a tour of my studio

I've been creating my entire life and through the years I've made art in tiny rooms, on floors, in the yard, painted in the bathtub (when there was no room anywhere else to be messy), set up my studio in a guest room, a patio and a garage. While a lot of my art making happens on the fly at home (often at the kitchen table), it is really important these days to have a larger space dedicated to my creative business and all the different projects that I juggle. To kick off the new year here on the blog I thought it would be fun to share a tour of my studio space and a little insight into how I use the space. 

I rent a studio space that is about 5 minutes away from home and as much as it would make sense to have "regular work" hours at my studio, I do a lot of coming and going in small chunks of time- for some reason this works best with my creative process and our family life right now. When I am creating online classes I will spend hours filming at the studio, while other days I will create at home, drive up to the studio for some photography, paint a little, head back home, edit photos, hang with the family and then start another project.

My studio space, more than anything is the place where I keep everything that I use for my creative business. From a massive amount of art and craft supplies- to photography backdrops and lighting- to places that I film online classes and photograph projects- this space is "Alisa Burke's Crazy Creative Headquarters". Since I juggle so many different projects, including offering live classes and retreats in my studio, the space is always changing, moving and evolving with all those projects.

I spent my holiday break organizing my studio space to work a little better for some upcoming projects and right now (and I am sure it will change) I have the front half of my space set up with a couple of cozy lounging areas. 

While I do a lot of creating, I also spend a lot of time on the computer, drawing, brainstorming and editing videos so I like to have some areas that feel like a living room where I can sit and work.

I recently added a snack cart because we all come and go from the studio and it never fails that someone (typically me or Lucy) gets hungry or thirsty once we arrive. So instead of hauling our snacks back and forth, I painted a microwave cart and stocked it with out favorite goodies. 

This last year we added moveable walls to the studio (you can read about them HERE) and it has enabled me to set up different areas and spaces that I use for staging photos and dividing space.

Since I love painting large and I love painting on walls, having these moveable walls has also enabled me to get really creative with painting murals and backdrops for all kinds of different projects!

Behind my walls and the front portion of the studio, is where I do all my creating and it is where things get messy.

My favorite way to work is on a large surface (I've pushed together 4 tables) to make one giant table. Typically this table it covered in all kinds of mess- paint, paper, canvas, trash, snacks...pretty much a little bit of everything.

I thought I would clean the table for the sake of this post but that would be like lying to you! This table is never clean because I am constantly working and creating. It is also a perfect place for Lucy and I to work side by side on different projects.

One side of my moveable wall is a place for inspiration. It has always been really important for my creative process to have an inspiration wall or place that I can slap things up that catch my eye- colors, images, pattern, photos, doodles, drawings, sketches and more keep me inspired. 

The backside of the other wall is a place that I use to paint over (and over and over again) with different colors and patterns. Often this is what I use as a photo backdrop for projects. 

I have a rolling rack to store clothing (often I change into my studio clothes), I also keep clothing on hand that I use for photo shoots and even use it as a place to hang fabric and canvas.

There is also a loft space upstairs that is currently an office space as well as a catch all for more supplies, products, files and boxes full of artwork and projects. This space is rarely clean and organized and that is fine with me! I really like having a place for storage where there is no pressure to decorate or even clean.

So there you have it- a little peek into my studio!

And...I want to see your creative space! I LOVE seeing how other artists and crafters set up their creatives spaces and this year I will be sharing a new feature here on the blog called "In the Studio" where I will be sharing a glimpse into friends and fellow artists and crafters creative spaces. If you are interested in submitting your studio to be featured, send me an email at alisaburkesubmissions@gmail.com