Studio vs. Office
Every day I take myself downstairs and start my day in my little room where I work. I call it my work höle*.
There I spend most of my time working the 9-to-5, so the hole’s name is also “office”.
When my wife asks, “Do we have any tape?” I answer, “Down in my office.”
But as someone who aspires to a more creative lifestyle, I really want to call the office, my “studio,” the place where I spend most of my time drawing, painting, writing, and creating.
This has been an ongoing turmoil.
Do I insist on it being called a studio in the desire that it eventually becomes a studio? Can using the word force it into being?
Can I believe it into truth?
Simply using the word does not manifest it into being. By calling it a studio does that help me believe that it is a studio?
And if I believe that I’m in a studio does that also help me believe that I am an artist?
And does that then translate into me actually creating more art?
The room, the void. my hole.
In essence, I have
a room with a door that closes (!!!)
a desk with a computer at which I do my 9-to-5 work
a separate table where I write and draw
a third table in front of my easel for my palette and painting supplies
a bed where house guests can sleep
If you want to be cruel about it, you could say what I have is a spare bedroom decorated with various tables.
If you want to be kind (to my ego) you could say that 2 art tables add up to greater than 1 work table, and so by the laws of math, we call it an art studio.
Studio (do) / Studio (be)
In a recent blog post, Austin Kleon wrote about the word studio as being a noun and a verb. The noun form is obvious. The verb form is explained as being “linked to a certain kind of diligent or pleasurable work, which could take place anywhere.”
The relevant point to reiterate: COULD TAKE PLACE ANYWHERE!
The name we give the room is not the point. In fact, the existence of the room itself doesn’t even matter.
What’s he doing in there?
So the name—the noun—is meaningless. It’s the verb of the thing that matters. What you do in the room, or what you do in any room determines what the room is and what you are. We need to separate the product from the creation of the product. Especially in art, (at least for me at this point in my life) the process of creation is the point. So:
It’s not the Studio (n.) it’s the studio (v.)
It’s not the drawings (n.), it’s the drawing (v.)
It’s not the paintings (n.), it’s the painting (v.)
& etc.
Is it a studio?
It doesn’t matter?
Do I sometimes draw, paint, and explore my thoughts and ideas and attempt to express them creatively? Then, sure, it’s a studio.
Do I more often work my day job and gaze longingly at my lonely drawing table? Yes. So it’s an office.
Studio. Office. Room. Höle. Void. It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, I’m so grateful to have it. And I’m grateful to spend whatever little time creating in it that a busy life allows.
We fill a void with our actions. The void does not define our actions. Our actions define the void.
Now if you’ll excuse me, we have weekend guests coming. There are sheets to be washed and pillows to fluff.
*many things are “höle” in our house due to the adorable way our 4-year-old pronounces the word. So the more we can get her to say it, the better.
Related ideas:
how to make a little time to spend on art vs work
“prepping your surface” — having everything you need to do your craft ready in order to squeeze in as many minutes as possible doing it