a healthy society. I’ve begun my course work with the history of beauty, pre and post renaissance craft, with an emphasis on my own crafts, binding and marbling.
Thank you! I can’t wait to share this journey with you and other makers. I’m sure my mind will be exponentially expanded!