in the studio with Bethany Joy

I am an abstract painter, focused on sharing joy through art. I express my joy through painting vibrant abstracts, flowers, and inspirational quotes. My paintings involve many layers until I feel that the piece is harmonious and bursting with positivity. A graduate from Brevard College, I obtained my BA degree in Fine Art. Along with my husband and puppies, I live in North Carolina where I work from my home studio and am the Art Director at my local Boys and Girls Club as well."

I love seeing how other artists set up their creative space. Can you tell us a little bit your studio?

My studio is a lovely, brightly-lit room in the front of our house located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. My husband and I were blessed to be able to purchase our first house in 2017 and I got first dibs for my studio. I am so grateful for this space, especially after squeezing my previous studio into a tiny space of our old apartment. Quickly after moving into our new home last January, we added a fresh coat of white paint to the walls of my new studio and placed a huge double layered drop cloth over half the floor in an attempt to protect them (no such luck, though…I’m a messy painter)!

There are two pieces of furniture in my studio that I couldn’t do without AND that will always have a special place in my heart. One piece I received as a birthday gift from my mom when I was in the fifth grade.  When I first saw that artist’s desk, I remember thinking that I would just never use it. I was creative then, but obviously, not serious about it yet, and now that desk is so well-used and loved…right down to the multiple layers of paint caked onto the table. The second piece I can’t do without is a one-of-a-kind paint storage table that my husband designed and built for me. He’ll tell you that he’s “not very proud of it since he built it with super simple tools in the sunroom of our old apartment” however, I absolutely love it! This table enables me to actually see all the colors of paint that I have in a (somewhat) organized fashion (because let’s face it, I don’t pride myself in organization) and I know it was created with love. 

In my current studio, I also have a table with my computer, a dresser full of shipping and craft supplies, a huge pile of works-in-progress, several blank canvases, as well as a small closet full of finished paintings and other items for my shop. My space may seem small to others right now, but I have huge dreams for this studio of mine to grow! And for now this little home studio of mine is super sweet.

What inspires you? What motivates you to create? 

There are so many things that inspire and motivate me to create. First of all, my faith definitely plays a part in inspiring me, as well as my family and friends. My family is always there to help motivate me to create my best AND not be scared to put it all out into the world (often the most challenging part of being an artist).  

Flowers and color are two things that have always shown up in my art. Spending a day at a flower farm and arranging colorful flowers into beautiful bouquets is one way I pull myself out of a creative slump during the spring and summer seasons. Arranging flowers is an art form in itself, and I love thinking of painting as creating my own gardens on the surfaces I’m painting. 

We live in such a beautiful area surrounded by the Blue Ridge mountains here in North Carolina, so hiking and being outdoors is inspiring to me as well. Flowers, mountains, and just nature in general are all such amazing creations that we’ve been given to enjoy so I always hope to translate those things into my art with vibrancy! 

The students I teach at the Boys and Girls Club motivate me as well. They are often facing challenges that they shouldn’t have to face and I feel it is my responsibility to show them the beauty and positivity in our world. My style of painting is very playful, using fun techniques to add textures to my art, and I love helping them do the same. Inspirational quotes can be uplifting as well, so spreading joy in that way is one of my main goals!

How do you organize your creative schedule?

My creative schedule has to work hand in hand with my two part time jobs. I actually started my art business right after graduating from Brevard College three years ago with a Bachelor of Arts Degree (concentration in painting and teaching). I also began working as a tutor at a local elementary school. Later that year, I applied for the Art Director position at our local Boys and Girls Club (I had worked at the Boys and Girls Club throughout each of the summers of my college years), and I am blessed with the honor of still working in this position as well! 

That being said I learned early on to schedule my creative time around my jobs...that’s just how it’s always been so far. Tutoring occurs during the morning school hours and teaching art occurs later in the afternoons at the Boys and Girls Club (an after-school program). Weekends are full of painting and creating (and some family time as well, of course!) During the weekdays, I also squeeze in time during my lunch break in between jobs to answer emails, post to social media, take packages to the post office, etc. I usually set aside some time to paint in the evenings after work, but time with my husband and two puppies after work is always a priority as well. I also take full advantage of breaks, such as snow days and holidays, to make the most of extra time in my studio.

