Studio Snapshot – Libzoid – art by Libby Mills

Studio Snapshot – Connie Pelkey

Artist name: Connie Pelkey

Location: Augusta, Maine

Other websites: Etsy Shop and Artfire Shop

Do you have a dedicated studio/artistic space? Yes

Where is it located? The small front room on the second floor of our home is the main studio where I work in PC, PMC, sewing, bead stringing and wire wrapping. My kiln, buffer, tumbler, and convection oven live in a small area of the basement, and a small photo studio is set up in the 3rd floor attic space. I crochet and bead weave in the living room while watching TV in the evening, and in the summer I often bring a small set up of whatever I am working on outside to the back deck.

Is it a large or small space? The main space is small, very small.

What medium(s) do you work in? Polymer Clay, Precious Metal Clay, Beads, Wire, free style sewing and crochet.

Do you have a separate area for each? Yes, I try to

What one word would you use to describe your studio? Small

What do you think is the best feature of your studio? It’s mine! I don’t share this room with any other household function!

What would you change if you could? It’s size and the carpeting on the floor!

Can you share an organizational tip? Everything NEEDS a home and when you are done with it, put it away! (yeah, right! !)

Describe the usual state of your work table? In progress. I ALWAYS have something I’m working on, on it!

Does your work table face out into the room or toward the wall? The main place I sit (PC station) faces out into the room and a window is on my right. The PMC station is on the opposite side of the table and I sit facing the wall with the window on my left. The sewing and stringing stations are on the opposite side of the room.

What’s one drawback of your studio/artistic space? Having a space so small I need to split up the finishing (basement) and photo studio areas. I’d LOVE to have a larger room with space for everything in it. I am happy with what I have for now.

Do you have any studio mascots (pets, mannequin whatever)? Yes, I have a Betta fish and my dog Nero is ever present wherever I am.

Do you have an idea wall or inspiration board? Yeah, there’s a bulletin board above my head as I sit at the sewing station… I see it clearly from my main PC station.

Do you listen to music in your studio? Yep! What kind? Eclectic.

Do you display your own work in your studio? Yeah, there’s pieces around the room.

Other artists’ work? A few.

What’s one quirk or unusual feature of your studio? There’s a door with no actual door on hinges that leads into our bedroom. I’ve placed a cabinet right in the doorway and my wire wrap station is in the cabinet as well as some storage, there’s a small TV on top of the cabinet which can be spun around so we can watch TV in bed if we like… more often than not though the TV is on HGTV as I work. i LOVE that network!

Studio Snapshot – Seth Lee Savarick

Artist name: Seth Lee Savarick

Location: Los Angeles CA

Website: S L Savarick Studio

Do you have a dedicated studio/artistic space? Yes

Where is it located? In what is supposed to be the dining area of my apartment. I also use the kitchen area for soldering and curing the polymer in the oven.

Is it a large or small space? pretty small at 9.5′ X 9.5′

What medium(s) do you work in? Polymer, Metal and Cast Resin

Do you have a separate area for each? no

What one word would you use to describe your studio? Efficient.

What do you think is the best features of your studio? the layout makes great use of the space. The windows provide good ventilation and I like the way that the room, even though it is in the center of our home, still feels like it is its own space.

What would you change if you could? A larger space would be nice.

Can you share an organizational tip? Because the space is so small I only keep the supplies that I use most out in the studio. I store most of my supplies in Sterilite bins in a walk in closet that is about 20 feet from the studio. Grouping the supplies in bins makes it easy to pull out what I need and then put it back after I use it.

Describe the usual state of your work table? organized for the most part.

Does your work table face out into the room or toward the wall? Both. I sit between 2 work tables, one faces toward a wall the other face into the room but there is just about 18″ before the next wall of book shelves.

What’s one drawback of your studio/artistic space? It’s a bit cramped. I share it with my husband as it functions as our office too.

Do you have any studio mascots (pets, mannequin whatever)? I have a goat scull hung on the wall if that counts as a mascot. he is missing half of one of his horns. I hung him up to remind me that even though things are not always symmetrical and perfect they still can be beautiful.

Do you have an idea wall or inspiration board? no but I keep sketchbooks and idea journals close by. I also have a slideshow of inspirational images running as my screensaver on the computer all the time.

Do you listen to music in your studio? Absolutely! All the time. What kind? Everything from Classical and Opera to Rap and Punk rock. MY musical taste is VERY wide. I love that I can make a playlist that fits my mood or the work that I am doing at the time. I also like to listen to NPR as I work.

Do you display your own work in your studio? just pieces I am working on

What’s one quirk or unusual feature of your studio? The windows open up into an alley way, so the view is a brick wall. but they provide great cross ventilation.

Studio Snapshot – 2 Roses

Artist name: 2Roses

Location: Anaheim, California

Website: 2 Roses.com

Etsy: 2 Roses Etsy Shop

Flickr: 2 Roses Jewelry

Do you have a dedicated studio/artistic space? Yes. Its worth noting that our current studio is the result of over 25 years of focused effort at accumulating tools and designing and building specialized space. It did not happen overnight, nor is it completed by any means. It is a working space that has continually evolved over the years.

Where is it located? Attached to our home

Is it a large or small space? Large space aprox. 1800 sq ft

What medium(s) do you work in? We work in a very wide variety of materials ranging from metals, wood, plastic, gem stones, electronics, leather, paper, pigment & resins, bone & ivory and precious metal and polymer clay.

