I think it’s about time I show you guys where I spend most of my time and make my art! It’s a humble space but it’s mine and it’s amazing.
The studio is really just the second bedroom of the place my husband and I are renting right now, off a busy street near a large university. Since we’re so close to a large school, we get to take advantage of this very affordable place as student housing. We also have a roommate that lives in the basement here and pays half of everything. It’s a great set-up and we’re so grateful to have it. Without such an inexpensive place to live, we wouldn’t have been able to afford me leaving my office job at the end of 2015 to pursue starting my own business. We love it here.
Here we go!
Welcome! When you walk in the door, to the right is my ‘photography wall’. This is where I take most of my framed art photos and play with gallery wall set-ups. The art on this wall is constantly revolving as I paint new stuff to add to my shop. This is also where most of our books are stored as you can see here.
Straight ahead is the large window that gives me lots of natural light during the day and strategically placed under it is my large art table. This was our dining room table in our previous larger apartment but it’s too big to use in the place we live now. It is the perfect size for me to paint on while leaving room to set stuff aside to dry.
Sitting at the back of this table and on the two shelves on either side against this same wall is where I keep all of my art supplies. It’s definitely the messiest wall in my studio. Also the light in the photos is rough, sorry. That window is the only place I get natural light so this angle was tough. I’m not good at my camera yet!
Turn to the left and you see my nice small writing desk where I do all of my computer design work. I scan paintings on my scanner, then clean them up in photoshop to make prints or use them to design graphics on my laptop. If you read anything by Austin Kleon, you know he has an ‘analog’ space and a ‘digital’ space in his workshop. This is my digital space with my art desk being my analog space. The separation is really helpful, as I get into different modes of creating at each place.
On the white bookshelf next to this desk, I keep most of my Etsy products. Prints, original finished paintings, notepads, zines, calendars. It’s pretty organized and makes it easy to pack orders quickly when they come in.
Keep turning to the left and in the corner is a comfy armchair where I read, knit, or just relax during my work breaks. My husband also claims this spot to write in when we’re working together in the evenings. Those tend to be my favorite nights. When he’s clicking away and I’m sitting at my table painting.
He’s writing a children’s book right now and we’re both so excited about him finishing it this year! You can check out his website to read updates and other shorter stuff he’s written. Lots of weird funny stuff happening in his head.
On the back of this wall is a bookshelf that we’re hoping to get rid of by April. JD (my husband) and I have embraced the minimalism lifestyle and we’re working to rid ourselves of the possessions that don’t bring us value. This bookshelf has served us a long time but I’ve found that if I keep a piece of furniture that stores things, I will store things. Things that I don’t need just because I have somewhere to put them. So the wall behind that bookshelf will soon be free and open for me to hang in-process pieces and store frames on.
I noticed after taking that first picture that the left half of the lights at the ceiling don’t work haha.
That’s it! Thanks for visiting my humble space. I try to keep it as open and inviting as possible so that I will enjoy being in it and stay focused on work and art, as well as enjoy inviting others in. I hope my little creative space inspires you to carve out a little for yourself. Even if it is just a corner in a room or half of a table, it makes such a difference to have a space that you regularly visit to create. Make it yours!
Give me a shout-out on IG @rachelloftis if you enjoyed this post. I’d love the hear from you.
Tschüss!
rachelloftisart 