I have found it to be extremely helpful to plan out a social media schedule for the week so that I don’t lose track of posting about sales, etc. For that planning, I simply use a 52-week planner pad to fill in the dates for each week. I often make sure to write my social media posts the night before so that I am more prepared on mornings that I can’t seem to get ready on time for work! 

I adore working with the students at my day jobs, and honestly they help inspire a lot of my work. I hope that building this creative schedule for myself will eventually turn into something much bigger and better for my art business. Persistence, patience, and never giving up is key

What is a typical day like for you?

A typical day for me is super busy!  I am a morning person, so I usually wake up early, get ready for the day, read a devotion with my husband, get the dogs settled, and then it’s off to school to tutor. Around noon when I am home for lunch, I answer emails, post to Instagram stories, take product/art photos while the outdoor lighting is optimal, and possibly go to the post office. 

Around 1:30 – 2:00, it’s time to go to the Boys and Girls Club.  Each afternoon, I teach art to different age groups (1st-7th grades). We often have lots of various projects going on, and I have a teen staff member assist with the classes as I teach. Typically, each class consists of 20-30 kids and we either paint, make jewelry or melty (perler) beads, create masterpieces to enter art shows, write cards (thanking Club donors or encouraging those in need), and so much more! 

I get home from teaching shortly after 6pm. My husband and I cook dinner together and talk about our days. We also unwind by playing with our dogs. I usually end the day with a little exercise and painting, going to sleep about 11ish only to do it all again the next day! 

Having two different jobs (both working with young students) along with my art business, keeps my days full of variety and excitement. I may think I know what each day has in store, but everyday is usually filled with an unexpected surprise or two as well. 

What are you working on right now?

I am always working on more than one project at a time which pretty much always includes original paintings. Sometimes the paintings are abstract and colorful, and other times (like right now) they’re florals. I like creating colorful works of art that are somewhat “farmhouse style” inspired as well. You can expect to see some colorful art with “chippy” white or rustic wood-style frames with more coming soon! A lot of the trendy farmhouse style decor I’ve noticed is primarily neutral, so putting my own colorful spin on things is currently inspiring me. I’m also working on some new art prints for this year and “retiring” several older prints, and I have great ideas for projects coming soon.  

Also, after months of preparation and anticipation, I just released my first art licensing partnership this month with Wheatpaste and Oopsy Daisy Art with plans to add more designs. 

Life as an artist is constantly busy and oh, so exciting! You can always follow along with me on this colorful journey at www.bethanyjoyart.com.

A special thank you to Alisa for this fabulous opportunity to share my art with you all! 

Want to see more of Bethany?

www.bethanyjoyart.com

www.bethanyjoyart.etsy.com

Instagram: @bethanyjoy_art

Facebook: Bethany Joy Art

Pinterest: Bethany Joy Art

"In the Studio" is a feature here on the blog where I share a glimpse into friends and fellow artists and crafters spaces. If you are interested in submitting your studio to be featured, send me an email at alisaburkesubmissions@gmail.com

in the studio with tanja zinkl

Hello! My name is Tanja Zinkl and I am a 29 year old artist living and working in Vienna, Austria. I found my way to making art through some detours - I actually started out studying hotel management because I had an insatiable curiosity to travel and see the world. As fate would have it, I did get to work in a luxury hotel in Southern California for 2 years after graduation, but I realized I did not like the monotony and superficiality of the work at all.

Back home in Vienna I found myself working as a receptionist full time again, to make ends meet, while deep inside of me the nagging feeling grew that there was "something more creative" I needed to do, I just did not know yet what that would look like.

