If you have ever found yourself thinking, “I could use some space for (fill in the blank)”, you may appreciate the challenge of defining and maintaining a dedicated workspace within your home.
I have had some practice with this.
In almost every home where I have lived (as an adult), I have prioritized keeping a dedicated boundary within which to paint. Early on this involved negotiating with roommates, and later, negotiating with family. These spaces have taken the form of:
a tiny room not much bigger than a closet, with two windows and a large wall
a windowless pantry recess adjacent to a kitchen
a tiny 3-season second-story porch, which I “winterized” by putting down a rug, stuffing the half-walls with comforters purchased at the Goodwill, shrink-wrapping the windows in plastic and employing the services of a 6-inch high ceramic heater
a full-sized bedroom (which lasted until my roommate-boyfriend left and I had to get an actual roommate, who expected his own bedroom)
a living room
a portion of a dining room, blocked off with bookcases
a pass-through room, also containing the washer-drier
This is not an exhaustive list, but you get the general idea. I’ve also rented a handful of art studios over the years, but generally, when it comes right down to it, I prefer to keep my workspace where I live.
This is my current home studio situation. First, let’s play “can you spot the home studio?”:
If you said “to the right of the dog”, you are incorrect. But if you said, “behind the dog”, you are right! Here’s what it looks like closer up:
I have customized this space by adding a little shelf beneath the window, to hold paint, brushes and solvents:
Here is the portrait, currently in progress:
In addition to serving as a painting studio, this “room” is also my office and drum studio, visible as we zoom out:
The ergonomic Owl Stool serves triple-duty:
seat for painting
drum stool
and desk
This makes me feel slightly better about spending $700 on it a number of years ago, when I made the mistake of taking my credit card to the Common Ground Fair.
In fairness, it is a nice stool.
Rounding out the space, a double-row of bookcase cubes provide storage as well as a psychological boundary:
All this to say, I believe it is important to maintain a studio/workspace/office because it provides both a physical and psychological space in which to do your work. Unless you are working on something that demands high ceilings, a great amount of floorspace, or bulky specialized equipment, this space does not have to be big. It does not necessarily even have to be “fixed”. A kitchen table, for instance, can be your workspace, as long as you have dedicated shelves, boxes or baskets in which to put away your gear when it is time for breakfast.
If you are thinking something along the lines of, “I can’t justify setting aside any space for my (fill in the blank) because I am just a beginner”, I encourage you to make room for your interest, by making literal room for it. It will facilitate time-on-task, which, when you are talking about anything that requires practice, is pretty much the whole enchilada.