On My Desk: Creative folk share the stuff on their desks

2010-08-07T02:57:00.003Z

I'm constantly changing my studio around and finding better ways to organize. It's important for me to be organized so that I can just concentrate on the art and not on the clutter! I hope you enjoy a little peak in...

Brenda Raub, art teacher and illustrator, Mountain Home, ID, www.BrendaRaub.com

remodeling a little bit

2009-12-29T07:52:00.002Z

I hope you will check out my web site. A lot of people think that artist's teach because they can't make a living at creating art...I would like you to know that I'm an art teacher because I like to share the knowledge I have gained through life...art and what not. Working as a teacher is HARDER than being a full time artist. I have to inspire my peeps to create and be their best instead of JUST myself. No offense. I love full time artists...one day, in retirement I will be one!

Brenda Raub, High School Art Teacher, Illustrator
Idaho,

www.Brenda Raub.com

Symon Chow

2008-11-28T15:40:00.006Z

Symon Chow, Photographer/Graphic Designer,
Brooklyn, New York
www.symonchow.com

"I cleaned my office so I thought I'd take some pictures cause it's not
going to be like this again for a looong time!

I'm a freelance photographer and graphic designer who works mainly at
home. I converted our old, small bedroom into my office about a year
ago, the desk area used to be the closet. I removed the sliding doors
and fitted it with a big sheet of plywood and there you have it, An
Office!"

"Close up of my desk. Aside from doing all of my work here, I also
spend a good amount of time playing video games here, much to my
girlfriend and dog's dismay. But I guess it's better then doing this
activity in the living room :)"

"Another close up of my desk. Of note is the fancy box that I made to
hide all of my hard drives. its so nice not having to stare at those
annoying flashing lights all the time!"

"Home made/ikea modular bookshelves and storage."

"More of the home made/ikea modular bookshelves and storage. At some
point I had painted the drawers black during a different
configuration... Note all the fine ikea storage boxes. I have A LOT of
crap! Also, a tip for your readers: A simple kitchen towel will extend
the life of your printer by years! Trust me on this!"

"And finally, my newest ikea creation!...

As a photographer and children's book designer, I need a lot of paper
storage. This is my newest creation, 2 stacks of Ikea's Fira drawers,
with a small table top holding them all together! Please ignore the 2
really pathetic looking planets on top of it. They were just repotted!
I swear!" - S.C.

Lisa M Griffin

2008-09-02T17:46:00.008Z

Lisa M Griffin, graphic designer & illustrator
New Hampshire
www.lmg-design.com
www.lisamgriffin.blogspot.com

I have enjoyed this site for so long but never felt my studio space was neat enough to want to display it. After a HUGE organization effort this past weekend and some help from a rather talented friend and neighbor, I am happy to show off the new and improved space. ;)

Eileen Reilly

2008-08-31T14:40:00.004Z

Very messy desk.

Eileen Reilly, museum technician,
Toronto, Canada

I work with other mountmakers (we make artifacts stand on their own when they can't) for the new galleries at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Our space is the former dinosaur area so not everyone can say they are surrounded by the "land before time" theme when they go to work. Many of the remains of the old dioramas (see trailing greenery) and murals are still around us. Forgive the messy desk there but I was hardly near my desk when that picture was taken so it really didn't have to be clear. I'm more tidy at home where I have the basement (not great for light) and the 2nd bedroom/den for the computers.

Alease Michelle

2008-07-27T01:04:00.024Z

Alease Michelle, Collage Artist & Fashion Instructor
Rock Hill, South Carolina
http://www.aleasemichelle.typepad.com/
http://www.aleasemichelle.com/

Welcome to my desk. I am an collage artist and an instructor. And because I do both activities at home, I require two desk. One desk to work on collages and the other desk to create lecture presentations.

I tend to have lots of projects going on at one time. So my project board helps me stay on schedule.

I also collect images that inspire me and after collecting images for over 5 years, the collection can grow. So below is my way of organizing my images. I have a notebook for each category. It has really helped me stay focused.

I love to dream about the possibilities of life. So here is my creative visualization board. I paste any and everything on this board and hopes of them coming true.

Then I have an area where I showcase those I admire. It too keeps me focus on my dreams, and hopefully one day they might be a collector of my work.

Well thanks for viewing what on my desk.

Peace & Love ,

Alease Michelle

Morni

2008-07-25T18:09:00.023Z

Graphic Audio Artist/ Musician
East London, UK.
www.mornimusic.com
www.myspace.com/mornimusic
www.youtube.com/mornimusic

Hello and welcome to my studio. I live and work in a turn of the century Victorian warehouse in East London. I am very fortunate to have space to really spread out. There are 3 main areas 2 studios and a study. As a Graphic Audio artist, I work with a mixture of media. music, digital photography, video and other visual manifestations. My desk is actually two desks facing each other. I am a very tidy person overall and can’t start the day's work unless everything is in order. Still most of the time my desk still manages to fill up with piles of paper, but it’s always gone by the morning. Each desk has a computer one Mac and one PC. I use the Mac for digital photography and artwork. The very old PC is for the Internet mainly but I also have started writing articles on it.

My work process doesn't start at the piano. By the time I'm working here, I already know the melody and in most cases I've written the lyrics. I always do the music last. It forces me not to gravitate towards familiar chords. The pencils on the cabinet are not for show. The worst thing that can happen to you if you are writing, is having to break your chain of thought because you've misplaced a pen or pencil. By the end of the day there are pens and pencils all over the place. It's very handy to be able to just grab a pencil and write. I use my old tape machine (which records) to sketch out ideas. The white cabinet is full of taped musical ideas one idea per tape. So I can come back and develope them into songs later. I finally record live, to my trusted VS1680 (ie; the grey machine) sitting on the workbench.

For the full tour of my studio click here Thanks for dropping by : )

David Paccia

2008-07-22T21:37:00.030Z

David Paccia, Artist
Massachusetts, USA

http://david-wasting-paper.blogspot.com/

Here is my drawing table. It is nicely cluttered as usual.

This is a closeup of the top shelf. Don't mess with Dr. Doom! There are lots of toys to keep me distracted. The round object in front of Mighty Mouse is a speaker for my iPod. I like to listen to the Blues when I draw, especially Joe Bonamassa. The framed Charlie Brown I drew for work when we decorated our cubicles at Christmas. It is done in pen and watercolor.

This is my drawing surface...although there really isn't much "surface." Lots of books and DVDs.

Here is a better view of the DVDs, mostly classic animation, and of course, Crumb. I highly recommend the "All Monsters Attack" DVD if you are into classic monsters. It is about 2 hours of old monster movie trailers...good stuff.

You can never have too many pens...

...especially when you aren't at home. These are three pen holders that I alternately lug around with me at all times.

When I need a break I pick up my guitar. Note the monster and sci-fi movies in the background. And yes the plastic monster figures are "glow-in-the-dark."

Here is a recent piece that I have done.

Please stop by my blog and say hello.

Jen Renninger

2008-05-14T14:50:00.013Z

Jen Renninger, illustrator
Tampa, Fl US

www.jenrenninger.com
www.pleasebestill.blogspot.com
www.jenrenninger365.blogspot.com

Welcome to my workshop! My studio is actually an extra room in our house. Not too big, about 300 sq ft. The bookcase is the first thing you see when coming into the room. All of my collage materials are in the white binders at the bottom of the shelves. Everything else is just scattered around ... usually the closer to my seat the more something is used! I found the featuring sign at a local thrift store. Just love that!

This is my desktop, looking quite a bit cleaner than usual! It has my computer, where I finish nearly all of my images. I try to keep some pictures of my family and loved-ones in close sight.

I just found a Spirograph at a yard sale recently and here are a few of my first trials sitting on the desk.

A few drawing placed together to make a light shade..

This is my supply shelf .. paint and pencils and ink..

Color inspiration on the bookshelves..

And an inspiration drawer from inside my flat file. I love to keep little findings readily available to organize into a collage on top of the flat file.

Whats on top of my flat file at the moment..

And last but certainly not least, my constant companion in the studio: Barley.

Thanks!

Randel Plowman

2008-04-13T19:33:00.015Z

Randel Plowman, Mixed Media Artist
Bellevue, Kentucky
www.rplowmanstudios.com
www.acollageaday.com

I live and work in a turn of the century Victorian home located in Northern Kentucky. My studio space is approximately 320 square feet. This is where I work on mixed media collage, digital photography, experimental video, painting and printmaking. I have two Macs that i use for photo and video editing and a PC that i use for sound editing.

The boxes under the work table hold found material that I use in my collage work. I am fascinated by what others discard and no longer use.

This is my worktable. I enjoy having things around that inspire and motivate me.

The painting area.

Most artists that I know enjoy collecting things. Here is a collection of crucifixes and religious statues that i have found at local thrift stores.

I also collect black and white photographs...

and autographs.

Hilary Wagstaff

2008-03-12T14:26:00.010Z

Hilary Wagstaff, Artist, Designer and craftsperson,
Penarth, Wales,
www.hellomoshi.blogspot.com/
www.ripcurlgirlblues.blogspot.com/

This is some of the stuff that is generally on my desk in my studio at home. I am an absolute magazine fiend, and so there is always some World of Interiors copies in the process of being plundered for interesting pictures of chairs or some nice patterns that I can pinch for a drawing or a collage. I am involved in an artists book project called 1ssue, so quite often, other people's work is on my desk too, waiting to be made into a book.

I make clothes for Blythe, which is an outlet for my mad sewing desires, and extreme love of fabric and pattern, so this is Lily, sporting her new top amid my sewing things. As you can see I like to have everything neat and tidy and organised. I cannot work in a mess and have a tendency to become a bit frantic about chaos.

My studio is at the back of the house, and has a lovely view over our garden. I have gradually got it more and more organised with these great chests from IKEA replacing an old plan chest that took up half the room. This is the place I think too, and listen to music, and is very much my domain. I get to have everything just how I like it in here and that means I can work and concentrate.

I like to have all the elements for my collages and my books in drawers and boxes so that I can find what I need quickly, and also I keep so much stuff, bits of paper, small things for my boxes that I need to have them in some order or else it would just be junk. I make boxes and books, and one of my heroes is Joseph Cornell.

The colours in my room are very calming, and I find this to be the most peaceful place for me and the place where I am most at home. It's definitely a place that saves my sanity, and keeps me focused on my creativity, and is a space I can reflect on what I'm doing and scheme up new projects. If there was only enough time...
Thanks for letting me share my space with you.

Brenda Raub

2008-03-12T00:17:00.010Z

Brenda Raub, Illustrator
Mountain Home, Idaho
www.brendaraub.com
www.cre8art2day.blogspot.com

This is my dog, Spencer, he likes to stand on my desk and patrol the walking path by our home. He will alert me when someone is walking by which can create interesting marks on my artwork by the startle his barking causes. My studio window is always covered in dog snot.

Just looking at my collection of color pencils makes my eyes smile!

Magnetic primer paint ROCKS! I put it on my studio walls and when I need a break from drawing, I'll write poetry with my magnetic words.

Clutter shuts my creativity off. I can't work until I'm organized. Luckily, I have a lot of shelves and storage in my studio.

Color, cool storage for organization, and quirky stuffed animals all get my creative juices going! Thanks for checking out my studio! I hope you'll visit my web site too.

Nicole Vachier Lozano

2008-01-28T04:02:00.000Z

Nicole Vachier Lozano, Fused Glass Artist
San Antonio, Texas USA
website: http://glasstouch.net/
blog: http://nicolevlozano.blogspot.com/

I work with glass using a kiln to achieve results by heating the glass to specific temperatures. I have three kilns two that run on 120volt and one which uses 240volt. The larger kiln has a working space of 23 x 23 inches. The kilns are extremely well insulated and although internally they reach temperature of up to 1750degrees Fahrenheit, I work comfortable on a table only a few feet away.

My workspace, which once resided inside my home as a dinning room table, gives me room to cut and assemble sheet glass prior to the initial firing. This is where I plan each piece, laying it out and writing firing schedules (i.e. notes that indicate the specific times/temperatures each piece will be fired to as wells as other possible variables). I keep basic cutting tools, adhesives, writing instruments, rulers and a scale close at hand. Under the table I store bags of plaster/silica which I use to make molds, like the faces at the far end of the table.

I use wooden crates to store my sheet glass.

I also have space set to accommodate tools I use to cut and abrade the glass after its initial firing. This includes a bit grinder, belt saw, hand held drill and lapidary wheel all using diamond bits/rings and water. Because of the use of water with power tools this area is outfitted with a GFI power source. This part of my workspace can get a little messy.

Carla Ferrera

2008-01-23T23:23:00.003Z

Carla Ferrera, Architect and Illustrator
Rio de Janeiro,Brazil
http://www.caferr.com/
http://caferr.blogspot.com/

I don't have much space here so I share my work between two rooms of my flat _including the dinner table sometimes... Frida, my drawing desk, is in the living room, where I have a good light and fresh wind all day long. I named it after be reminded about Frida Kahlo's bed once, such "customized" through the years.
I can't remember when the mirror was put there but it`s covered due to avoid looking at myself. A nice covering though :)

Sometimes the work goes all night long and I got these pics from my window in a Summer day. A coming storm in the dawn.

My little office, in the another room.

This is my “Thing”. Unfortunatelly it doesn’t walk like with the Addams Family so I gotta bring the coffee by myself... :)

Virginia Cole

2008-01-07T02:33:00.000Z

Virginia Cole, quilter
Moses Lake, WA USA
website: http://www.gallopingpony.com/
blog: http://gallopingpony.wordpress.com/

I'm a miniature quilt collage artist so I have a few areas to work in. This first photo is my cutting area and sewing table to the right. I don't need much fabric to sew miniatures but I like a wide variety. The stack of suitcases on the left serves two purposes, to hold art and decorate my booth at quilt shows.

On the opposite wall is my collage table, I like having many things within reach. The bookshelf to the left holds old books, sheet music, buttons and frames. Larger frames on the floor.

I have a fondness for painted metal drawers, they're great for storage and you can stack whatever you want on top. On this one is a wooden box of vintage optometrist lens, rulers and a metal container full of old postcards.

Here's some more metal drawers on the collage table, papers, buttons and you can see a collage in the gold frame behind the books.

Katriona Chapman

2008-01-06T22:34:00.000Z

Katriona Chapman, Illustrator,
London UK
www.iris-illustration.co.uk

"I have a very tiny workspace, but my work tends to be quite small so it's not a problem as long as I stay organised. I fit everything around my drawing desk which was given to me by a friend. She lives on the other side of London, and it took three of us to lug it across the city on public transport.

I like having a lot of images around me, and I have a frequently-updated collection of illustrations that I like on the wall next to my desk."

"I keep my printer under the desk, but if I'm doing a lot of printing I take it out. If I don't, I have to keep bending down to retrieve prints and I usually end up banging my head at some stage."

"My work is mainly pencil-based and I use a jewellery-box from Muji to store most of my pencils. I tend to organise them according to how frequently I use them, so that I don't have to hunt through ones that I hardly ever use when I'm looking for a particular colour."

"I hate throwing away pencils that I've almost used up. I continue to use them until they're ridiculously short, then keep the stubs as souvenirs."

"I have nowhere to store large pieces of paper or paintings so I just keep them stacked against against the wall. My dream is to own a planchest one day."

"I have a few shelves for art supplies and general junk that I like to have on display. I have quite a lot of toys relating to children's books and children's TV, and a lot of handicrafts that I collected while I was travelling in Mexico. The big bullet is a new addition to my collection: I occassionally work at a large London theatre, and recently while I was watching a show there, an actor ran past me and lost one of the bullets from his cartridge-belt. I felt bad about keeping it, but I liked it a lot and I figured they would never miss one bullet when each of the actors was draped in hundreds of the things!"

