Welcome to My Studio

Take a little respite from the news today and spend a few (virtual) minutes with me in my studio.

In the midst of so much unrest and suffering, it’s easy for artists to question whether what they’re doing matters. Painting a picture can seem insignificant compared to “real life.” I’m taking a stand to say that, not only does art matter, it is the real-est that we get in this life. Creating beauty and connection is what we’re here for, and figuring out your own you-est way to do that, in whatever medium and context, is your ultimate assignment.

So welcome to my sacred space. (Full disclosure: I tidied up a bit for you. 😬)

Here’s where I start my day, usually wrapped up in that Oakland A’s blanket on the back of the chair, reading or writing before the sun comes up.

A recent sunrise out the carriage door windows.

When I head back into the house to heat up my yerba mate or have breakfast, this is what I see. (This day had extra glow.)

This is the view from my yoga mat each morning. Sure glad I got the bird feeder “for Mark” for Christmas. 😉 (Yes, the window wells are collaged and painted hot pink.)

There’s the studio door, now that it’s full daylight.

Come on in! Those boards in the foreground are my flamenco practice floor, a.k.a. pressboard shelves Mark was replacing last spring. They pretty much live there now, ready for dance breaks, Zoom classes, or unrolling my yoga mat..

Let me know if you need some greeting cards (on the rack). Or paintings (on the wall). Or collage materials (on the shelf).

Here’s what’s on my easel at the moment. I often write about art, so this time I made art about writing. 🤓 I think I’ll be finished once I soften that too-harsh shadow under the coffee mug.

I just added the flowers to this one last week. Quite a departure from my usual palette and style, but I like it. My doodling practice seems to be seeping into my paintings.

I made a weak attempt at ”product placement” here, but it’s washed out in the photo. Can you spot my Doodle book, and then another stash of Doodle books near it?

These are all of the journals I am currently using, each with its own special purpose. (Oh, I just thought of a few more inside the house that I could have included. 😬)

Random stuff: I’ve had this grid of marker circles laying around for about a year. A few days ago I decided to make them into faces. It’s incredible how adding two dots and a line below it sprouts a personality. Makes me want to draw more people — a subject I usually shy away from.

This shot is really to show off my “chandelier” — a length of tube lighting held in shape with a bent and twisted copper wire. I’m also quite proud of “Gloria,” my bike.

It’s been hard to articulate my vision for the new Possibilities Lab I’m creating. Doodling helps. (I also made a video about it yesterday. Find out what I’m talking about here.)

While working on this blog post, a shipment was delivered from the printer. Available now in my online shop: The Corvid Nine Team! (Sets of 9 greeting cards, all crows, i.e. “corvids”.) I showed you The Corvid Nineteen last year when we were new at the pandemic, remember? But 19 cards seemed like a bit much, so I whittled it down to a nine-team.

Well, I didn’t get to show you everything, but I hope you enjoyed the tour. We’ll end here at my corner altar, up there where the globe sits.

Thanks for visiting!

I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have this light-filled studio and to do this work. My first “studio” 20 years ago was a dark, spiderwebby corner of the garage, lit by one bare lightbulb, where I set up a discount drafting table and a shoebox-worth of supplies. I rarely used it — the space was super depressing, honestly — but it was important to me to carve out that corner and know that I could use it. It was a commitment I made to myself, and what I felt like I could get away with at the time.

Maybe that’s the best case I can make for the Possibilities Lab. Start where you are. Then take small steps in the direction your soul is tugging you. The road is not always smooth, but the view keeps getting better until you find yourself in a place more beautiful than you would have had the audacity to hope for. I wish this for all of us.

To learn more about the Possibilities Lab, click here. Registration is now open for February’s 4-week session and early-bird pricing runs through Jan 20. (Inaugurate your dreams!) ❤️Click here if you’re ready to sign up.

To browse greeting cards, artwork, Fun Kits, or anything else, click here to jump over to my shop.

I’d love to field your questions about my studio space, my artwork, your artwork, or anything else that comes up. My goal as an art-loving human is summed up in these words I wrote on a whiteboard while still living in Oakland, four or five years ago. The whiteboard hasn’t found a place to hang in my Portland studio quite yet, but the words have remained on the board and in my heart.

With love and unlimited possibilities,

Pam