Now's the time to schedule a studio visit with your favorite artist

Image credit: Erin Chipps Photography

Do you follow artists on social media, quietly double tap the images, read captions and maybe occasionally leave a comment with a few praise words and emojis? Are you too shy to ask questions, offer your opinion or share how the artist’s works makes you feel just because you don’t think yourself qualified to express opinions about such lofty matters as art?

Guess what? The artists on the other end of this shy dance are shy and insecure as well! Hell, we are shyer and more insecure than most.

The “art world” is designed to feel exclusive and unreachable. It’s exclusive and unreachable for the majority of artists, not just for you.

But I really want you to take the following to heart:

YOU ARE A PART OF THE ART WORLD

Yep, you!

You are here reading an artist’s blog.

Paintings, sculpture and installations  regularly show up on your social media feed. You wish you knew if the artwork you saw this morning was for sale and wish you could afford it, but would never dare to ask for the fear of offending the refined and lofty creature that is the Artist.

You spend time with art, even if only on your phone screen. And you are a part of the conversation and I want to tell you that the artists want to hear what you have to say!

Image credit: Erin Chipps Photography

One way of entering that conversation is through an artist studio visit

Back in the good ol’ days that would mean walking into into a battered warehouse in an industrial part of town, climbing some rickety stairs to get to a suffocatingly hot or a freezing cold raw loft studio to observe this exotic creature, the Artist, in her native habitat.

So let’s make some lemonade from the new crop of pandemic lemons and use our newly acquired teleconferencing skills to bring the studio visit experience to the comfort of our homes without the turpentine fume exposure.

In the last four months I’ve had more studio visits than I had in the prior two years. 

The lockdown has normalized digital meetings and has forced many artists to turn to new ways of presenting our work and engaging with our audiences and art world professionals.

it’s been surprisingly easy, fun and comfortable.  I am not saying that a digital studio visit is better than a real one. However, it does allow a close approximation of the experience. And it’s fantastic for being able to meet artists who live far away from you.  While I hope that one day we can travel as usual, not all of us have the luxury of hopping on a plane just to meet our favorite artist and see their work.

This is what I want you to keep in mind about doing a studio visit:

• Artists WANT to show you their work 

• Artists tend to work alone a lot, they crave interaction and feedback

• You don't have to buy anything! This is an invitation to engage, exchange ideas, and mutual learning and discovery. It is NOT a sales pitch. But if you do fall in love with a piece, feel free to ask whether it’s for sale and the price.

• Your questions aren't stupid. You don't have to be an art historian or an art buff to have an engaging conversation with an artist whose work you find interesting. Art is not some sort of special category that only the select few are allowed into

And if you need a welcoming and easy going studio artist experience to get a taste for it, book one with me!

Just write me a brief message with your preferred dates and times and we’ll connect on a teleconferencing platform of your choice. I am always excited to invite you to my studio.

SCHEDULE YOUR STUDIO VISIT

And here’s a short video of a studio visit I had with a fellow artist, arts educator and podcaster Brainard Carey.

VIRTUAL STUDIO VISIT WITH BRAINARD CAREY

ARTIST WRITING GROUP

What: artist writing group

Where: in the comfort of your own home

How: using google hangouts

When: once a week

Why: structure, community and accountability

Writing is one of the hardest things for me. 

Some of you might be curious why a painter needs to write? Doesn’t she have brushes and delicious gooey paints to smear around to her heart’s content?

But a contemporary artist absolutely has to write. Even if just to clarify ideas, to check in internally, but mainly to communicate with peers, collectors and institutions.

I have a writer’s block the size of a city block. And I promise, I’ve been trying. But I do best under pressure. Peer pressure that is. The positive kind.

I thrive in an open studio environment. Back in the olden days, before the current homebound era, I always had my artist friends to joining me in the studio to work side by side. This is different from a critique group where artists gather to give feedback on specific pieces, either finished or works in progress. It’s also nothing like a studio visit where an artist presents their current work and speaks about studio practice.

These are wonderful things to do, they help us get clarity and offer valuable feedback, but I need another type of support: the immediate kind that is available when another painter is mixing her palette right next to mine.

When we see each other’s work in its intimate immediacy, we can offer and receive input right there and then. Now, I know this can sound terrifying and vulnerable to some, so don’t try it with mean spirited competitive types! For me, many drawing mistakes were fixed because I had another set of fresh and unbiased eyes to spot them. Camaraderie, mutual support, listening and being heard in the midst of the creative process, well, that’s what I want in my studio environment.

And considering how well this has worked for painting, why not try it for something immensely more challenging, for writing? 

Initially the idea was a weekly or bi-weekly meeting at the Erickson Gallery downtown Portland for a small group of artists that meets to dedicate time writing: grant writing, completing those applications that we usually leave until last minute, blog writing, or even just uninterrupted and supported time to reflect on our current practice.

I imagined a brief check in, about a minute or two, to share with others what we are going to work on. Then 45 min to an hour to write. Time blocking isn’t just for corporate types! We can use the tools to help our less structured artistic work. And for those who would like to share and get feedback from the group, we can do quick read throughs and edits. I am open to suggestions.

Let’s harness the supportive energy of a group that gathers for the same purpose. Sometimes our will and focus wavers. This is a way to anchor attention and use the positive psych of peer pressure to our advantage.

Please let me know if you are interested in joining me in this adventure. Let me know what days and times work for you and lets get this going!