"I've put up various bits of shelving around my tiny room, trying to take advantage of the high ceilings that I have. They may not be the best workmanship that I've ever seen, but I like the fact that I put them up myself." -K.C.

Ellen Crimi-Trent

2007-12-14T20:14:00.000Z

Ellen Crimi-Trent

Illustrator, product designer

Abington, Massachusetts

www.ellencrimitrent.com
http:ellencrimitrent.typepad.com

"My studio is the old garage under our colonial house which is about 500 square feet. We took off the garage doors and put in windows and french doors to bring in more natural light. I get a nice view from my desk of the outside which today is rainy. As you can see its quite the walkway. We go from our driveway through my office up to the kitchen, so I cannot have obstacles along the way and I would love to use this space! To the left is my desk and I have quite the guardian watching over me. He is a reindeer that Fred Meyer stores made out of one of my characters. The kids all think that he is like a horse and climb up on him which has not worked out well."

"This view is looking straight onto my desk as you enter and turn right. I have soo much stuff on it but find it hard to get rid of things when I know I will need them. Below the desk is a round black coffee table that was a prop for one of my Surtex shows which now houses products I get and miscellaneous goods. I try to every now and then clean it off, but it always seems to be the dumping ground. The painting in the back I did when I lived in Brooklyn in '91 and I had a studio with some of my friends. This is one of the few times I painted in oils and loved it!"

"These days I am working on some new xmas patterns for potential wrapping paper and stationery products, so you see them here on my desk. I generally paint in gouache and mix my colors and keep them in these little plastic cups with covers. I used to get them at Pearl Paint when I lived in New York but now I can pick them up almost anywhere. My brushes are not that special, I tend to get whatever is on sale since I got through them allot. I have one of those very large cutting mats protecting the top of my desk and it comes in handy if I need to cut anything right away. My desk is an antique my dad gave me that I had restored along with the flat files. This is where it all happens folks!!"

"Here you can see a close up of one of my cabinets that house some of the many products that have been produced with my designs on them. Also there is a much more closer look at them up close. Some of these were for Fred Meyer, some for Boston Warehouse and some for JC Penney. I have soo many products that I cannot keep them all in my studio, mostly they are in boxes in my attic. I love to use them when the holidays are around like Halloween for instance. those pumpkin candles I put along with matching plates on my mantle in the family room. I love to see my designs turn into 3d products. The kids love to get the fun snowglobes and stuffed toys."

"Here is that same cabinet with another next to it and you can see my treadmill and workout bench! Yes! I do try and workout, and it's not easy with the schedule I have,but I have to make sure I get at least 4 in a week. There is also a mini bookcase behind this pole that has many giftbags that I have designed. I keep them around for when I need to wrap a gift in a hurry! The chest of drawers to the left is an old civil war chest and I use it to house many of my prints/ designs. The drawers are a bit sticky but they work."

"This is what I see when I am sitting at my desk. I love to watch certain shows when I am working, like Oprah just so I do not feel like I am alone all the time. The antique flat files were given to me by my dad and I had them refinished. These too also house many of my designs. Although I wish they were a bit bigger. To the left is a bookshelf that is in the process of being made over, and to the right is a cabinet that holds many of my supplies and fabrics. I know that this studio could use some work, and I am working on it. I would like to give it a major face lift as they say and get more organized and colorful, and add a couch as well. I guess for now I will just have to dream about it and just keep concentrating on work. I know some designers have these swanky work spaces ,which is my goal in the near future. I am hoping by the summer I can get it together to revamp the place but for now I will just be content to designing in the space I have!" - E.C.

Julius Ohta & Terumi Yamamoto

2007-11-10T00:18:00.000Z

Julius Ohta, Illustrator
Terumi Yamamoto, Account Mananger
São Paulo, Brazil
www.fuzion.com.br

"My name is Terumi and I am manager of an illustrations studio sited in São Paulo, Brazil, named FUZION. I found On My Desk a couple of days ago and I would like to showcase our studio."

"We work in a team of four and Julius Ohta is our senior illustrator. There is Samara, my assistant and Sayuri, art assistant. We offer illustrations to advertising companies and we are quite busy here."

"My contribuition on interior design is the coloring pattern, where white and silver rules and an almost red tone orange make contrast. I wanted to show not only how serious our work is, but also something modern and fun."

"Our super cool lego shelves are our salvation, ‘couse they are good not only to separate environments but also to store CDs, books, papers and a lot more."

"This is Julius’ desk. Pretty clean, hun? Well, it is not like that all the time. It used to be a mess, with books and papers everywhere. But nowadays he is creating directly on his macpro – which is hiding under his desk. A sketch drawing on paper is for rough only or for fun - as he says."

"This is my personal desk, with 2 computer monitors. I wish I could work only on my mac mini, but my bank software doesn’t work on mac. So I handle with both, mac and pc."

"These are our assistants’ desks. We ask them to keep it clean, but they are already pretty organized. At a first look, our place seems cold, but it is quite fun."

"We always have a background. music, which makes us inspired to create cool stuff like these little monsters that we call as Poupançudos. They are pretty famous among brazillian children."- TY

Suzanne Buchanan

2007-11-05T00:53:00.000Z

Suzanne Buchanan
designer : illustrator : teacher
North Carolina

http://www.suzannebuchanan.blogspot.com
*coming soon* http://www.suzannebuchanan.etsy.com

Welcome to my little studio. In it I love to draw and make things.

I have two nice work surfaces. The first is this great drafting table found at a yard sale for 50-. My dad cleaned it up and "voila" I have this wonderful place to layout my work.

It is so big I can proudly display my collection of markers and color pencils without them getting in the way. I use these tools on a daily basis and they make me happy.

Above this desk hangs a bulletin board with a multitude of things that inspire me. As you can see, much of what I love comes via snail mail. There is nothing like a handwritten note on beautiful stationery.

In a cleaning frenzy last year I decided to give away all my bookshelves. (Yep, I'm not too sure that was a smart idea either...) As a result, stacks of books decorate every room in my house, including the studio. The first stack is my collection of sketchbooks. Most of the books I draw in I find on sale at Borders. I like the fact that they are big and cheap...it takes the pressure off having to make "perfect" sketches.

Here's my other desk AND my computer. I could go on and on about Mac....but I'll spare you the details. Let me just say this...I love it. Above my desk hangs a painting I began working on a few years back. It's unfinished, but I like it that way.

I keep current projects in files on my desk. I really wish I was inherently organized, but this is something I definitely have to work at.

Under my desk, in his favorite spot, is my studio companion Pokey. Quite possibly the best dog ever, he is an expert at keeping my feet warm and unplugging my computer right in the middle of an unsaved project :(

To the right of this desk is a caricature of my fiance Edgar and I when we were in NYC a few years back. Under it is my favorite painting of Pokey.

Here are two more of my studio friends.

I'm lucky to have two big closets in my studio. They really help in my goal of staying organized. Off to the side of my closet is an enlarged film strip of my parents on a beach trip soon after they got married. This is one of my favorite possessions.

It's funny how some images leave indelible marks on your memory. Ever since I was little I wanted a closet like the one in the children's book "The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room."

While I don't have the beautifully colored shoe boxes, I think this is as close as I'm going to get.

Well, we're at the end of the tour. Thanks so much for visiting and on your way out please feel free to take a card :)

Drew Lawson

2007-10-25T20:17:00.000Z

Drew Lawson
Freelance illustrator and graphic designer
California, U.S.A.

"My work space is split up around the house based on what I am working on at the time. Upstairs is my office and desk which is always covered with papers and works in progress. I cleaned it off and found this collage with a drawing I made with white out!"

"This is one of the things I’m working on at the moment along with a mural design and a old school cut and paste punk ‘zine. This is a pencil drawing of a friend’s brother who passed away recently."

"These are my toys that I collect, and they hang out on this shelf I built and watch over me while I work."

"Here are some art books I keep on this rickety bookcase that I have had forever."

"I also put out a local arts magazine in color with ads, ect. Here is a piece I was doing the other day on B&W photo art."

"The computer room here is also a guest room and looks really stark and plain. The only distraction I need in here is my little tech deck. It helps me relax."

"Here we are out back in the “lab”. This is a piece I did for a contest at my other job. Hope you enjoyed looking around. Keep creating!"- DL

Lisa Stewart

2007-10-13T00:32:00.000Z

Lisa Stewart (ECStewart Designs Inc)
Raleigh NC
http://ecstewart.com
http://ecstewart.blogspot.com

"I wanted to showcase the hard work that my fabulous husband, Andrew constructed. Believe me, it won't stay this impeccable. Three years ago, we designed my office and he pretty much did all the labor (building,installing) including the studio door! At the very least, I painted the walls. Overall, I wanted the shelves to be different -undulating and Disneyesque; areas to showcase 3D work; a cockpit design so that I could roll back and forth (the cats now know to tuck their tails!); and a dedicated place to keep my portfolios orderly (right by the door)."

"The key to my personal organization are plastic bins."

"Unfortunately, I had to remove my drawing table (downstairs in our theater now production area) where I paint my originals and replace it with kitty gear. Pip, our Ocicat has become a permanent studio cat due to his 'not playing well with others' issue. One day I'll be able to reclaim that space."

"Can you tell that I love red?"

"Shrine corner that extends to the bulletin board to kitties in my life"

"I collect gargoyles and have a few guarding the studio."

"I collect cigar boxes in many forms and here's a shot of one I use as a
greeting card holder."

"I have lots of beautiful mugs, but this one is simply unforgettable and has taught me that dogs have a sense of humor and the preferred spelling of food."

"Here is a sample of some of my first printed fabrics."

"Looking out my studio window. In many cases, there will be more than one squirrel fighting and it's entertaining to watch them playing king of the bird feeder." -LS

Katy Horan

2007-09-15T03:06:00.000Z

Katy Horan, Artist,
Brooklyn, NYC
http://www.katyart.com

"My studio is a little room just off my bedroom. A lot of the apartments in my neighborhood have a similiar room. I was confused because it's too big to be a closet and it has a window, but then a friend said that it was once a nursery...mystery solved. So anyway, it's a great little room. I have only been working in it a little while, but it is by far my favorite workspace I have ever had! "

"This is my favorite part. I look at it and feel calm because it is nice and organized. It's the first time I've had this sort of shelving action. I dig it. I keep all my inspiration books there, Gocco stuff, the stuff I sell on Etsy, frames and surfaces."

"Here's my window. God bless it. It get's lovely light during the day so I don't go crazy when I work. I can also look out the window and say hello to brooklyn when I feel like it. I have a lot of old frames, so I just hang them there and they are pretty out of the way. There's also space to keep other random supplies."

"This is where I keep my little stock of merchandise. There are some cards and Gocco prints. I hope to add some books and zines to this very soon!"

"This is a little display area I suppose. The big one and 3 little grey ones are by me. The one with the bird lady is a print by Evan B Harris and the round one is a needlepoint piece by Merrilee Challis. I got it at the first Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn before I was ever familiar with her work. Both of those pieces are very special to me."

"Since there isn't that much room, I keep a lot of surfaces and my in progress pieces at my feet. It's good though, because I can just jump between pieces easily."

"Here's my actual desk area...messy as hell. I actually ordered the wrong desk top from Ikea. I plan to get a much bigger one, because this just ain't working!"

"This is my little paint table. It's quite handy...."

"...because it has this little drawer where I store my favorite mixed colors!"

"This is a jumble of brushes and other things that I need to keep at my fingertips. pencils, tape, sharpeners, my little scraping tool (I've had it for years!), papertowels, sketchbooks, and a little painting that I'm working on."

"Finally this is me actually working, well my hand anyway. I've been drawing a lot lately, which is great. Drawing for me is 2nd nature and much less stressful than painting. I've am planning on using a lot of these new drawings in books I am gonna make. So, to be a big art geek for a second, I have to point out how awesome those Staedler lead holders are (that's the pencil I'm holding). I heart them. Also in this picture is coffee. I love coffee...it is an indespensible part of my work day." -KH

Madeleine Stamer

2007-09-05T00:20:00.000Z

Madeleine Stamer, Artist/Illustrator
www.littlecircusdesign.com
Melbourne, Australia

"I live in an old part restored Victorian terrace that has loads of character. The natural light source is wonderful. My work area is very small for my liking but I no complain! It’s a designated area in one corner of the lounge room. Minnie our 11 month old and the dog have circuit races under the desk; they weave through my legs and around the perimeter of the room and back. We are lucky to have some really cool art made by our clever artist friends such as the ceramic ‘love me’ candy by Nicole Durling. Ebony Postma made the giant hair clips."

"Our home is quite small and I have limited space to work. I don’t have the luxury of spreading my paints and other materials out around me so I store my gear in boxes and get it out when I need it. I just keep ‘the essentials’ on the table and some of my favorite bits & bobs for inspiration which I regularly rotate. I work on the floor if I’m doing larger work. I’m currently designing wedding invites for a client and working on three illo’s for Melbourne’s Child magazine. My hubby and I share another table in the hall where we rest our weary old PC and Mac, they sit side by side harmoniously (the computers and us at times!)"

"I love my little ‘Iggy & LouLou’ dish and this funny duck-on-wheels which I commandeered from my husbands old toy collection. That weird looking gold object behind the flowers is my prized Vaughn Bode limited edition Cheech Wizard vinyl toy (I have all his comics too) I have a stack of collected objects that adorn the house, I love to re-arrange them in clusters all about the place (just like a big kid)."

"Elsie having a kip, also a good place to keep your toes warm."

"Just to the left of my desk we have a kooky rocket shape cabinet that weighs a bloody ton, our artist/sculptor friend Pablo made it. I’ve just finished a new piece so it’s a convenient spot to hang work to dry. We have a grouse balcony with two huge long windows. The balcony gets as HOT as Hell in the summer though."

"I collect crosses, crucifixes and t’s and love old religious imagery and icons. It freaks my husband out a bit though!"

"A view of the fireplace: the leadlight was a lucky ‘find’. To the right, one of my ceramic sunflowers."

"We have collected cacti and succulents for years and have them all round the garden, they’re great with the draught. The shapes and patterns influence my work greatly. They’re a bugger to weed though.

Thanks Linzie for the spotlight on my place in space! " - M.S.

Corey Pandolph

2007-09-04T22:26:00.000Z

Corey Pandolph
Cartoonist/ Comedy Writer
Portland, Maine
www.barkeaterlake.com (comedy)
www.cpantoon.com (illustration)

"Here's where all my bad ideas come about... A cheap drafting table form a college bookstore, cluttered with half drawn comics and spent pens that I don't have the heart, or energy, to throw away. The God of good fortune and creativity, in the middle right, looms over the desk... Taunting me... Always taunting me..."

"This is the first thing I ever built with my tools. An enormous desk that weighs more than a small northern Maine village. This is where I write, browse, procrastinate and cry. So many tears. My laptop is a refurbished MacBook Pro, which I’m considering having surgically attached to my torso. It’s warm glow and overheated titanium casing help me sleep better than an Ambien dissolved in a glass of Maker's."

"That's Norman, the Tubby, snoozing in his favorite chair. Next to him is my axe, ready to fake rock out at any fake moment. Above him is a sports section from the 1946 World Series that I found under the flooring in the guest room." -C.P.

Yolanda Gonzalez

2007-08-30T00:16:00.000Z

Yolanda Gonzalez, Illustrator/ Graphic Designer
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.altpick.com/yodraws
www.yodraws.com/yoblogs
www.yodraws.etsy.com
www.flickr.com/yodraws

"I work at home in a mid-century modern house. My studio is just steps from the kitchen and overlooks the backyard. Large paintings are piled here in between shows."

"Sketchbooks, sewing machine, crafts all share space on my studio desk. I often work on multiple projects at once."

