Do you have your own creative workspace? All creative spirits need a place set aside for their work—a personal creative space. Virginia Woolf claimed a woman must have a room of one’s own in order to write fiction. I believe we all need a space of our own in order to create.
What kind of creative space is right for you?
Creative spaces can be impressive studios that artists drool over like awe-inspiring art rooms built in old barns with great lighting and views. They can also be as simple as staking out a claim in a small corner of an apartment. The point is not how impressive the space is, but how necessary it is. Artists need space to create. Period.
Do you have a space to call your own?
At the minimum, you need some type of table top, a place to keep your supplies, and something to sit on. Other helpful items are:
- Shelves
- Baskets
- Containers and Bins for tools, brushes, and supplies
- Space to hold paper, canvases, or other material
- Sufficient Lighting
- Electrical Outlets
- Items that inspire you or that you simply love
- Pictures
- A candle
- Personal Talisman
- Inspirational Quotes
- A view is nice – if you don’t have one, hang a painting you love
- A partition screen to hide your space and/or provide you with privacy
For more inspiration check out these 44 inspiring studios and other art-work spaces.
Art Away From Home
Renting a creative space is an interesting option if you truly have no room at home. Or, if you simply need a larger space to finish a project or to gain a new perspective, check out Recreative Denver and The Art Gym.
If you are feeling extremely adventurous, you can rent a studio in Tasmania, Australia and just about anywhere in the world. There are sublet-studios available in many major world cities.
Studio space can be rented by the hour, day, or week. Different studios offer work space, gallery space, adjustable chairs and tables, lighting, kitchens, printers, WIFI, whiteboards, camera tripods, photography space, woodworking and metal shops. There are spaces for digital artists, culinary artists, print makers, performance artists. You can even share space in an artistic community.
Take Your Creative Spirit on an Adventure!
When you are in need of nourishment for your creative soul, escape on an artistic getaway. There are Airbnb options as well as farms and private islands that host artist retreats.
The Farm Margaret River is a working farm in Austrailia that has renovated many of their outbuildings into studios for rent. Rentable for one hour to six months and any duration between. These spaces have been used by painters, musicians, sculptors, writers, land and environmental artists.
If you’re really flying high, you can lease a private island for around $1600 per day or $7000 per week.
Doing Art With Others
Another option is an Artist Retreat. Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers holds a writer’s retreat in the spring near Colorado Springs. There are also artist and writer’s retreats in Ireland, culinary retreats in Italy, the opportunities go on and on. You’re only limited by your imagination.
Home Sweet Home
But for now, back at home, let’s carve out our own niche. This week use your creativity to design a special space for your artistic time. If you already have a space, think of something you could add or remove that would help you enjoy your process. I would love to see your personal creative space. Please, send me some photos in an email!
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