A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN

As a member of the slash economy (painter/website builder/marketing dept/shipper/schlepper/art educator/student), life sometimes feels like a vortex of work-related errands that leaves art making the last thing on the to-do list. The last five weeks of the year are almost guaranteed to fall into this category.

This year along with traditional holidays, non-traditional pandemic, a birthday and an anniversary, I also have the honor of moving into my first "real" studio space. This is, for a denizen of NYC, perhaps the closest I will ever get to owning my own home and approximately as exciting. The times I have had a workspace entirely to myself in the city have been limited to early morning hours opening a coffee shop or emotionally-complicated periods of having a partner on tour. Much of the artist illusion is that upon the proclamation of being An Artist, one is bestowed a vast, skylit, industrial-chic studio complete with an array of supplies and uninterrupted time to work. Much of the reality, however, is making do in whatever space you are in, scrapping together both materials and minutes to scratch away at an idea that's been nagging you for days, weeks or months. Art can be and is made under all circumstances. See the incredible artwork of Khara Ledonne, Lou Foley, Claire Wilson and Julia aka Eve Devoré for proof. We persevere. For the past four years, I have happily created in one third of a living room, and a lot has been created. I have a partner who generously ignores my inchingly taking over more and more inches of our limited living space with canvases and paper pads. But on December 15th, these precious inches will magically transform into meters, and the explosion of art to come feels like gunpowder in my guts. With this move, I am stepping into the new year with greater confidence and ambitions to Make Art in 2021. I am inviting you to come visit the space- distanced, masked, window open, fan blowing. I'm enlisting for virtual or in-person studio visits with the small army of artists that have survived against all odds this year-- Colleen Herman, Kylie Manning, Tracy Morgan, I'm looking at you. I am sending out the call to make this space accessible and useful to those in need, as covid precautions allow. Do we need to dance there? Do we need to play music and make laser light shows together? Tell me your wishes! How can I help? What can we share, exchange or give? I'm here for it all.