"Hours of natural light pour through the large windows in my studio. I love that. Here I'm starting to paint an old cigar box."

"Color is an important part of my work. I keep many paint palettes close at hand. The little round ones hold gouache colors I use for my illustrations."

"Here below an inspiration board made of FLOR carpet squares is where the technology sits. I now have a powerbook so I mainly use this monitor to catch up on What Not To Wear on EYETV." -YG

Giovana Vazatta

2007-08-29T23:27:00.001Z

Giovana Vazatta,Illustrator
Fredericton, Canada
http://ca.geocities.com/gvazatta/

"I took these pictures especially to "On my Desk" while I was working on my illustrations. This is my desk almost all day. But as it is also my dinner table I have to make some changes on it in the evening. Every day I organize things accordingly to what I am using in that week. I try to put around me all my tools so that I don’t have to get up every time I want to use any of them. Depending on the week there are different things on my desk, but basically I always have my pencils, brushes, papers, pots, books that I am reading at that moment, and magazines that use to cut off images and insert on my recent collages. Frequently, I have close to me my paints to make watercolors."

"Here is a detail of my desk in this week. I spend most of my afternoons here. I love to be here and to work while listening to the radio. Good songs have always inspired me."

"To relax during my work I go to my laptop computer where I navigate a little and talk with friends. When I have to finalize some of my works I also come here to digitalize them."

"I really think the sunlight is very important while I am working, so my desk is very well positioned on my room."

"I recently received from a friend of mine this magnetic Hello Kitty. She is like the old paper dolls; I just love it. I put it on the second favorite part of my house, the kitchen." - GV

Irisz Agocs

2007-08-21T15:56:00.000Z

Irisz Agocs, illustrator,
Budapest, Hungary,
artista blog
artista howto
artista website

Here is my desk when I'm working. I have no different places for painting and using my computer, so I need to share the place which is quite small.
Mainly I use watercolor, dye, and pencil for making my pictures, all the other supplies are in small boxes in a case on my desk.

I'm working on a wacom tablet and I don't use mouse at all.

I have also my scanner on my desk.

And there is an always busy and handsome co-worker in the other part of the studio. :)

photo: Dorka Taskovics

Craig Atkinson

2007-08-15T16:10:00.000Z

Craig Atkinson, Artist / Illustrator.
Southport UK,
http://www.craigatkinson.co.uk
http://www.caferoyal.org

I've just finished unpacking my new studio at the end of the garden. Here's the four corners! No work has been made in here yet so it's a little too tidy and un-creative-looking, a few days and sleepless nights and it'll all be fine though.

It's got beams in the ceiling so all the bits I get sent by different people get pinned up there.
The bookcases are from a college that was closing it's science labs. They used to ahve bunsen burners and things in them. They were just going to skip the and I hate things being skipped if they are still useful, so I borrowed my wife's car and said 'back in a minute'. Hit the jackpot with these though, such a nice design, sliding glass doors and things. I just wish I'd rescued the other 40 they were chucking!
My Schwinn, the grey ghost. It's the repro model but it's great. Cool ride to and from work.
So there's the busy half of the studio, or at least it will be. That's where work will be made.
And there's the more reserved part of the studio in which I spend far too much time!
Just some bits to cover the white wall - a picture of Maggie Thatcher soon to be cut up, sorry Maggie.
Our clock my brother got from Dubai, the alarm sound is the call to prayer, you can chose from day call or night call. Genius. Great colour too.

Lisa Romero

2007-07-30T01:22:00.000Z

Lisa Romero, Illustrator
Pinole, CA
www.paperbullet.com

"Magnets made from a summer themed illustration."

"Working on a children's illustration and gotta have my buddies around me for inspiration!"

"Art books and ceramic figurines make me happy!"

"Painting up a storm and making a messy desk."

"Constantly rearranging my paint shelves helpS me decide with paint pallettes." -L.R.

Hernán Cañellas

2007-07-16T22:55:00.000Z

Hernán Cañellas, Illustrator,
Burzaco, Argentina
http://www.hernancanellas.com
http://canellas.blogspot.com
http://ginebrita.blogspot.com

"Here is my study."

"I do not have much that to describe, That is in Burzaco, Argentina. My English is not very good. Only see. The images are everything." - HC

Kavel Rafferty

2007-06-28T11:55:00.000Z

Kavel Rafferty, Illustrator
Stockholm Sweden
www.kavels.net

some photos from my workroom:

from top left,
1. danish teak chair i found in skip.
2. stuff is always stacked high on my scanner. painting, drawing and collage with school chair is top of the pile at the moment.
3. large orange bulldog clip for papers and things, 1972 the year i was born.
4. window sill junk, useful and the not so useful, sticky tapes, panda radio, knitting needle holder for brushes.
5. view above window sill, sunny day...
6. drawing in pastel by me 1982.
7. pens for drawing.
8. cork board with drawing of martha.
9. strange twin queens postcard, they gave birth to babies on the same day and room 6 star from dolphin inn, margate.

William Schaff

2007-06-18T08:42:00.001Z

William Schaff, stressing out about debt (a.k.a "artist")
Providence, Rhode Island
williamschaff.com

"This is a shot of my most recent desk set up. combining two tables I am allowed the room to spread out as I am usually working on a couple of different projects as well. It also seems to allow me the opportunity to pile papers which shouldn't be on my studio desk in great quantity."

"This is a shot taken from up in my loft where I do embroideries. You can see that next to my desk (or behind my desk -- depending on how you look at it) is my display case of inspiring nick nacks. Objects I use for inspiration, and at times, as reference when I am drawing. You can also see ontop of the display case, as well as around it, posters and albums have done the artwork for."

"a detail from the display case. little skulls of different sorts, old painted lead soldiers. A plastic, yet still surpsingly tranquil bonzai tree. An old pair of binoculars, next to this beautiful piece of Chinese paper currency. So on and so forth." -WS

Jeremiah Palecek

2007-06-01T18:30:00.001Z

Jeremiah Palecek
Painter/Musician
Prague, Czech Republic

NerdKore.com
NerdArts.com

"Hi all, I'm Jeremiah Palecek. A painter, blogger, and Nerdcore Hip Hop musician. I moved to Prague, Czech Republic over 4 years ago and quickly situated myself in the heart of the city. I create paintings and music based on video games and the internet, and blog about what I've termed the Nerd Arts."

My easel and two tables I found in an abandoned building. The table on the right holds all of my suplies while the other is a place for me to put my palette. I only use primary colors. Red, Blue, Yellow, and White so I don't much space. My walls have doubled as an everchanging gallery of my work for years now. Actually the pink painting towards the corner was given to me by my girlfriend. The large blue painting with red dots is a biometric portrait of saddam hussein, the orange/pink one towards the ceiling is taken from a LANDSAT aerial photograph, and the yellow/black one in between is a painting taken from an early digital xray of pig lungs.

Here's where I do all my blogging/music. I have a loft where my television and bed are situated. And to the right of my computer are my synths, childrens musical toys, and mixers. I actually just spotted a bottle of Becherovka on the right of my desk. Oops. Should have moved that before the photo. oh well. Behind my scanner you can see my electric guitar which was given to me by my uncle for my 8th birthday. The one framed painting is done by my Grandmother who was Czech. The painting was brought back to the Czech Republic from America years after she died.

Heres a close up of the synth located to the right of my computer in the last photo. It's made by a friend of mine here in Prague. As you can see it's an old telephone which has been outfitted with knobs to control internal oscillators.

Here's what my bed, and pillow look like when they are made. My girlfriend made me the super cool Pacman pillow for my birthday, and I stenciled the area around my bed with a bunch of space invaders.

My palette was made from an old metal tray someone left in my apartment before I moved in. As I stated previously I only use red, yellow, blue, white, and black in all of my paintings. I mix all the colors myself in that little space on the pallete which is slowly getting eaten up by paint.

"well, hoped you enjoyed a peek into my little one room apartment in Prague. If you have any questions, or inquiries please feel free to contact me via either of my websites listed above. Cau:)"

Michael W. Dean

2007-05-16T19:29:00.000Z

Michael W. Dean
filmmaker / writer / musician / podcaster
Agoura Hills, CA
www.clonethehomeless.com
www.michaelwdean.com
www.cubbymovie.com
www.diyordie.org

"I lived in cities for the past 23 years. I recently got married and moved out to the burbs/the country. I love it. Not only is it safer and quieter, but I have more space. It's the first time in my life that I've had an office that isn't the same room I sleep in. In fact, now I've got two work rooms. One I only use when I need a change of scenery (picture 14, the photo with the cat sitting on the desk), and another room we call "The InterNest." My wife and I are in constantly in the InterNest. (We call our home "The Nest", and we call this special room "The InterNest", which is short for "The Innermost Nest" Or "The Nest In Which We Interface With The World.")

"The InterNest is a spare bedroom turned into an office/recordingstudio. Debra Jean (the wife) and I covered the floor, walls and ceiling with carpet. We boarded up the window, put insulation behind the board and covered that board with carpet. It's acoustically very dead in the InterNest, and we love that, and so do the mics when we record podcasts for fun or voiceover for pay."

"The InterNest (pictures 1-12) is where we work, collaborate, create and play. Pictures 1-3 show different views of our desks. Debra Jean's is on the left, mine is on the right. Between us is a little table for our beverages and snacks. The whole room is about 100 square feet, so it's pretty cozy with two desks, two end tables, two microphone stands and four chairs (two chairs are shown in photos 1-3, the other two are in photo 4 and in photo 10. Those two are collapsible camping chairs, which we also take out into the backyard sometimes, to sit in while watching the sun set."

"In photos 1-3 and photo 5, to the right of Debra Jean's computer, on the left desk you can see our small but powerful USB audio mixer (Alesis MultiMix 8USB). It's a pretty bitchin' unit and gets great sound, and has powered outputs, which our microphones require. I'm amazed at how much the price of electronic gear has come down with advances in technology (and with the march of globalization.) Aside from the computers, our "studio" (two mics and a mixer) cost under 500 bucks total, and gets better sound than $2500 worth of gear did in my old studio ten years ago."

"This is me editing video, and photo 5 is Debra Jean editing audio."

"I have a CRT monitor hooked up to my laptop. It helps my back and neck to have a monitor higher up. But when we record, we switch it back to the laptop's LCD screen and turn off the CRT, because the CRT makes enough sound that the very sensitive condenser mics pick it up."

"On my desk to the right of the CRT is a pile of books I wrote and DVDs of films I directed (picture 6 and picture 7). I like to keep them handy, partially for inspiration and partly because I sometimes actually use my own works as references in other things I do, and need to be able to grab them quickly to do so. The inspiration part is this: When I'm working on a large project that takes between six and thirty-six months (like a book or a film), I can look at stuff I did that's already out in the world, and it seems to whisper to me, "Yes, the thing you're slaving away at now will, in fact, eventually reach the world."

The copies of "Requiem for a Dream" and "Last Exit To Brooklyn" are UK and Australian editions, two-disc sets that include a film I directed, "Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow."

"Picture 7 also shows a 10-dollar halogen light we bought at Target. We love it, and have five of these throughout the house."

"Above (Pic 8) is the lamp and printer above Debra Jean's desk. The lamp has paper taped over it as a shade, and the printer has brackets I drilled into the desk, to prevent it from falling on my wife in the event of a hefty earthquake."

"In this photo you can also see a candle with a little toy bird's nest sticking out of it. It was in a bouquet of flowers my sister gave Debra Jean and I when we got married. We love it. It's the little nest for the InterNest.

Picture 9 is toys on Debra Jean's desk. She saw this photo, laughed and said, "You're sending them that? They'll think I'm five years old." (By the way - she really does wear the kitty ears sometimes, for inspiration.)"

"Another halogen lamp, this one attaches with a clip to our little "showcase" table. I "spotlight" whatever project of mine has most recently come out commercially."

"Charlie the kitty under my desk. None of these cables are live. I shoo Charlie away before I turn on the power strip."

"Our sexy podcasting and voiceover microphones. They're MXL V63M. We love 'em."

"This is the InterNest way back before we remodeled it and turned it into the majestic place it is today."

"Above (Pic 14) is the only indoor photo here NOT taken in the InterNest. It's Charlie on the desk in my other office, the one I don't use much. I mainly use that one as a "staging area", for having room to pack things up to take to the post office, stuff like that."

"Above (Pic 15) is the view out our bedroom window, at the woods, with a mountain in the distance."

"The tiger kitten is named Smokey McFluffernutter and the white/butterscotch one is named Peanut the Bold."

"Only a cat would find this comfortable!"

"I used to think, back when I lived in cities, that I had to have junkies pawing through my garbage cans to really feel alive, to have my "finger on the pulse" as an artist. And I thought that people in the burbs were boring, that to move to the burbs was to "give up." Now I know differently. I love it out here, and find that I'm far more creative when I'm not concerned on a minute-to-minute basis with not getting mugged."

"Well, hope you liked the tour. And if anyone has further questions, you can contact us through any of the websites listed above." -MWD

Bobbi Kirk

2007-05-10T11:12:00.000Z

Bobbi Kirk, Artist/Designer
Oregon, USA
Kirkworks Website

"My studio is in my home, here on the coast of Oregon...I have a 9x12 space and a 4x5 walk in closet that also holds art supplies.

I've gone under the name of KirkWorks for my jewelry and design work and have been making art for most of my life, so some tools and supplies from former incarnations are still hanging around."

"Most of my drawing supplies are in the artcloset, along with bits and pieces for mixed media work. (second photo)"
"I also spent about 6 years doing digital art in it's early days (late 80's to early 90's), and I still work as a graphic designer occasionally.
My main art form now is making jewelry and wall pieces using fiber and beads...especially beads!
So, I don't need a large work area, but I do need lots of room to store all the fiber and beads. I specialize in vintage and antique beads in my wall pieces and I'm working on a 44 piece series now, using Basho's, Narrow Road to the Interior, as my inspiration. You can see a few of the earlier pieces in the series on my beading desk. (top photo)"

I have a large desk my son gave me when he moved to a smaller place and it's got 3 basic work areas on it.

On the far left is the beading/stitching station, the center holds the computer and the right side holds some business papers, lots of old cd's with my digital work and newer cd's with my fiber work on them and the printer/scanner/copier I use for all my business related printing. I sell most of my work through art galleries, so keeping up on inventory and getting them new work is an unending job....I try to keep up with it or it gets overwhelming. I also do my own business stationary, including business cards as I love the ability to put new images on my cards.

"I have lots of plastic rolling carts with different sized drawers for the fabric and supplies needed for the fiber work. I also have many tabletop units with tiny drawers (found in hardware depts.) that store all my beads and findings, as well as the natural items (like shells and coral) I use. The desk on the right is where I do my cutting and fusing of fabric, so it's the one place in the studio I try to keep clear..."

"And (the always important) studio cat, who is hard at work as per usual....Zoomie Sumi...the wonder cat.
(I can't get any photos of her moving, as she's so fast all you see is a grey streak...;)" - BK

Sarah Utter

2007-04-29T14:59:00.000Z

Sarah Utter
Painter/Designer
Olympia, Washington
www.sarahutter.com
www.sarahutter.blogspot.com

I'm a painter/designer/zinemaker from Olympia, Washington. My studio space is located in a loft that looks down upon a punk rock emporium- the building houses a vintage clothing store, a record shop, a bike co-op, and an amazing community printmaking studio.. it used to be a giant pawn shop when I was growing up. I go to my studio five days a week and work on paintings, read books about owls, and design t-shirts.