Do you have a separate area for each? Yes, we have separate areas for metal working, casting, wood & plastics, gem cutting and lapidary, milling and machining, forging, polymer clay & enameling.

What one word would you use to describe your studio? Complete.

What do you think is the best feature of your studio? Versatility. We have taken care to assemble a very broad spectrum of tools and equipment.

What would you change if you could? More tools, more room. We are constantly building and arranging things for more efficient layout.

Can you share an organizational tip? Cluster like materials and tools. Example: we keep the leather working projects,materials, supplies and tools in a single area. It is easy for things to get spread out and the next thing you know you are looking for your leather tools in the wood shop or where you do lapidary. This is usually accompanied by much cussing. We have found that disciplining ourselves in this manner keeps harmony in a studio where two (and sometimes more) people are working.

Describe the usual state of your work table? Organized chaos. Each of us typically has anywhere from six to 12 projects going at any one time. These are often passed back and forth between us, so it is essential that we keep all the elements contained in some manner. Sounds good in theory anyway. Does your work table face out into the room or toward the wall? Depends on which area, but most areas face towards a wall.

What’s one drawback of your studio/artistic space? Climate control. Parts of it can get chilly in the winter time.

Do you have any studio mascots (pets, mannequin whatever)? Uncle Bob is our resident human skeleton. He was used by a medical school at the turn of the century (1900) for anatomical study.

Do you have an idea wall or inspiration board? The studio is pretty much encrusted with this kind of stuff.

Do you listen to music in your studio? What kind? Yes. Very eclectic mix ranging from gypsy electronica to Indian new wave, to Brazillian world music.

Do you display your own work in your studio? Other artists’ work? No reason to. Items get shipped out to the shops as soon as they’re complete.

What’s one quirk or unusual feature of your studio? Electrical outlets and lighting. Because the space was built as a studio, we designed in far more overhead lighting and electrical outlets than would be put in a normal living space.

Studio Snapshot – Libby Mills

Artist name: Libby Mills

Location: Connecticut

Website: Libzoid.net

Blog: Libzoid Blog

Flickr: Libzoid Flickr Photos

Do you have a dedicated studio/artistic space? Yes, I am lucky to have a studio all to myself

Where is it located? In the basement of our home

Is it a large or small space? It’s a pretty large space. It’s large enough for me to pull out a couple of extra folding tables and invite friends over for a clay day or hold a small class.

What medium(s) do you work in? Do you have a separate area for each? I work in polymer clay, metal and sometimes beadwork. I have dedicated work table for my polymer clay, a bench for my metal jewelry work and a separate table for soldering. I’ve also got a multipurpose work table in the center of the room.

What one word would you use to describe your studio? Bright. I had to laugh when I realized that was the first word that came to mind because it’s a basement studio. I don’t have any windows for natural light, but the space is bright with light from full spectrum fluorescent lights, white walls and a white floor. I painted the closet doors a rainbow of bright colors which always makes me smile.

What do you think is the best feature of your studio? The size. It gives me a lot of flexibility. I also have to sing the praises of my sink. This is the first studio I have that has a sink and I really love it.

What would you change if you could? I’d really love to have a window or two for natural light, but it’s not something feasible in this space. If I could, I’d have a long counter and cabinets along the sink wall instead of just tables.

Can you share an organizational tip? Label everything, with as much detail as practical. My bead stash is organized by color and size and all the drawers are labeled. It makes finding beads for a project so much faster. I also use cafeteria trays a lot. They make wonderful portable beading work surfaces. They are also great for holding sheets of clay when I mix a new palette of colors.

Describe the usual state of your work table? Cluttered. I try to clean up my work tables fairly often, but once I really start working things get cluttered fast.

Does your work table face out into the room or toward the wall? My polymer clay work table faces out into the room and my jewelery bench faces the wall.

What’s one drawback of your studio/artistic space? The basement location. The lack of natural light is the biggest drawback. Having a basement studio can be pretty cold too. It’s nice during the summer because it stays cool, but it’s cold during the rest of the year even though it’s heated. My feet get especially cold because the floor is just vinyl tile over the concrete.

Do you have any studio mascots (pets, mannequin whatever)? I have a mannequin I dubbed “Hildy” and an artist bear named Ginger that my older daughter made in middle school. Hildy is very useful when I need to check how a necklace design looks on. She’s no help with earrings though because she doesn’t have a head.

Do you have an idea wall or inspiration board? I have 2 cork boards which are covered with artists’ postcards, a few miscellaneous beads and sketches of design ideas etc.. I also have a number of college collages I created after a Lindly Haunani workshop tacked up on the far wall of the studio.

Do you listen to music in your studio? What kind? I listen to audio books most often, but I also listen to a variety of music. I like a lot of different types of music while I work: gaelic, folk, pop, show tunes, country and occasionally classical.

Do you display your own work in your studio? Other artists’ work? Yes, both. I’ve got pieces of my own work and some by friends on a display shelf. I also change the necklaces Hildy wears often, sometimes it’s one I’ve made and often it’s a necklace by another artist.

What’s one quirk or unusual feature of your studio? When we finished the basement, we discovered that a nook by the stairs made a perfect space for my photo set-up. It’s great to have the photo cube set up all the time. It makes it easy to take quick photos when I finish a piece.