The Artist’s Magazine – October 2019

ArtistsNetwork.com 21

KEEPTHEJOY

Getting organized doesn’t mean that you have to rid

your studio of everything impractical. As minimalism

guru Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing

Magic of Tidying Up and the Netflix original series,

Tidying Up, explains: “Discarding is not the point;

what matters is keeping those things that bring you

joy.” The following are studio staples in the eyes of

these artists, because they answer the question: What

sparks joy in your studio?

My brush holders. “I have a small collection of small

cream pitchers and tumblers of very colorful Deruta

pottery from Italy,” says Laurin McCracken. “I use

them to hold brushes that I want near me when I’m

painting. Their wonderful colors and shapes greet me

every time I go to my painting board—a cheerful start

to the painting process.”

My painting apron. “My painting apron is my ‘spark of

joy,’   ” says Antonio Masi. “It marks a milestone. I received

it from Cheap Joe’s as a congratulatory gift when I

became a signature member of the American Watercolor

Society, in 2009. Just putting it on puts me in a frame of

mind to paint. I wear it in my studio, at workshops and

when I’m plein air painting. I’ve adapted it with kangaroo

pockets that hold my value fi nder, 6-inch ruler, kneaded

eraser, hand mirror, iPad, sheets of paper towels and

small pieces of watercolor paper to test colors.”

My stereo. “I won’t work without music,” says Z.L.

Feng. “Having a stereo in the studio to play music

definitely helps with my mood and keeps me focused.

It’s also important for me to have a soothing cup of

green tea right by my easel. Taken together, the music

and tea create a relaxing atmosphere that really

pushes me forward.”

My taboret. “I share a 3,300-square-foot studio space

with my artist wife, Stephanie,” says Ken Goldman.

“Studio order begins with our two large taborets that I

built for us [pictured on page 18]. We call them our

‘mother ships,’ because we leave them in place near our

main easels and use smaller rolling taborets—our

‘space shuttles’—when working on projects in other

parts of the studio. Each taboret has two separate

sliding shelves for watermedia and oils, a glass palette

on top, a third static shelf for miscellaneous media,

and wheels in case they ever need to be moved. Not

only are they indispensable, they spark so much joy,

there’s no way we’d ever consider jettisoning them.”

My books. “When I’m stuck on a specifi c subject,

nothing is better than a book to change my focus

completely,” says Iain Stewart. “I’ll just grab a book

from my library and spend a few quiet minutes looking

at paintings that have nothing to do with what I’m trying

to accomplish. It’s a sort of mental yoga or meditation.”

My pets. Stewart also mentioned his dogs. “There’s

something particularly peaceful about the last snuffl e

of a dog before it goes to sleep at your feet,” he says.

Jean Grastorf also referenced the joy of a studio pet.

“Lilly, my calico cat, is my best helper,” she says. “She’s

always on the drawing table off ering her encouragement.”

Lilly the cat is

Jean Grastorf ’s

indispensable

“studio staple.”

PHOTO BY JEAN GRASTORF