1.My desk is a mess. I don't really use it so much as a work space, but more of an area to store things I like to look at. Here you can see some of my past and current projects: a small owl painting, a poster I designed for Olympia's annual Artswalk, a painting of my dog Otis that was turned into a cd cover for local label Kill Rock Stars, a page of photostamps and corresponding pink owl wallet I made for Poketo.com, 40 ounces of green tea (inspiration), my old library card from Los Angeles (double inspiration), ibuprofen, pens, and a
'vitality' aromatherapy candle from the local hippie shop.

2. This is the painting I'm working on.. a tiger, flags, fleur de lis, a crystal ball. I paint on paper and then mount the finished piece onto stretched canvas, using heavy gel medium as glue, then make everything glossy and bright with a final coat of polycrylic. It's kind-of a ridiculously stressful mounting process that my mom and I
invented, but it works.

3. This is my easel and the pile of assorted acrylic paint and medium that lives below. I generally paint on the floor, laying everything out on an old piece of masonite, but every once in a while I'll clip my painting to the easel and work on it that way. This poster of the tiger and leopard is from another Kill Rock Stars' release that I did the artwork for.. they have been incredibly supportive of my work. I also design tshirts and hoodies for K.R.S.

4. Here's another pile of stuff.. shirts I designed for the incredible hometown website Buyolympia.com. I generally sustain myself off of tshirt sales and the occasional odd job, so that I can go to my studio and paint every day. In this photo you can see a newish one, 'Future Librarian', that seems to be a hit. And a baby onesie, 'Raised by Wolves'.. I also make buttons, bags, stickers, and an instructional fanzine on how to play electric guitar. Under the shirts is a copy of the wonderful free art magazine, ANP Quarterly. Very inspirational!

5. I make all of my tshirt designs on copy machines. If I'm not working with my hands, I feel really weird, so while doing graphic design via xerox can be time-consuming and limiting, I favor it over computer-y stuff. I like to collect random graphics and patterns, and then store them away for future experiments.

6. I love the library, particularly the childrens' non-fiction section. They have the best books on animals.. just big, bright pictures and minimal text. I hang out in the kids' section often, gathering reference material for future paintings. Right now I'm working on tigers, but I often paint birds-- owls, woodpeckers, and crowned cranes.

7. I adore this painting. My photographer friend, Joanne Kim, brought it back for me from her travels through Korea. The colors are intense!

8. This is a project I made for a benefit show in Los Angeles. I lived there for the past two years, and in that time I adopted a dog from a rescue group. Her name is Rosebud. Last August she came down with a terrible bacterial infection in her chest cavity that nearly killed her, and I spent everything I had (and then some) trying to save her.. after 9 days in the doggy i.c.u., she pulled through! I feel very fortunate to have the supportive, generous friends that helped me organize a benefit of music, art, and vegan cupcakes.

9. Rituals are really important to me. Every day when I get to my studio, I change out of my street shoes and into my working shoes, a la Mr. Rogers. I think it helps me focus and treat my art-making like a job. It's hard to find the right studio shoes though... I would definitely recommend the slip-on variety.

10. This is the Great Spirit Owl who watches over the studio and sends out positive vibes. I cut him out from a painting that wasn't working, and he's been the guardian of the workspace ever since!

Toniduran

2007-04-17T00:50:00.001Z

Toniduran, Graphic Designer & illustrator
Cherbourg, France
www.toniduran.ouvaton.org

"Hello, I'm Toniduran and I usually work as a graphic designer & illustrator. With these pictures, I will try to show little parts of my personal world. I live in Cherbourg, a small town in France, a beautiful landscape near the sea. And in fact, I have no particular place for working. When I'm beginning a new project, I just have to sit somewhere in my house and start."

"Sometimes, I'm just drawing on my big white table : a large place to put a lot of sheets, pencils, etc. For example, you can see on the left of that table (above and below) some wood characters I recently painted. They will probably be made into a mobile in a few weeks."

"It's not so original, but I also use a eMac for a lot of projects. "

"But for me, it's nothing else than a very useful tool. But if I have to make an object, and not a simple picture, I must use different tools for cutting, fixing, etc and I go into my bric à brac where I stock a lot of objects I have found: wood and plastic pieces, old metal, etc."

"And in the same place, here's my little printing house, which I use for typography and linocut printings. I often use wood & metal caracters such as those ones, and the press is an old 'Deberny-Peignot' from 1967, still perfect for the printing" - TD

Mark Osberg

2007-04-16T11:18:00.000Z

Mark Osberg, Animator,
Brisbane Australia,
http://toonhoon.blogspot.com/

"Hello one and all, my name is Mark Osberg and I'm a freelance animator. I live and work in the downstairs garage of a mate of mine located in sunny Brisbane, Australia. It's here that I spend an unhealthy amount of my time animating, illustrating and surfing the interweb and yes that wall is garishly yellow."

"Here's my old analogue lightbox. It's there mostly for sentimental reasons these days."

"A new fangdangled digital lightbox. Hooray for not having stacks of animation drawings everywhere. Note the high tech elevation device which is held in place with blue tack."

"A signed postcard from Bill Plympton."

"Here is where initial ideas are thumbnailed and where I have some various art and computer books"

"This is what I'm currently working on."

"And finally this is where I try to find inspiration whilst consuming copious amounts of alcohol. Thanks for letting me share my space." -OM

Cypher 13

2007-04-01T19:38:00.000Z

Cypher 13, Illustration, Web Design, Graphic Design and Brand Consulting
Boulder, Colorado USA
www.Cypher13.com

"Here is a better pick from the other side of the glass that divides the conference room from the rest of the office. If you look real close, you can see the mini photo booth we use to shoot our product for the online store. We like to keep the space full of art to keep the vibe good."

"This is a close shot of one of the work spaces. As you can see there is lots of artwork, vinyl toys and half empty coffee cups keeping the thirsty designers company."

"On the right side of the office we get a better look at the back of one of the designer's vintage 1962 Vespa. On the top half off this photo you can catch a glimpse at sound system that keeps our ears happy throughout our days and nights. Music is always an essential part of our day here at Cypher 13."

"On the left side of the office we caught Lucian crankin' through his lunch break to finish up some work for a client. A lot of the art you see on our walls are by local artists and friends. We try to circulate artists as new ones come around or as a new one has an art opening. We show a new artist's work every month in order to give them a little exposure and introduce new people to the studio and what we do."

"This a full shot of the design studio. We try to keep its clean and organized so that our time spent at work doesn't feel like work at all."

"And finally the cliché logo shot as we step backwards through the door with the end to our photographic adventure through Cypher 13's office space."

Gerard Whyman

2007-03-24T16:35:00.000Z

Gerard Whyman, Cartoonist and Illustrator
Newport, South Wales
www.gerardwhyman.co.uk

"I work in a window bay which lets in a lot of light especially in the late afternoon when the sun can stream in. However, living in South Wales, it rarely does. The net curtains are a bit 'suburbia' but they do avoid the feeling of being spied on like a fish in a bowl. I can look out on passers by while thinking up and drawing cartoons and don't feel too detached from the outside world. The regal looking purple cushion provides comfort for my less than regal posterior!"

"An old French drinking bowl holds vital drawing things: Brause nibs, novelty pencil sharpeners, Rotring ink and white gouache for mistakes. A Gromit mug is now usefully employed as pen container – much better than trying to drink tea out of. The "GuinnessToucan is not only lovely it provides an essential function. Well, I've got to have somewhere to put my cartoon earnings!"

"A cheap CD holder makes a very handy pen and pencil tray. I love those Rotring Art Pens. The pen holder in the middle is a 'touristy' Maori item. The 30's style GWR steam engine postcard says' Speed to the West'. Sensible advice I think."

"Is it me or do all artists really want to be musicians? The keyboard is recently acquired and I'm starting to learn. I'm marginally better as a guitarist. The 'regulation' Stratocaster is hanging on the wall in the background. I chose the colour as it matched the colour of the walls – only kidding! An expanse of white melamine provides a handy place to put up some of my photo prints."

"There is actually a radiator behind the book case on the right but unless I want hot books it's never put on. I don't have many 'hot' books but lots of reference ones and children's picture books collected over the years. The grey office filing cabinet is made merrier with postcards and photos stuck on it. You might be able to make out the Tintin jeep on the bookcase. The print on the wall is by Bath based artist Nick Cudworth. It's of a skeleton drawing his self portrait – a bit grim maybe it but makes me smile. It also reminds me of my mortality and so makes me work faster…not!"

A magnetic notice board has recent rejection slips from Private Eye and Reader's Digest. Bah! There's also a life drawing done on my laptop with my cheap Wacom pad and a copy of a painting I did of Newport's Transporter bridge which celebrated its centenary last year. Bottom left is a cartoon I had published in Punch years ago and above that is a treasured Quentin Blake original given to me by a friend on my fortieth birthday.

Hope you enjoyed the short tour. I've shown you mine – now you show me yours!"- GW

Thorii Pablo

2007-03-24T16:07:00.000Z

sorry, this post has been removed at request of the artist.

Peter Hermann

2007-03-19T00:56:00.001Z

Peter Hermann, Illustrator (I like to draw)
Ringkoebing, Denmark

peter-hermann.com
plines.blogspot.com
drawger.com/peterhermann

"I have an exceptionally small studio.I don’t really mind, cause the door is not locked and I’m not sure you really need a lot of room to be creative. When we moved in, my son got the biggest room in the house, only seemed natural. All you need to draw, is a surface and something that leaves a mark on that surface. very simple and very zen."

"This is the view to my left. It’s a bit cloudy and rainy today. Rolodex, small collections of stones from the sea, a very old globe, a ps2 ready to be plugged into the tv for some shooting (the game Black is preferred after talking with art directors), papers, small sketchbook, phone, small wooden figures from an innocent time when there was no made in China mark under all of us."

"A few of my books. At the top, some of my sketchbooks, old work on cd’es and empty cd’es."

"A top view of some bookshelves. A lid from a box containing some originals in need of frames.
If you squint you can see a blue line Captain America drawing by Dave Johnson right behind the gorgeous Jack Unruh drawing. (can’t believe I still haven’t gotten this beauty framed). In the back is my printer and on top of it..out of view... my scanner."

"A filling cabinet. Every time I look at it I get really confused. What the hell is it doing in here? My accountant has one of these... am I an accountant too?"

"There is a big hand-written sign on this board, saying “Say no to assignments you don’t really like doing anyway!!!”, it’s a good thing I sit with my back to this.
There should always be Bob Dylan tickets on my calendar."

"When I leave the studio (or “my room” as my wife calls it) this is the view... more nice houses."

"A small collection of pictures in our living room. Big blue Kurt Trampedach lithograph, small signed Dave Mckean thing (Bud Plant had him sign some cards when Pictures that click came out), a Palle Nielsen Linoprint, an Alec Stevens figure drawing done with one of my brown pencils on newsprint... this is a real gem, a small birthday card I made for my wife, an original page from Alec Stevens graphic novel Sinners, an abstract picture by my wife's granddad, comic book page by Jan Solheim, an old brownish print (I don’t know you did it, but those ducks are so cool). My Teddy Kristiansen page from Bacchus was apparently a little to violent for the living room...

Thanks for this opportunity Linzie." - P.H.

Jennifer Lewis

2007-03-03T23:05:00.000Z

Jennifer Lewis, Illustrator and painter,
Boston, Ma.
My Blog
Website

A few years ago I moved to my current studio.

It is a great open, one room live work space with high ceilings, great light and plenty of space to paint.

Mostly I work on the floor but every once in a while I will use my drawing table.

On the floor here is an old fiberglass fur-covered tiger head I made a few years back.

This is a close up of my desk. It is an old fold-up drawing table covered in scraps of paper and old books. The blue octopus was a Christmas present from my boyfriend.

This is my living room space, containing my tv, Hellboy action figure and bookshelf of reference material, art history books and illustration annuals.
My laptop is on the floor with the Ugly Doll.

This is my oil painting space. To the right are some plants I am trying to grow, mostly basil.

Here is my cabinet of odd toys and finding. Next to it is an old stove where I store tools, hardware and supplies for my 3-d work. Along that wall are all my canvases and painting materials.

A close-up of my items.

Thanks for visiting.

Jennifer Shiman

2007-02-18T14:32:00.000Z

Jennifer Shiman, cartoonist
CA, USA
http://www.angryalien.com

"Presenting: my home-office/studio! I'm a self-employed cartoonist/internet animator based in Los Angeles, California. For the last 2 years, I've been working full-time in this spot, creating Flash-animated shorts of bunnies who re-enact movies in 30 seconds."

"Detail of my primary workspace. I draw and ink the artwork for my cartoons by hand, then scan them into the computer for the rest of production...hence the lightbox under my keyboard! The area is dotted with a bobblehead cow on my monitor, various festive post-it notes from my sweetheart/fiance Douglas; my Batman tin full of drawing instruments, drawing tablet and other miscellany."

"Piles of James Bond movies (my bunnies re-enacted a medley of James Bond movie moments, so I needed to brush up); as well as therequisite and delicious cuppa coffee."

"Bookshelf of resources which include all my animation reference stuff and favorite graphic novels, Dungeons and Dragons manuals, manga, etc. The top shelf features Doug's chimp business card holder, chess clock, and wacky alarm clock."

"One great part of this room is a giant built-in cabinet, where I put my second desk for drawing and recording voices. Remove the chair, and I can hide the desk completely! On the side of the cabinets is a magnetic board with photos and inspirational postcards picked up during various travels."

"Sitting on the desk inside that cabinet is a wooden CD holder that I filled with toys, matchbooks and file backups; all items within are functional in their own way (extra markers! homemade snowglobe! more bobbleheads! gargoyle! squeaky laptop Buddha!)"

"Inset of my wall of good fortunes. Everytime I get a good fortune
cookie fortune, I place it here. I'm happy to report, they've reallyadded up! I like to glance at these while I draw. I also stuck some bunny drawings and other significant doodles there for good measure."

"Thank you so much for letting me share my workspace stuffs" - Jennifer

Brian Biggs

2007-02-18T14:14:00.000Z

Brian Biggs, Illustrator,
Philadelphia, PA
www.mrbiggs.com

Hi, I'm Brian Biggs and I'm an illustrator who lives and works in a big drafty house in Northwestern Philadelphia. I share the house with my two magical children and our two large, bored cats. I've been working mostly on children's books for the last few years. I also do a lot of editorial work, various product things and some animation now and then.

My studio consists of the two small rooms on the top floor of the house. I've been in this space since 2001 and after a major renovation this last summer, it's finally a place that I really enjoy spending the majority of my time. For someone who freelances at home, I believe this to be an important prerequisite. It's a cozy space, but I'm looking forward to getting a studio outside my house, hopefully later this year. I'd like to have more room for larger painting, printing, and animation projects.

I kind of refer to the two rooms as the analog and the digital rooms. First on display here is the analog room. This is where I do all my drawing and reading and scheming.

The drawing table is a huge old drafting table bought at a flea market in San Francisco. The smaller drawing board was designed by my brother and me and built by him. Last summer I installed the giant bulletin board material. This allows for a rotating display of whatever is currently inspiring me, and whatever I'm currently working on. The tv is not a guilty pleasure, but rather a lifeline when I'm way up on the third floor late nights. It's attached to a DVD player (not pictured).

The bulk of my work consists of india ink on paper via brush, which I color in Photoshop. But I've been playing more in other analog materials lately. Acrylic, inks, and something called "acrylagouache." The old Coca-Cola case is full of colored inks, and the little drawers on the shelf hold various pencil leads, erasers, and pen nibs from the olden days.

The utility shelves aren't pretty. But they hold the all-important file bins full of sketches, manuscripts, and various other ephemera from the books I am illustrating. The framed poster was designed for Top Shelf Comics in 1997, the bike helmets are from a project for Bell Helmets, and the card racks on top hold an assortment of promo cards.

