Last night I went with a friend to the Open Studio night at Continental Gin Building in Dallas. It houses 30 odd studio's for artists over 3 levels. It is a fantastic old, wooden floored building which oozes creativity on entering.
There was a diverse collection of artists under one roof but only one, Erika Jaeggli, whom I had met before. I was to meet a couple more before the night's end.
Erika paints etremely beautiful Portraits and Landscapes. Her newest work, since entering the studio space, has grown in size and statement. There was a particularly beautiful Triptych on wooden board, that related to ageing and the life process, using Tree's as the subject matter, all in Grey scale and on top of a collage of financial repports and graphs. It worked! They looked fabulous!
It was so nice to listen to her explain the references and what they meant to her. That is one of the fabulous things about going to an Open Studio, you get to meet the artist and hear the story behind the making of the work. It makes viewing all the more intimate.
There was a large variety of work on display in the studio's. So many different types of art all being made under the same roof. I love the idea of being part of such a collective. There is a comraderie and sharing of thoughts and processes that can help inform one's own work and a network to share information from sourcing materials to competitions and even just that much needed moral support.
I may join such a space one day but right now it is convenient to walk out the back door and into the studio/shed, especially with the 12 week long school break coming up for Summer, The compromise is sharing that space with bicycles and garden equipment, but for now it works. Can't help feeling a little envious though. It seemed like a wonderful place to share creative energy.