This is a photo from a book, In Their Studios: Artists & Their Environment from the photographer, Barbara Hall Blumer. It was a project that she carried out in 2007 documenting the studios of visual artists in the general area of the southern Finger Lakes, centering on Corning, NY, which has a vibrant artistic community. The result was a beautiful book that gives insight into the workspaces and habits of many artists. For me it was interesting to be able to peek into a bit of other artists’ lives. I highly recommend the book for anyone interested in the process of art.
This is my first studio, one that I built in 1997 and worked in until January of this year, when I moved into a much larger and slightly better appointed studio. This first studio was located in the woods that above my home and gave me what I called the best commute around, a short walk each morning up the hill through dense, fairly young forest. Sometimes I would stop and wonder at my good fortune to have the luxury and pleasure of this walk each day.
It was a very rustic space without running water or a lot of heat for that matter but it served me well for ten years and its setting had a presence in much of my work. It was very tranquil and from its windows I had great views of the woods and wildlife– deer, gray and red fox, coyotes, raccoons (who at one point made their way into my roof) and even a weasel chasing after a rabbit. In the winter it would be spectacular as the snow would cling to the white pine branches almost to the ground. Again, I wondered how I was so lucky…
Redtree Times 