The big red reading chair is typically full of a cat. The book shelves behind it hold copies of the books I've illustrated, reference books for current projects, and my beloved French children's books.

This is the top of another bookshelf. Illustrators are somewhat required to have collections of some kind of toys, and I'm no exception. This is a small part of the larger pile, and includes an Evel Knievel die-cast metal rocket, Ultraman, some plastic animals, and a cool metal passenger rocket. The photo is of Ann Margret and Elvis in rehearsals for Viva Las Vegas. This particular bookshelf consists entirely of graphic novels.

Now, if you'll follow me...

The digital room is where the majority of the actual work gets done. While everything I do starts with pencils and inks, it all gets completed on the Mac.

I currently run a G5 iMac. I have several backup hard drives for archiving. To the left of the iMac is a turntable I use for listening to old 45s, and also for sampling loops and beats for my secret life as an electronic band. You can see a small keyboard under the laser printer used for the same purposes.
The desk is a solid wooden door I painted yellow and rigged with plumbing-pipe legs and large casters for easy rolling. Back in the bad old days of SCSI and Syquest Drives, one had to frequently get behind one's Mac to troubleshoot. This is no longer a problem. The stools came from the biology lab at Stanford University. They are incredibly comfortable to sit in for an entire day.

These flat files sit behind me while I work at the computer. They were "reclaimed" from a dumpster behind an office in San Jose, California and contain my illustration and comics originals, collected posters, pads of paper, old magazines, and I'm not sure what else. The plywood surface was stained to match the door/desk and makes a good surface on which to cut and glue stuff. And in case you're wondering, yes, it's ALWAYS this clean and organized... Sure...

This protective totem was left by the studio's previous tenant, my ex wife. In the summer, around 2:00pm, the sun hits the window just right and the skull is projected onto the floor. It's freaky.

Joel Kimmel

2007-02-06T19:00:00.000Z

Joel Kimmel, Illustrator
Ottawa, Ontario
www.joelkimmel.com

“Welcome to my studio! I work out of my apartment in downtown Ottawa as a freelance illustrator. I spend most of my days in this part of my apartment drawing, sketching and painting my newest pieces.

"I have huge windows to the left of my drafting table that provide more than enough natural light. It gets incredibly sunny in the mid-afternoon but thankfully I have some awesome curtains that my girlfriend Chantal (www.chantalbennett.com) made. You can see how cold it is here in the winter.”

“I have most of my supplies close at hand on a nice shelving unit I found in my building’s basement. I regularly get cool stuff for free out of the garbage.
I keep all my ink and watercolor necessities on this shelf, as well as some basketball figurines, baby Jordan shoes (I’m planning ahead), and some soapstone that I haven’t gotten around to carving yet.

You can see a few framed paintings and things on the walls around my table. There’s a Stephanie Pui-Mun Law print I got for Chantal for her birthday, my Jack Bauer painting and my Madman painting. Then there’s a Norman Rockwell calendar, and some old pieces by my friends Martin Wittfooth and Sam Weber. That handsome chap in the photograph is my grandfather (many years ago, of course).”

“I found the wooden John Labatt box in my apartment’s basement which is helpful to store my portfolios, labels, and lots of promotional supplies. Below that I also have a sweet stash of Letraset dry transfer sheets that are always fun to use. You can also see my Marshall Bravestarr toy standing guard on a box of Cohibas.

“I work on a nice and big Leonar drafting table that my parents got for free about 20 years ago. I stretch my watercolor paper on a 24”x32” gator board so it’s nice to have a table to easily maneuver all my supplies on without feeling too cramped. I sit on a tall bar stool that isn’t very comfortable.
I used to work at an art supply store so I’ve got a lot of great brushes and a nice collection of paints. I use an old Toulouse-Lautrec dry-erase calendar to mix and water down my inks on. It works perfectly.”

“I always cut a full sheet of watercolor paper in half and stretch both sides. It gives me two large sheets of paper to work on and I usually get 2 paintings on each one so I often have a few paintings going at one time.”

“Every now and then I like to make ink swirls in my water jar. The little pen to the right of the jar is the greatest pen ever invented, the Pelikan Grafos. One dip of that thing in the ink well and I can draw for a good 15-20 minutes straight. You can only find them on eBay these days and they come with a nice selection of fine nibs. I highly recommend it to anyone who uses nibs for inking or making swirls in their water jar. Thanks for visiting my studio!" -Joel

Debbie Egizio

2007-02-01T03:49:00.000Z

Debbie Egizio, painter/collage artist/designer
Illinois, USA
www.thebeatofmyart.com
www.debbieegizio.blogspot.com
www.ezgo.artroof.com

"I found this decorative gate at a little shop in town and I thought it would make a cute bulletin board. I love it because it looks so cute and dainty and yet I have really wacky images hanging from it. I like the dichotomy. I guess it's a little unexpected and that is just the way I like to live, create art and decorate my home. I just like to be amused."

"Closet turned into desk nook area. I don't have an official studio. I work in my dining room and in a guest bedroom. I transformed one of the spare bedrooms in my home into a guest room/ studio inspiration room for me. This image is of the desk area where I work. It originally was a closet in the spare bedroom. I removed the shelves and the doors and created a cute little desk nook. It saves space since the room is small and what once was a sterile closet is now a happy little haven of inspiration. I just love the juicy colors and the whimsy. I get so much inspiration from just being in this space."

"Close up of desk I painted. (it's my furniture from childhood) A pretty sap bucket holds an assortment of wrapping paper and a vintage mini canister is my pen holder."

"Some sketches that I have been working on. Some are drawings and that I'm using for a commission piece. The other's are actually old sketches that I'm getting inspiration from."

"A postcard I drew and painted in Italy and sent to my husband. I put it in a frame that I bought at Anthropologie and just hung it on a pretty ladder back chair in the room. It's one of those funny little things that makes me smile when I see it. It definitely reminds me of my wonderful trip." -DE

Apologies for the brief hiatus while I have been on holiday - Linzie

Geoff Gibson

2007-01-13T02:16:00.000Z

Geoff Gibson, artist
Studio oneonetwo, Dallas, Texas
seteleven.com

"I've been crafting this mess for about four years and feel it could only be better in a tree on a beach. the clutter is key to my workflow. I'm easily bored and quickly disinterested in things going too well or in need of finishing. the visual noise keeps my eyes darting and mind popping as i drift away. the reference books and multiple on-going projects give me things to do while avoiding things I feel I should be concentrating on. thus i make scattered-but-steady unintended progress despite my laziness and lack of focus. this is my zone."- GG

+ Stanley Utility Pivoting Blower Fan (lower-right partial) to blow
the stink out and keep air moving when opening up during dallas
summers
+ low rafters and a network of hanging wooden extensions for
binder-clipping anything and everything up for scrutiny
+ comfy chair
+ guitar

+ mirror for vanity, sanity and added perspective
+ i think that's a cowboy hat on high
+ music

+ books books booooks:
.art out of time · unknown comics visionaries — dan nadel
.still life with a bottle — ralph steadman
.birds & bees · sexual study — dugald stermer
.homicidal psycho jungle cat — bill watterson
.the fabric of reality — david deutsch
.understanding comics · the invisible art - scott mcloud
.the road to reality — roger penrose
.gödel, escher, bach — douglas hofstadter
.mathematics · content, method and meaning — mit press
.the natural world of bugs & insects — ken & rod preston-mafham
.norman rockwell — thomas s. beuchner
.the tao of jeet kune do — bruce lee
.mona lisa overdrive — william gibson
.albrecht durer — gallery of victoria
.mc escher — sandra forty
.a new kind of science — stephen wolfram
+ alien fetus lamp my 12-year-old son didn't want! inconceivable.
+ glasses to make me look clean and smart when dirty and nursing a hang-over
+ iPod for a complete and productive life
+ warm light

+ bigger mirror for greater vanity
+ light table for serial cheating
+ globe for spinning
+ comfy sofa
+ kind and attractive photographer's little girl

Joanna Gorska/Antena Boy

2007-01-13T01:51:00.000Z

Joanna Gorska and Antena Boy (Rafal Goralski) - artists , freelance illustrarors and muralists. Torun , Poland
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rusz-illustration
http://rusz-art.blogspot.com

"We deal with public art too - mostly the art on billboards. We have had a billboard gallery - Galeria Rusz for 7 years( http://www.galeriarusz.art.pl ). We show a new , large poster every month. A lot of Polish artists have participated in our project so far."

"We live and work in the same place - in our flat. Our apartament isn't huge - only 47 square meters - so our workspace is not big enough ( and because of this our stuff is everywhere , this is horrible !)
There is a large, old table near the windows and here is our desk. The table is divided into two parts : computer part and painting part. We have a little problem because in the middle of the table is our cat's favorite place. And sometimes her fur is dirty with paints.
Most of our illos is hand-made, sometimes it is a mixture of hand drawing and Adobe Photoshop. Joanna use a portable easel to paint her pictures. Her paintings are not big - about 70 cm x 100 cm . She uses acrilic, oil and guache paints. Rafal prefers acrylics, guaches and watercolours."

"A couple of Rafal's drawing. He is a very hard-working guy."

"We collect old Polish children books. Our favorite were printed in the sixties and the seventies. These children books, catalogues with Polish posters and Polish cut-outs are continuously our inspiration."

"There is a set of Joanna's cushions with paintings ( a pattern on the real cushion and painted one"

"Our cat is 14 years old, but she is still energetic and prone to play, jump and run. Her activities and habits are sometimes an inspiration to our works ."

"Sometimes we work as freelance muralists. Joanna has painted in her free time a mural in our kitchen."

"Every month Rafal paints a poster on the floor. An enormous paper covers the whole floor. If you want to move you have to jump from one dry surface of colour to another. Next day we stick this large poster on the street billboard . Twice a year we have to detach old posters from the billboard. And at this moment it looks like an abstract painting."

Lee Kottner

2007-01-04T01:01:00.000Z

Lee Kottner, Maelstrom House, Writer, Editor, Book Artist
Bronx, NY
http://www.leekottner.com
leekottner.typepad.com/blogorrhea_ii/

"I've got one of those ubiquitous live/work situatons, so my "studio" is really the front half of my living room. I just moved a couple of years ago and doubled my space, but it's still small. I'm just starting my book-art operation, Maelstrom House (so-named to reflect my chaotic life), so I'm spending a lot of time making stock for next year's book fairs. Since I'm a writer, too, text is as important a part of the book to me as the design itself is, and I think they should feed into one another.

Here's what you see of my studio when you walk into my apartment: my computer desk and pile o'reference books:"

My current workspace consists of the computer desk, a six-foot-long former kitchen table, and lots of storage space for the odds and ends that go into my books. The storage includes cabinets and boxes, racks and hat boxes, some of which live under the table's work surface. Here's a wide shot of where I put my books together. There's one in progress right now, called Border & Frontier, with text by Argentine-American poet Carlos Schroder.

"The antique cast-iron book press (above left and below) I bought a while ago does a great job with covers--much better than the engineered wood blocks and bricks I'd been using, though those are still useful for temporarily flattening glued boards and paper before I move them to the press overnight."

"This storage cabinet (below) is in the corner between my computer desk and work table. I hadn't really thought of myself as a visual artist for a long time, so I don't have the huge amounts of supplies that most artists have. Since I don't draw much anymore, most of the supplies I have are for construction of some kind: book board, paper, punches, hammers, adhesives, thread, rubber stamps, and brushes for applying paint and glue. My tool drawers are crammed with mallets and punches and teeny paper drills and a tape gun. The other drawers are full of more paper and ink cartridges for my printer, which sits on top. Temporarily stuffed in with the rubber stamps are the various letterpress blocks I've been buying to print broadsheets on the presses at the Center for Book Arts in Manhattan. Eventually, I hope to have enough room for a small printshop of my own."

"On my work table are hand-thrown pots holding scissors with patterned edges and other cutting tools, various brushes and dip pens, and calligraphy and gel pens; the pile of papers that never seems to get smaller; two lamps at either end; and a little palm that's threatening to engulf everything else. It's a darkish apartment, so this window is just framed in curtains; for a little sense of privacy, I've put all kinds of glass in it. It's a riot of color now, which I like. I also use a lot of glass in my books, as beads or insets."

On the other end is my book press and the covers for the current book I'm making, along with my old makeshift "flattener" of bricks and boards.

"Anything that will hold something and look decorative at the same time is a bonus, since I work in my living room. A while back I bought a couple of banged up paper drawers from Pier One at a discount and fixed them up again. And I found a fabulous antique lacquered Japanese scribe's cabinet on e-bay that holds my paints and inks and masking fluid and more pens and brass rubbing crayons. It has a front that slides up and off and doubles as a tray, and a carrying handle on top."

"Here's the messiest part of the room, where the neatest work--writing, blogging, book layout, a little web design--is done. It includes inspirational postcards, notes to myself, a scanner, files, USB docks, a zip drive, a copy of the check for the first story I ever sold, and little lighthouses, which figure prominently in my still unsold novel. Oh, and the life-giving giant mug of tea."

"Finally, more materials (glass beads, collage paper, decorative brads) and the mock-up of one of the flag books I'm working on." - LK

George Sfarnas

2007-01-02T01:42:00.000Z

George Sfarnas, Cartoonist,
Virginia, USA
Being Five

My name is George Sfarnas, I am a cartoonist and this is my desk. I spend more time here than my wife thinks I should. But there are cartoons to draw and someone has to do it!

I stay busy these days with my comic strip, Being Five, which is about a kid who blogs using voice recognition software (he's only five so he can't read or write yet). The strip was inspired by my son, so I included a picture of his desk as well (below).

And speaking of desks, below are a couple of strips so you can see the desk where Georgie blogs in Being Five.

[Technorati tags: cartoon, comic strip, blogging, Being Five, George Sfarnas, humor]

Jane Ann Wynn

2006-12-17T15:51:00.000Z

Jane Ann Wynn, Artist
Baltimore, Maryland
www.wynnstudio.com
www.youtube.com/user/idolatrieartistm
http://idolatrieartist.typepad.com

"This is WynnStudio. We just had this studio built in January of this past year. My husband and I were outgrowing our house, always shuffling our studio from room to room. We finally decided that we needed a real space for art making so we looking into having a Poll Building built in our backyard. As you can tell, I collect a lot of stuff!"

"This is my main work desk area. I do a lot of jewelry making here as well as creating “detail” work on my sculptures. Occasionally I will work on paper art here since it is clean- Well, I try to keep it clean; however that is always a challenge! I am a mixed-media, assemblage, painter, sculptor, illustrator and maker of stuff - and this is my space!"

"I like to keep some of the things I collect in mason jars. It is fun to be able to line them up. It helps me to see what I have as well as giving me a lot of inspiration when I need it."

"This is what happens when my workbench gets a little messy late at night."

I have a center island of four steel cabinets set up as tables. This is where I like to do some of the messy work. I will usually build my “shrine” sculptures here. I also do most of my painting in this area. I put down a big piece of glass from an old stereo cabinet so when the paint or patina spills, it is easy to clean up. NOTE: I like to go to thrift stores and buy old decorative glasses, dishes, and decanters to keep my water and patinas in, when I am working. There is something so visually appealing to me about using old glassware. It makes me feel regal!

"I bought lots of those plastic hardware drawers to keep all of my jewelry supplies in."

"This is me and my conjoined deer toy that I altered! I know...It is odd!"

"This is my little anvil that I keep on my desk. It is so nice and small that I can move it anywhere and work with it. Here: I am making a bezel cup out of brass wire."

"Here is an example of a handmade bezel I made using the flat wire – and soldering it to the surface of a piece of copper."

"And these are a lot of little bezel cups- I will fill these with gems."

"This is an example of one of my hand built shrines, made form wood from a wood pile. This has not been aged with patina yet."

"This is right after I added my metal paint and patina- notice the messy table- and the lovely thrift store glass with a little patina blue solution?"

"Finally- these are some of the decorative adornments I made- I like to just hang in front of me from my white holiday lights- I love my lights and keep them up all the time. I feel that my work area needs to be as optimistic and decorative as possible to help me keep productive and happy…"

"I am always taking photos of things on my workbench. You can check in on my weekly and see what I have been making. (Pppst! I have been take very simple quick camera videos of me working in my workspace on YouTube! Now you can see me in action!)"

Nathan Fletcher

2006-12-08T17:06:00.000Z

Nathan Fletcher - My Broken Shoe, Illustrator,
Cornwall, UK
http://www.mybrokenshoe.com

Hello, this is my desk space and surrounding area. It's in one corner of a strange shaped dinning room. It is a bit stark but does the job. I was going to try and claim I have just moved in but working it out shows I have been here almost 6 months so, that won't work, hmmmm...

You can see the highly clever pin-board (or ikea desktop) behind the lamp. As you can see the focus of the desk is my mac, with my lovely but highly scratched wacom tablet. Probably overkill on the size but i got a heafty student discount when i got it so I pushed the boat out. It's now so natural to me it seems wrong using a mouse.

This is my library of reference and inspiration, i am especially fond of the M. Sasek books on the top shelf, which I pinched off my mum! Down by the side of the shelves you can see my scanner consigned to the technology grave-yard after it would only scan blocks of yellow regardless of what was on the glass. I can't bring myself to throw it away as I think I can recycle it, creating some sort of light-box.

These folks used to live on top of my monitor but sadly that is now too thin and so they are dotted around me, whilst I try to find a new home for them. The old Homepride men are my favorites. in the background you can see my pencil holder, once a container of jasmine tea. It is now empty of both tea and pencils as someone keeps having them away. (probably the same monster that hides my socks.)

This is possibly the best cup ever. It was a present from a good friend after we spent many hours emailing silly pictures of cats to each other when bored. At first I thought it was the worst cup in the world, but now i am strangely fond of it and always have my tea in it.

Lastly here's my sketchbook that always lives on my desk except when I go out, when it lives in a bag. It's one of those posh Moleskine books, a first for me. At college I made my own. Then when I left I got lazy and bought a4 landscape books. Those seem to be difficult to get hold of now, so I looked into Moleskine. Although not landscape I like the way it feels and dont think I could go back to a normal sketch book now.

So thats it, hope you enjoyed the tour. Make sure you click the images to get bigger versions and read the books in the shelves. Some good stuff in there...

nath

Fernanda Guedes

2006-12-06T22:27:00.000Z

Fernanda Guedes, illustrator and graphic designer.
São Paulo, Brazil.
http://www.fernandaguedes.com.br/
http://fernandaguedes.blogspot.com

I work at home, so my "art studio" is kind of spread all over the apartment. My two workplaces are the computer corner and the drawing and painting corner. I will start with my drawing corner, which is located at my living room.

I am very well organized, almost a freak, so my desk really looks like that, it is not just for the photo. Of course, sometimes it turns into a mess, but not for a long time. I use lots of photos for my drawing studies of faces and in this picture you can also see my favourite pen, the only one I like to use in my sketch books. I hate pencils and rubbers. Just hate it.

I drink hot tea all day long, but today was too hot, so I've changed to my favourite juice, guava. I love my Elvis' drink coaster, it keeps my desk dry and my soul warm. On the following pictures is my side desk. I haven't noticed before, but the upper part is bright and coloured, while the bottom is dark, black and white. Freud would explain that, I hope!

Below you can see some of my paintings. I don't have a proper place to store them, so they are resting on a chair or and all over the entrance hall, waiting for a show in a gallery or, at least, a nice closet.And before we move on to the computer corner, my own private rainbow...

My computer corner is so small that sometimes I feel like Gulliver in there. The pillow behind my chair is for my dog, Chanel.

Here she is... in a very-bad-hair-day.

I use this wall to show my drafts, recent works, some inspiration from my favourite artists, photos, anything! I've painted coloured butterflies all over, to make the space more alive and to prevent me from feeling opressed by such a small place.

I am very proud of the Abril Prize I won for best illustration (I wish I had a metal florest in there instead of just one tree, but I still have some years ahead to plant some seeds on my professional ground, right?).

I love the way I've organized my magazines, but I think that books look more "alive" if they are a little messy.

My board. I love the image of Saint George, although I am not Catholic. Go figure! I am a huge fan of Marilyn Monroe too. At the center you can see a lovely drawn that my son made of our family. Makes me smile every time I look at it.
And to finish the "tour", a panoramic view of my ceiling. This work I've done for a São Paulo jewerly called Dryzun. The campaign was about female Godesses and from left to right you can see: Afrodite, Persefone, Artemis and Atena. I put they up there to protect, inspire and bless my works, every day.

Thank you, Lizzie, for the opportunity to show these pictures here. And congratulations! You have created a delightfull blog for artists all over the world to share a little bit of their (almost always lonely) daily environment.
Warmest regards from this sunny side of the planet,

Fernanda

Cynthia Padilla

2006-12-04T00:17:00.000Z

Cynthia Padilla, Naturalist Illustrator
Texas, USA
Sketching & Drawing Tips
Peek In My Field Bag

My home/studio faces my garden... filled with birds, blooms, butterflies. I am a botanical artist/natural science illustrator. The east facing space is warmed by the morning sun, ideal for I am a morning person and wake eager to 'go to the office.'

"Slipper Orchid"(detail)-acrylic, gouache and colored pencil. Orchids and tropicals are favorite subjects of mine to paint.

My candle lit entry hall is lined with small retablos (Mexican folk art tradition of painting patron saints on wood)I have painted. Favored saints are the patron saint of artists, the patron saint sought when seeking lost items, and for the sucess of my art career... I probably need to research which saint looks over galleries and art dealers since that is my next career move.
What a fun project of Linzie's, huh? Thanks for opening your doors all!

Rob James

2006-11-30T01:55:00.000Z

Rob James, Artist
UK
www.robotjam.com

"The first picture is an overview I have pasted together, the office is not big and can be kind of cramped. I mainly work with computer based artwork but I find I need a break every hour or so, the easel and paints are set up so when I have a spare 5 minutes I can dab some paint around. The star wars pics on the wall are all signed by the actors, this started when I was working on a project where Anthony Daniels was doing voice overs. "

"I usually paint in oils doing landscapes or people. As a result the room is covered in paint and so is my computer, chair and keyboard."

"The second shot is my window ledge, I keep meaning to get some blinds as the sun is really bad early morning in the summer, however I have too many canvases lying around so I use these to block out some sunlight. The people are some crazy guys I met on flickr and asked to pull strange faces. "

"The third shot is my work area its also exceedingly cramped. I have a wacom and 2 big external backup drives under the desk. There's aren't enough power sockets though so I have a cable going right down the centre of the room to power them both. There are 2 boxes on the desk, one contains pictures I have swapped with other artists the other is a box called cattargh remedy which contains some artwork and pastules ?!?

It may look kind of claustraphobic but I kind of like it as everything is within arms reach and there's always something to look at to make me think." RJ

Bill LaRocque

2006-11-30T01:08:00.000Z

Bill LaRocque, Cartoonist/ Caricaturist.
Washington, DC
BLOG: boomrbill.com
WEBSITE: www.toonline.com

"My studio is evolved from pen and ink to scan and post. The tools may change, but the mischief is still there. These days with Wi-Fi, a lot is now happening on my dining room table laptop." -BLR

Kate Sutton

2006-11-22T01:31:00.000Z

Kate Sutton, illustrator/maker
www.sleepycow.com
UK

"I have quite a lot of books, especially childrens ones. They are always a great place to get inspired. At the moment I'm abit obsessed with French kids books, I really do need to stop buying them, all my shelves are jam packed."

"I also collect a lot of fabric, my nana gave me a few cases of vintage fabrics from when she was younger which was amazing. I've made some great things with them. I especially love it when I find old retro curtains and duvet covers."

"these are a few pictures of some of the things I've been working on this week, all of which show that I'm quite a messy worker. I do tidy up eventually, usually when I can't find something!"

"self promotional gocco postcards"

"a marmite painting for a friends birthday"

"knitting little hats for innocent, a uk based smoothie company."

"Drawing wild animals"

"my pinboard, again very messy! I guess I just like clutter."

"my shelves are full of crap, I have so many toys and things and I just can't seem to part with them. I keep the most stupid of things, I'm a self confessed hoarder although I'm better than I was!"

"my desk in my red room - its very red. Keep meaning to decorate but never seem to get around to it. I have lots of pictures on my wall which covers most of it." - K.S.

Mr Bingo

2006-11-16T21:02:00.000Z

Mr Bingo, Illustrator
London, UK
www.mr-bingo.co.uk

"My studio is a room in my house in The Isle of Dogs, London."

"I spend every day in here making pictures and animations, using pens, paper, cell paper, a scanner and a mac."

"I love it because it contains all my personal junk, so I don't need to display it all over the house which is a shared space with my girlfriend."

"It is full of vintage postcards, toys, 1970's advertising annuals, pens, paper, shoes and Letraset catalogues."

"It is one of my favorite places in the world." Mr.B

Ascender

2006-11-15T22:39:00.000Z

Ascender, Artist
Burlingame, CA
Main site http://ascenderrisesabove.com
Blog http://ascenderrisesabove.com/wordpress
Etsy Store http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=88025
Squidoo http://www.squidoo.com/ascenderrisesabove/

My home is my studio; my studio is my home. I create many different types of art which you can read about here.

This month I am working on another of my Scatterlings©. Scatterlings© is a collection of self-directed enchantment art which combines actual foliage with watercolor and color pencil mediums. Hidden among the actual and rendered foliage are an enchanted assortment of 'Scatterlings'©; mythical animals and fairies.

This is the upcoming Scatterlings© I am working on. The tree shown stands at the Filoli House which is located 30 miles south of San Francisco. Every third Thursday of the month Filoli allows artists and photographers to have access to the garden after hours.

I grow most of the flowers that are dried and pressed in my Scatterlings. I tell people this is a photo of an angel I caught blessing my flowers early one morning.

Close-up of hand-made Christmas ornaments, a stack of Interior Design books, mixed in with some antiques acquired along the way.

My modified light table; assorted collage and mixed media supplies; a few of my books and magazines. This is right off the fireplace; which is quite soothing - doing art with a fire crackling and some quiet music barely audible.

Embellishments, collage, mixed media supplies, glues, beads; the other side of my modified light table.

Feathers; glass bottles preserving dried flowers; stamps, inks; critters in the making.

More books on computer software; many many art technique books, books on advertising and marketing; antique bookcase. Is there ever enough book shelves?

Kitchen window; angels, angels and more angels; some altered magnets I am working on.

Next month I will feature another corner of my studio - featuring where I work on dry and oil pastels, collage/mixed media, pointillism, watercolors, perspective renderings and my computer workstation.

100 artists 100 desks!

2006-11-07T21:53:00.000Z

Congratulations to illustrator Edel Rodriguez for gaining the title of 100th contributor at OnMyDesk.com and to celebrate he's put together a bumper post. Meanwhile, previous contributor Allan Sanders has generously created a new banner for the homepage. Cheers Guys!

Thanks all round to the other 99 artists listed below who have already shared their workspace. Thanks also to the many other people who continue to send their desk photos...lots more posts to come!

Heather Castles
Tommy Kane
Geninne D. Zlatkis
David Evans
Matthew Porterfield
Jac Currie
Steven G. Amey
Bob Staake
Sven Gerhardt
Brandon Steen
Charity Romero/Ezra Li Eismont
Jannie Ho
Jean-Francois Kelahear
Jeremiah Ketner
Adante Salvagado
Tamsin Ainslie
Lauren Braun
JoJo Yeung
Colin Johnson
Kim Carney
Sandra Monat
Andi Butler
Danny Mansmith
Tim Harries
Jason Bronkhorst
Andy J. Smith
J. Michael Stovall
Maxwell Loren Holyoke-Hirsch
Caio Nery Filho
Anndrea Boe
Morandini
Charlene Chua
Mark Anderson
Kelly Murphy
Doug Savage
Jeff Szuc
Joseph Scarano
Chris Braun
Sean Kane
Blair Kelly
Leo Hillier
Marina Caruso
Meghan Murphy
James Yang
Piepke
David Carillo
Rob Dunlavey
Mark Porter
Ian Stevenson
Annie Bissett

Edel Rodriguez
David Sones
Nubby Twiglet
Ximena Maier
Brett Hess
Collin David
Rick Lovell
Eric Bostrom
Rik Catlow
Jeff Matz
Ben the Illustrator
Joan M. Mas
Junichi Tsuneoka
Guylaine Couture
Eric Sturdevant
Claudine Hellmuth
Matt Hinrichs
Petra Stefankova
Paul Antonson
Maximo Tuja
Holly DeWolf
Alex Noriega
Jon Keegan
Von Glitschka
Craig Atkinson
Alan (Fred) Pipes
Jim Stafford
Ben Schlitter
Ryan Snook
Dan Thompson
Jared Chapman
Corianton Hale
Christiane Engel
Andy Smith
Pietari Posti
Cat Morley
What What
Sean Macfarlane
David Dean
Ben Schlitter
Anette V. Heiberg
theApe
Fhiona Galloway
Bob Staake
Mark Begley
Allan Sanders
Elwood H Smith
Jeff Andrews
Ryan Myers
Maxwell Paternoster

If you'd like to contribute your desk please read the FAQs
If you've already contributed but haven't been posted online click here

Edel Rodriguez

2006-11-07T20:53:00.000Z

Edel Rodriguez, Illustrator
Mt. Tabor, New Jersey
Drawger Blog
Illoz Portfolio

"As a teenager I thought I would become an architect. I went to college partly with that on my mind. I changed my thinking and studied painting instead."

"For many years I had been working on my large paintings and drawings in small rooms, hitting my head on the ceiling and so on. Several years ago, when the attic room in my house had become too difficult to work in, I started sketching and making floor plans and elevations of the perfect studio space. It would be attached to my current house and be large enough to accommodate any future directions in my artwork."

"The plans were to have a living room downstairs and the studio upstairs, it was a pretty big addition for our house, an 1875 Victorian. The size of the addition was going to be 25 feet by 20 feet. At some point, my wife and I realized we needed an architect and hired a great guy that made all of our ideas come together. The architect drew up some blue prints and my wife built a scale model of the new place out of some board. (The studio area is indicated in yellow on the model, we also ended up adding a deck at the back of the house, and a carport to the side)"

"Two months before breaking ground on our new addition, our house was hit by lightning. I was up in the attic when it happened, the lightning hit about 10 feet away from me. It was like a freight train bursting into the room, the whole experience was insane. The lightning caused the attic to catch on fire and the small studio to burn down, along with a lot of my artwork, art materials, sketchbooks, etc. A lot of my work was saved by the work of some quick thinking firemen. The rest of the main house had to be gutted due to water damage. So, the project that was going to be a living room and studio addition became a whole house renovation that lasted over a year."

"The studio was finished in 2003 and it really has become a great place to work in, hang out, play, read, etc. It has oak wood floors and plain white walls throughout which I painted myself. It was very difficult to get paint on that ceiling, had to use scaffolding and everything. I don't like colors on my walls because I like to look at my work without other color distractions, the way it would be seen in a gallery. Just white walls."

"The studio is divided up into different areas. The North side has four large windows and four skylights. The natural light that comes through there is wonderful. Always nice when one’s ideas and plans for a space work out as intended."

"That side of the studio also has a very large drafting table with all of my immediate supplies-pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, inks, etc. There are flat files where I keep my multi-colored collection of papers and a lot of my original art."

"There is also a t.v. which I don’t use that much anymore. I used to watch news a lot, but I got tired of it all. In the middle of the room there's a ping pong table my wife gave me recently."

"Hey, we have to have some fun once in a while. It also makes for a great place on which to throw all of my junk when it’s not being used for Ping Pong."

"The East side of the studio has many different things. On the left is a spray booth, I always wanted one and built it myself. I was tired of running outside in the snow to spray something."

"There is also a sink, a computer workstation and bookshelves. On the top, I added a large area for painting storage."

"The South side of the studio is a large wall on which to tack up drawings or paintings. On the left there are bookshelves and a door that leads out to a balcony."

"The balcony deck is a great place in which to go and draw outdoors."

"The West side is a large wall on which to hang paintings and work on them. The ceilings of the studio are about 15 feet tall I think. It gives the place a very open feel."

"There are rows of track lighting on the ceiling for working at night, which I tend to do a lot. I have a large easel, a large palette that I built in college, paintbrushes and your usual artist junk. I don't collect any robot toys or things like that. I never had collections of anything when I was a kid, so it’s not in my nature."

"I recently got my daugher an easel for herself and she loves to paint. Her paintings are better than mine sometimes. Very depressing."

"Well, that's it, thanks for checking out my place, it's been a long haul to get to this point." -E.R.

Heather Castles

2006-10-23T00:55:00.000Z

Heather Castles, Illustrator
Adelaide, Australia
www.illustrationcastle.com
blog.illustrationcastle.com

"This is my new studio in my home in Adelaide, Australia...with a lovely view of the neighbour's fence! I generally like to work around a lot of plants...but having just moved here, my modest collection of two plants at my desk is just a start! I used to have violets on my drafting table in Canada, and they grew HUGE (like dinner plate size around) because while I sat there for hours painting, they sat there absorbing all the CO2 from my breath which plants love."

"I found this awesome Singer sewing machine at a garage sale here for $15...I have yet to learn how to use it, but will for sure as it's in top nick and wouldn't mind learning how. A friend also gave me on loan an antique "prayer chair" which I'm using to display / store my artwork against. I'm really enjoying having the space to leave my work leaning against the walls so I can see them and scrutinize what needs to be improved to finish them."

"I use the space for drying large pieces, storage, and displaying work at the moment...funnily enough I haven't spent much time painting in my studio as I prefer to hang out with my husband while I'm working, and often end up painting in the living room sitting on the floor and watching TV together. Also, at the moment I'm doing a lot of oil painting, and I prefer to use the backyard picnic table and paint outside as it keeps the fumes down ...plus working in the warm sun and listening to the birds is relaxing."-HC

Tommy Kane

2006-10-16T22:49:00.000Z

Tommy Kane, Illustrator,
Manhattan, NY
www.tommykane.com
tommykane.blogspot.com

"I work out of my apartment in the east village of Manhattan. Me, the wife and two cats. 800 square feet. Finally I got myself a new G5 computer with a nice 23 inch monitor. I've got a new epson printer and scanner. Bose speakers. "

"I built the desk in our bedroom. I can roll right out of bed and start working in my underwear. I'm in heaven. "

"As you can see I also don't have a painting studio so I have to paint in my living room. I have a small portable easel I set up and then I work on my kitchen table, which I built. "

I only use acrylic, otherwise it would get too messy. It's not easy but you gotta do what you gotta do. As you can see I like to surround myself with my own paintings for inspiration." - TK

Geninne D. Zlatkis

2006-10-09T06:40:00.000Z

Geninne D. Zlatkis, Freelance graphic designer/illustrator,
Hacienda Jajalpa, Mexico
Blog: blogdelanine.blogspot.com

"My studio is my haven, it's very organized, serene and warm. The wall behind my desk was first primed with Magnetic Primer by Rust-Oleum: website, then top coated in a chocolate colored water based paint. And now I have a whole wall where I can display my art with cool magnets, which I'm addicted to btw :oP

My desk is a dining table from IKEA, as is the shelf with all my files and boxes. The 12 drawer mahogany credenza is one of my huband Manolo's designs, he designs furniture and houses. And all the artwork is done either by my kids or myself." - EDZ

David Evans

2006-10-04T17:41:00.000Z

David M. Evans, Visual Journalist/Illustrator
Washington D.C. metro area
Website: www.devansart.com
Blog: devansart.blogspot.com

"This is my corner of the world. I guess it would be a bedroom in most households but in ours it's considered the studio. It's a constant battle to keep the non-art related stuff from encroaching. I work for a large media company in the D.C. metro area. In the media the television is a requirement so it sort of found it's way into my own space. Unless I'm working on things from the office it stays off. Music is more important to me while I work on my own projects. The giant base and tweeters keep the room filled with an iTunes radio station called Secret Agent. It makes me feel as though I lead an exotic life. I work primarily on the giant dinosaur in the back. The silver laptop belongs to work and the black one belongs to my wife and usually is in the other corner. I just happened to have them all on the desk at once. The white piece of furniture represents my desire to hold on to the past. It used to be chocked full of all kinds of art stuff. Now it holds my digital camera and a much-thinned out collection of traditional supplies. My book collection includes topics that range from art to home improvement. The bulletin board holds sketches and ideas for future projects."

"My wife is a CPA. This is her corner. I lust after the space that's there. When I look at it I see a mirage before my eyes of a nice drawing board and more storage. Maybe even an easel so I could use my newly purchased oils. But a marriage is about compromise so I turn back around in my chair and try to put the real estate out of my mind."

"In the third corner the filing cabinet is the largest item. It holds what would be giant piles of life's paperwork if it weren't there. Even now it overflows into baskets and sub-piles. The painting on the wall is of N.Y. Yankee Lou Gehrig. It was my first painting assignment in college. It's acrylic on illustration board. It's a reminder of where I have come from talent-wise. The top shelf holds my remote controlled Mini and another painting I painted for my wife. It's of Russell Crowe...and that's all I'm going to say about that. The other shelf holds an N.C. Wyeth biography, WWII history and art books. I am amazed and inspired by Erik Tiemen's art in The Art of Star Wars. The lucky bamboo plant is there to help me on my quest to build a stronger illustration career. Plus, it's nice to have a little of the outside inside."

"An Ace in Action. The story of Snoopy and the Red Baron exemplifies creativity to me. Who would have thought to combine a flying dog house, the Red Baron and not to mention a Beagle capable of flying that doghouse. Charles Schultz was a genius."

"A Snoopy of our own. Olive is a Beagle/Bassett mix. She doesn't take kindly to strangers in the studio. You can see the remains of a trespasser behind her. She's a killer of all things stuffed."

"Buzz Lightyear sits on the top of my workstation. I single this toy out for two reasons. The first is that I admire the artistic development it takes to produce a movie like the Toy Story series. The second is that it's going to take a slightly delusional super hero's herculean effort to revive my illustration career. Like Buzz I'll probably learn a few things along the way and realize that some of the answers were right in front of me all along. Plus who doesn't like a barrel of Monkeys?" -DE

Matthew Porterfield

2006-10-01T22:27:00.000Z

Matthew Porterfield, Filmmaker
Baltimore, Maryland,
www.hamiltonfilmgroup.org

"This is my "office", the room where I do all my work. It's a very tight space, but I'm rather tidy. I edited my first feature film, HAMILTON, here. On the left, is the 16mm print. My cat, Francis, is always in and out of the room, so it's appropriate that he's here for the photo."

"To edit, I use Final Cut on a laptop connected to an external monitor. On the left, is a DVCAM drive, which gives me the freedom to import and export video whenever. On the left, I have an external drive and a DVD burner (see below)."

"On top of the monitor are stacks of photos I'm getting ready to send out to film festivals."

"Above, that's what my desktop looks like most days, now that I'm writing notes for my next screenplay."

"I threw a cork-board on top of some standing files to extend my desk space. This is where I keep papers, books, pens, bills, food, and drink. It's the only space I let get piled up with junk, which happens every two weeks or so."

"These are the standing files that support my makeshift desktop. I slide my cork-board out of the way to access the files, where I keep bills, receipts, notes, scripts, press clippings, flyers - everything! Below are drawers where I keep all sorts of other stuff: discs, printer ink, paper, envelopes, stamps, staples, and all my video dailies."

"Only Francis likes a mess."

"I just got this new bookshelf, after my old one collapsed. Some of those film books are very heavy. I keep my scanner on the shelves, too."

"And, these are my favorite two bookshelves. I keep the film books that I love here."

"I don't like a lot on my walls where I work, plus my landlord doesn't want me to hang anything, so I have to be able to take it all down quick when she comes. Above my desk, is a lithographed poster my friend Mike McNeive (www.magicmarkercompany.com) made for my last film. The jar of pink he used on the print was previously used by Richard Serra (crazy, huh?) Next to the poster, is the only screenprint I've ever done. I made it last summer. The drawing is magic marker on foam core, made by this guy Jeff Barnes. He sold it to me for five dollars. I felt like I was ripping him off, but that's all I had at the time."

"This side of my office is sort of the opposite of its other half. I still like to write early drafts on a typewriter. I like the way it looks; plus, it's nostalgic: my Dad always used one when I was growing up. Maybe the nicest thing about the room is the door that leads outside onto the fire escape." - MP

Jac Currie

2006-09-24T14:33:00.000Z

Jac Currie, Artist/ Designer
Brooklyn, NYC
www.jaccurrie.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaccurrie

"This is my studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I live in the city and ride my bike ten minutes over the bridge to get here, sometimes camping out and spending 35 or more hours working to get things done and make deadlines. "

"The nights can get really long, but I thrive on it, and I get the most done when i'm totally immersed in my work."

"I'm always juggling too many projects at once, and I travel constantly, so when I am in town it's all about getting in the studio and cranking it out."

"The studio has a huge, excellent rooftop with a great view. It's a perfect place to have a beer with friends at the end of the day or just relax in the sun for a minute in the middle of these long summer afternoons."

"Today I'm shipping some shirts to a store called Wasteland in San Francisco and LA , working on some beats fora New Orleans bounce project with a Nola-based rapper named Squirrel, printing some new designs to sell at the MarketNYC this weekend, and waiting for two interns/friends to get here to help me out... Oh, and dealing with tons of emails and phone calls."

"It's definately a lifestyle choice, and, right now, I wouldn't have it any other way."- JC

Other sites: www.kickitfashions.com, www.jaguarjaguar.com, www.jamess.us, www.defendneworleans.com

Steven G. Amey

2006-09-24T14:01:00.001Z

Steven G. Amey, Painter
Pennsylvania,USA
www.steveameypaintings.blogspot.com

This is my desk and studio, and my home.

Bob Staake

2006-09-18T19:43:00.000Z

Bob Staake
Illustrator + Designer + Author
BobStaake.com
21Portfolios.com
'The Red Lemon'
'Struwwelpeter'
'The Orb of Chatham'

Here's where I work. I'm very lucky to live in a 200 year old house that's 300 feet from the ocean but is only inhabited by 100 ghosts. My new studio, however, was built in 2006.

It's a very simple building that I designed. Originally, there was a small barn here on the property and while we did not change the 12' x 20' footprint, the studio has a main floor, a full basement and a loft.

>>>>> (Click any image for a full-size view)

When I was a kid, I dreamed of being an architect. This is the model for the studio that I created based on my measured drawings.

I've been working professionally as an illustrator since the age of 17, so over the years I've acquired a pretty nice library (this is only a portion). The entire south-facing wall is comprised of 12' wide book shelves. Everybody asks where I got the cool orange couch ($249 -- IKEA). I have one just like it in the main house.

Never, EVER trust a humorous illustrator who doesn't have a shelf filled with weird toys, odd gizmos and things created by his friends and colleagues.

For years my studio was always a crazy mess of chaos and disarray, but the older I get, the more I see benefit in a little more order. I've got SOME stuff laying around on the shelves, but for the most part, I try and keep the place pretty spartan. Oh, the tile covered in old shards of Fiestaware was something I had to create and show my wife before she let me cover our entire fireplace with Fiestaware. Once she said "okay, fine -- go for it", I did the job the next afternoon before she changed her mind. I'll post a photo of the fireplace at the end of this thread.

NOT a very exciting desk, huh? Well, that's why I angled it this way to make it look less boring than it really is! Not the constantly spooling blogger message on the screen: "still trying to upload your lousy photos, mr. staake"

It gets pretty damn cold in New England. This cool, vintage fireplace keeps me toasty in the winter.

I bought this old 50s drafting table at an antique shop in rural Missouri. Can't remember where I bought the taxidermy bat. The acrylic painting was something I found on ebay by a guy named Juno Muller. It really creeped out my wife when it was in the house, so I brought it out to the studio.

All my work is digital now, so I don't really have a need for flat files any more. You might be able to catch a glimpse in this photo of some prototypes of teapots, french presses and other kitchenware that I'm currently working on for Fox Run Craftsmen. You can also see the seat of an old Eames chair that somehow broke. I'll turn it into something else when I get around to it.

Hey, I've got an idea: Let's open one of these drawers and see what's inside? I have a TOn of original illustration and cartoon art -- primarily done by friends and contemporaries (we all trade our art with one another). I see a color piece by Patrick McDonnell, a few Elwood Smiths, a Jack Davis (hey, I've got something like 400+ pieces, so I can't frame 'em all!). But the MOST incredible piece? It's that drastically horizontal bamboo brush drawing by my niece, Nicole. I was falling all over the place when I saw it, so a year later when she came to Cape Cod, she gave it to me. Now THAT I definitely need to frame!

A few years ago, I found an old grandfather clock case being thrown out in someone's trash, so I snagged it. I added an old schoolhouse clock, shelves and a door and painted the whole thing. It really was the perfect case to display the old wind-up clocks that I collect.

Okay, So As Promised...

Here's the fireplace that I covered with old pieces of Fiestware, Bauer and other California pottery. Someone thought it was so cool that it was on the cover of (hold your breath) St. Louis Homes and Lifestyles magazine. When people would come over and ooo and ahhh over the fireplace, we explained that it was made entirely from plates that my wife threw at me.

Okay, so that's it. Hope you had fun!

Sven Gerhardt

2006-09-16T08:27:00.000Z

Sven Gerhardt, Illustrator
Bad Endbach, Germany
www.sven-gerhardt.de

"This is the place, where I spend most of the time. I like it very clean and try not to have to much stuff in front of me. At this part of the room I do most of the (digital) work."

"Thats the other end of the desk with the Copic-Markers, pencils, paper, magazines and my macmini with my good friend - the wacom board. This part of the desk isn't always as clean as shown in the picture ;-)"

"Thats my desk for everything else. Packing things, writing letters, cutting and all that. I have to stand, because there´s no chair. But that's good. So I'm not sitting all the time..."

"I love to be inspired by books. I got a lot of them, This is just showing a small part. When I'm too tired or lazy to work, I just have to take a look at one of these books and the motivation comes back very fast ..."

"I love my black Apple Pro Mouse. But after Apple turned their stuff into white and silver, I needed to find a new place for my favourite digital animal. A frame from IKEA was the solution ..."- SG

Brandon Steen

2006-09-13T20:22:00.000Z

Brandon Steen, Artist
Toronto, Canada
http://www.brandonsteenart.com

"Here is my drafting table covered in paint. I am in the midst of painting six tarot cards for a feature in Drum Magazine."

"I paint in acrylic on masonite. Masonite because of its smooth as a baby's bum quality. I used to mix my colours on a palette but I soon switched to mixing them directly on to my table. I have this thing with comfort in tight places and that is why I always have my drafting table situated in the corner of a room. Luckily for me my studio is a studio located on the top floor of my home."

"Here is my mac desk with my pride the Canadian Flag as my studio is in Toronto, Shrek not because he's special it's more to do with the fact that my cat knocked the green ogre of his shelf and I haven't gotten around to putting him back. Baseman's Dunny is about to pounce on my mouse and I am in the midst of reading my dog's myspace/seamusoconnor page."

"My studio mascot, foot warmer Mr. Seamus O'Connor a six month old english bull terrier hangs out in his crate at times during the day and evening but most of the time he hangs out free so he can help me shred paper so far he hasn't eaten my mouse or chewed wires. He below he's cleaning the paint of my chin."

"Here is my pinboard jammed with information that spills out from my brain and out on to the board. Below is my shelves close up on my slight vinyl fetish that is all consuming and ever powerful in draining my bank account."

"Here is more of my collection with my signed Baseman Dumb Luck Rabbit being my most prized."

"This is shot of my drawing table with my Bus transit ad poster of Tim Burton's Classic film that hangs proudly."- BS

In the lair of the Chickenfish

2006-09-11T10:40:00.000Z

Charity Romero
Ezra Li Eismont
artists
Oakland California

www.remadeinamerica.org
www.ezrali.com
www.katfive.com

We are a couple of artists who have been workin' and livin' for 10 years in East Oakland, in a warehouse space called Vulcan Studios, an old metal foundry that was converted into live work lofts in the early 80's. Together we are Chez (NOT pronounced Shay but CH-EZ, Chez, like chex with a z. thank you very much.), Charity Romero and Ezra Li Eismont....this is Studio 46. We must be the luckiest artist in the world, our place is huge--with all the space and our many exploring hands we have many desks. This is the view as you enter our studio and home. On the right is Ezra's desk, straight ahead is the drying rack for silkscreening posters, and some of Ezra's paintings.

This is in the main studio - Ezra's desk on the right, Charity's on the left. The paper dolls are our friends and models for our last fashun show wearing our remade clothes.

turn to the left and this is the half the main studio. Charity mainly works in ceramic sculpture until recently when we started our own clothing company - remade in america, where we recycle, reuse and give new life to old clothes by reconstructing and or silkscreening them. The sewing station on the right, the multi-use station on the left....

Sometimes we have extra desks for extra projects, like the time ezra printed his art on 500 2 color silkscreen posters in two days!!!

Ezra's music station. The g3 pismo on the right is for recording audio samples for Ezra's laptop band Catfive and solo project DJ Darkat, seen above are some his paintings, as well as record covers from the collection.

our computer desks..where we visit our internet land of friends and where the magic of these photos somehow got to you! its amazing!!

Here is the view looking down from the office into the studio. On the wall we have Antonio Sanchez, Doze, Dalek and Eskae. thanks for stopping in neighbor!- and thanks super mucho for the invite! Come back now, ya hear!

Jannie Ho

2006-09-08T18:54:00.000Z

Jannie Ho, Illustrator and Designer
New York
www.chickengirldesign.com
www.chickengirldesign.blogspot.com

My living room is my studio and my studio is my living room. Its still a work in progress since I only started to work from home less than a year ago. All on one desk, it is where I sketch and also do my final artwork on the computer. Some chickens keep me company and a Japanese chocolate packaging for inspiration...

Directly behind my desk is a mini couch where I can relax and some shelving for books!

Shelves are for books, and a home for more chickens (plus a duck or two)...

My studio is also where Uglydolls and chickens get along!

Jean-Francois Kelahear

2006-09-07T10:29:00.000Z

Jean-Francois Kelahear, artist/ storyboard artist
Pointe-Claire (Quebec)
http://www.panaroid.com

"I may indeed be a record holder for confined studio space. I had a home studio that we brought back to its bedroom function for my younger son a couple of years back. So I moved to this space; an old breakfast nook area off the kitchen and I like it! I wallpapered the walls 70 some odd sq feet with old LIFE magazine ad and cover pages to inspire and I still get a chuckle from looking up above my computer..."

"I have been working on my Imac G5 since 2004 and it is nearly faultless... I work on a wacom tablet from scratch I dont own a scanner. I need very little space since all I used to need before is neatly set away on the machine. I use a printer's glove to draw on my graphic tablet because the plastic is slippery."

I made a horse out of corrugated card one day and it was a nice quick job.

I have a small can collection which is funky and eerily related by the colour scheme, namely red!

"I have graduated to a high back chair which takes up more space but is a lot better than the IKEA piece of *&?$# I used to have which wrecked my back. I use an old table for my desk with a baked enamel top. I listen to a lot of streaming radio, mainly Radio-France, France-Culture and KCRW Los Angeles while I work. I listen to some Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Arcade Fire, Joni Mitchell, Cat Power, Stereolab..."

"My Ipod is used for storing my filmclips and I also use a Griffin italk mike to record briefs when I go to meet with a director for storyboard roughs. I then load the audio file on the mac and listen to the conversation to fill in the missing bits when the sketches aren't fully understood. And it is the best tool for a lunatic like me."

"Hope that does it and I wish all my colleagues well on their artistic paths!" - JFK

Jeremiah Ketner

2006-09-02T14:58:00.000Z

Jeremiah Ketner, Artist/Painter
Chicago, IL
web site: www.smallandround.com
flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/smallandround
myspace: www.myspace.com/pikopiko

Here is the desk I use in my studio mainly for gathering thoughts and making some drawings. I generally use it as the ipod/beer/cell phone station. The studio can be very messy at times and this seems to be the safest place to store things.

"Another view of the mess that lives under my desk. My wife calls my studio ground zero."

"Here is my favorite desk! I have had this one for many years and as you can tell, have made very good use of it as my pallet."

"Anything on this desk get covered with paint in one form or another. The paper coffee cup was my latest victim. Notice the large amounts of paint encrusted all over the surface. "

"As you can see, I get lots of help from my little guy "Arata". He is always fond of hitting my keyboard or smashing my mouse against the desk. "

"The office. Here we are at home and I have set up a an area for painting when inspiration hits. its much cleaner here!"- JK

Adante Salvagado

2006-09-02T14:38:00.000Z

Adante Salvagado, Folk Artist
Atlanta, GA
www.AOK-AOK.com

"My work has emerged from traditional southern folk art but with my own flare of contemporary interpretations."

"Here is one of my newer paintings titled "I Like Jambalaya," this is a brilliant piece that is composed of four frames that can be separated and rearranged in different patterns. The entire piece is 4'x4,' or some odd centimeters."
"This is a photo of my painting "I Like Jambalaya" in the initial stage of production. Usually, I start with one frame and use it as a guide to prepare the other frames. I try to make things nearly symmetrical but actually, aberrations are what make the whole piece unique. I try to let the paintings come to life while I create them, not controlling it."

"Here is a photo of my studio. There's still some renovating to do. If you look closely at this picture you can see a few faces staring at you from some of my earlier paintings. Unfortunately, I don't paint the faces anymore, I'm better known for my snails. Everybody tends to like the lady in the top right"

"Here is a picture of my work desk. This is where I do most of my photo editing, blog stuff, and emails. It's about as scattered as I am. You can see some of my drawing plans with the patterns and snails. There are also a few markers, my notebook, and some more paint."

"Here's a photo of the bookcase. There are tons of books andmagazines of all sorts here. I like to have books and various pictures readily available for inspiration. There are some Christie's and Sotheby's catalogs, these I find to be a great source with many large pictures of good contemporary work.

Hey, I really enjoyed posting here, and encourage other visual artists and illustrators to show us there work spaces as well." - AS

Tamsin Ainslie

2006-08-30T12:04:00.000Z

Tamsin Ainslie, Illustrator and designer,
Ainslie Beard Creative, Australia.
Blog

"My studio space, which is looking really quite organised at the moment, due to the fact that I have just finished one brief and starting another. Usually it is a little chaotic and when I can't see my desk, or the floor, or find anything, I tidy up and start again." I always stick my work up on the wall around me. I love being surrounded by paintings, drawings, magazine clippings, old boxes and other things that inspire me."

"The bookcase and my painting trolley with all my oils and acrylics on so I can wheel it outside when I do larger paintings."

"Front deck where I have my easel - with Cusi, our dog, asleep in the sun."

"On my desk at the moment is..."

"My daughter, Olympia and her guinea pig, Cocoa Truffle Bean, in the studio.
Olympia also sits at my desk sometimes and draws or paints and the guinea pig runs around the desk sometimes..."-TA

Lauren Braun

2006-08-26T12:48:00.000Z

Lauren Braun, Illustrator
Buffalo NY
website
blog

"I posted a bunch of photos from my very narrow art studio in my house. As you walk up the stairs, your turn a corner and come to a T-shape."

" I keep all my art supplies on a shelf in the linen closet to the left!"

"Then, you see my work table and computer on one side and bookshelves opposite."

"I love my art books and I keep a clipping file of magazine images."

"This last picture is outside in the garden, it's my favorite place to sit, think, work in my sketchbook or read." - LB

JoJo Yeung

2006-08-26T10:53:00.000Z

Jojo Yeung, Artist/Student
Oklahoma, U.S.A.
http://bubu.gsg-asia.com/
http://jojoyeung.typepad.com/

First of all, I wanna thank Linzie for inviting me to participate as I am not a professional artist, and I know there are many awesome people here, so it is my honor to share my little world with you guys. I am still a student, and I live in the campus right now. That is, I have two rooms---the room of my sweet home and the dorm room.

I would love to show you guys some of my favorite corners of my two spaces.
Welcome!

The room of my sweet home; click to enlarge.

My paper dolls and my bird clock.

My dear laptop and the mousepad with my drawing. My greatest drawing tool is my mouse : >

No matter where I am, my world is always colorful. : )

Colin Johnson

2006-08-23T20:11:00.000Z

Colin Johnson, Freelance Illustrator/Gallery Artist,
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
www.colinjohnsonillustration.com
Flickr

General chaos on my desk. Guess it's time to do some cleaning and go buy some more acrylic paint!

Here's a pic of my cutting board filled w/ little cut out collage pieces that will eventually find their way into my crazy "hyper-collages."

Trying to work on many projects at one time equals disorder!

Shot from the top of a cup on my desk filled w/ pen, pencils, brushes.

Desk overview!

Kim Carney

2006-08-21T19:37:00.000Z

Kim Carney / Graphic Designer, Illustrator, Photographer,
(wanna-be assemblage artist and quilter)
Edmonds, WA
Website
Blog
Photography

My studio is somewhere I go and get completely lost in time, a place to dream and play. And although I do not get to spend as much time I would like to there, I am so thankful when I do and that I have such a space. It wasn’t long ago that I dreamed of having such a retreat, a place to hide from the world. Thank you for visiting!

Over the years, I have also taken over another room for a sewing space and we have added several Macs in the family room so whoever is working on projects doesn't feel so isolated. A place for me to blog in the sun, where my son checks his myspace and learns Photoshop, where my mom can check her email and listen to BBC radio programs, where we all try and learn flash. Computers are such an intricate part of all our lives it is good to have a universal space for all us to work, together. I am longing for a G5!

I am a graphic designer, illustrator and work for a online news organization. My husband is a newspaper illustrator, graphic designer. He was really the collector of fun objects, wind-up toys, rubber stamps, baseballs, books and he has infected me.

So as much as a studio space, it is also where some of our fun collections live. Go there for inspiration, pick a book from our library of reference, atlas, art books. One can never have enough books!

I have always been interested in quilting, assemblage art, print and painting canvas, painting furniture, really just painting anything would take acrylic. I have also become fascinated with photography and try to shoot something at least once a day. In short, I love to do it all, jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But that doesn’t stop me in trying out new processes, new ways to marry different media together.
When I seriously took up assemblages the last year, my husband built me a new workspace in the garage and organized with all my favorite tools.

Keeping organized in a studio owned by two junk collectors is the key. When I found a small 9-drawer wooden organizer at Target one year, I bought one, and my husband sent me back to buy more. Small drawers perfect for business cards, staples, glitter, rivets – all things small.

We found 3-drawer side table at IKEA and bought 6 of them, perfect for storing papers, envelopes, carving material, paints, my collection of antique military printing set, rubber stamps, vintage photos. I also have a collection of fun reproduction lunch boxes that I use for storage. Old and beautiful, new and unusual bowls become holders of secret, found objects. I found an enormous table in the “damaged-merchandise room” at IKEA and that has been the best purchase of all. We also keep flat files, file cabinets and such in the “furnace room” just off of the studio. I do not throw one piece of paper or ribbon away, that room has become the deposit area for most of that. (would never let anyone SEE that mess). I found a tall antique full of drawers perfect for special papers, tags I save and emphera. I love those little photo alligator clip holders, I use those for inspirational bits and pieces for different seasons.

A small wall space is changed out throughout the year for my personal inspiration. Art that friends have sent me, bird feathers, dried leaves, Christmas tags, photos. I love that I can change it out with my mood. More
wall of inspiration set on flickr.

Anndrea Boe

2006-08-20T09:35:00.000Z

Anndrea Boe, Co-owner / Art Director and Artist
Clodhopper Design Company,
Lincoln, Nebraska
www.anndreaboe.com

"Here's some photos of our little creative dungeon. My husband and I work together at home as designers/artists. It gets very crowded sometimes, and I think we both look forward to eventually getting more space to spread out... possibly our very own offices! But for now, this is where we hang our happily hang our hats. We also have a small and crowded but working screenprinting shop in the garage."

"This is a side view of our desks. This arrangement is great for throwing things across the table and making faces at each other. I am on the left side; my husband is on the other side. His signed Art Chantry poster helps for good inspiration and humor when needed... he also has some of his own screenprinted posters framed as well to help bring some color to an otherwise dark and boring beige basement."

"This is the back of Allen's desk – the printer, guitar, paper samples, portfolio cases, some vintage artillery cases that now act as CD organizers (didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea)... and our only source of natural light is that small basement window."

"Here's my desk and our dog, Ranger. There always seems to be stacks and stacks of papers and reference books all over our office... they appear out of the blue, I don't know who puts them there or where they come from."

"Here is the view from my desk to my husband's desk. Wacom tablet,drink, little photos of my baby girl for inspiration. This desk is great. We bought it from a friend, and it is huge (I think about 36" deep)! It has enough work space for my monitor, keyboard AND sketchbook at the same time!"

"If I turn around in my chair, this is the view. Lots of books.
There's another shelf of books in the office too, but it pretty much just looks like shelves full of books, so I didn't include that photo. The file cabinets are packed full, and as you can see, we should probably invest in yet another set of shelves. This serves as our library of reference materials. My gym bag is also right there tormenting me daily!"

"That's basically where we earn our bread and butter. It's nice to see other people are working out of somewhat cramped quarters too. I wish all of you previous and future posters bountiful creativity!" -AB

Sandra Monat

2006-08-18T10:51:00.000Z

Sandra Monat, mixed media artist,
Koeln, Germany
my website
second website

First of all, thank you Linzie for the invitation!
Hi all, I want to give you a glimspe into my studio.

It's part of my living space. Living and working under the same rooftop is perfect for me. Two years ago I gave up my studio outside and decided to work again "at home".
I love to start whenever I get the urge even in the middle of the night. And my cats love their "Mommy" being at home the whole day ;-). Whenever the weather allows I work outside

After years of only painting I felt the need to try something new and to work three dimensional. One year ago, I was given a sewing machine

and I fell in love with textile arts.

The birds were some of the first textile creations. Many other creatures followed. You also can see my foundlingsheep Friederike! on the picture below. I found out that the brains of sheeps and humans complement one another to perfection :-)
My newest designs are spiritual dolls. I created these dream guardians (they are for people like me, suffering from insomnia). Dream guardians take care of your sleep and dreams. They really work! :-)

Manas are the female counterparts, white, wise woman who keep ancient knowledge.

Thanks for reading!
Cheers, Sandra