It was during that time that I stumbled across a book about acrylic painting. I was immediately drawn to it and intrigued enough to pick up some basic art supplies and to just start experimenting. I've been addicted to creating paintings ever since, following my creative whims and need for self-expression in the process. I took several painting classes both on- and offline, but soon focused on finding my very own style. I love mixing up vibrant colours, dripping paint, doodling, writing and collage intuitively and turning it all into detailed, layered, funky paintings. When I am not painting, I enjoy spending time in nature, dancing Kizomba and planning my next trip.

I love seeing how other artists set up their creative space. Can you tell us a little bit about your studio?

I use a corner of my appartment as my dedicated art space. Currently, my budget does not allow to rent a separate studio so for now I am making this work! I have recently bought a huge table where I can spread out my materials, and where my cat often joins me, I love her company! Sometimes I also work on an easel, and I have some cabinets where I keep finished artwork, sketchbooks and shipping supplies. It's a simple, practical set-up where I can get messy.

What inspires you? What motivates you to create?

In many ways, I consider myself a constant seeker, since I was little I used to ask tons of questions. This curiosity serves me well on my search for inspiration. I know that the more diverse the places are where I find inspiration, the more depth my art is going to have. I am inspired by many things - nature, emotions, fabrics, memories, foreign places, books. I love how all of it can be woven together in a layered painting, the "how" being the drive behind it - how can I put together all those bits and pieces that I found and experiences I had in a meaningful, visually appealing way? 

I am motivated to create because it makes me feel balanced and whole in a way that nothing else does. When life gets busy and I don't get to paint for some time, I always know because I get moody and tend to overthink things! 

How do you organize your creative schedule?

This is something I am currently trying to improve, as up until now, being the typical "free spirit", I have not followed a set schedule. I know that I work best when I have open-ended painting sessions, when there is no other appointment (or bedtime) at the end of it that forces me to stop. I am a night owl, so Friday and Saturday nights work best for me. I keep an ever-growing to-do list of administrative tasks that I work on when I don't have enough time or inspiration for painting, but it feels like a constant pull between the two.

What is a typical day like for you?

I work part time as an Executive Assistant from 9-3pm on weekdays. After that, I like to have a couple of hours of downtime after leaving the office to clear my head before diving into my creative projects for a few hours. I try to have separate days for the administrative tasks and the actual painting time. 

What are you working on right now?

I am always working on building my portfolio and creating original paintings, it is the core of what I do. Besides that, I am currently working on offering prints of selected paintings of mine in my Etsy Shop very soon - please sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know when they are ready: http://eepurl.com/sMyr5

Want to see more of Tanja?

Etsy http://www.zinpicantestudio.etsy.com

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/tanjazinklart

Newsletter http://eepurl.com/sMyr5

Instagram @tanjazinklart

in the studio with alexis drolet

Hi! My name is Alexis, the artist behind the Etsy shop “Dashes of Happiness,” where I make and sell colorful abstract art with motivational and inspiring hand lettering.  I’m a 35 years old, living in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia, PA with my amazing husband and two daughters, ages 8 and 10. I’m actually not one of those people who always dreamed of being an artist. In fact, this is something that I never saw coming. I took my first art class at age 30, after spending basically my entire life telling people, “I don’t know how to draw,” without ever once attempting to learn how to draw. One day it just sort of clicked that all of the skills that I silently wished I possessed, were things that I had never even given myself a chance to learn. So I swallowed my pride, and found a local beginner’s art class. Once I got over the initial anxiety of doing something so outside of my comfort zone, I absolutely fell in love with it.  I think I always had all of this art inside of me, I just never knew how to get it out. And I’ve found that the more that I learn and the more that I create, the more inspired I feel. It really is like stoking to a fire.  

I love seeing how other artists set up their creative space. Can you tell us a little bit your studio?

My studio is the spare bedroom at the top of the last set of stairs in our funky split level home. From the first moment that we saw this house, I just knew this would be my creative space someday. I think the exact words that I said to my husband were, “The natural light in here is way too good to waste on a guest room.”  

I share the room with my daughters, and we have always called this room, “The Art Room.”  Several years ago I painted one wall with magnetic chalkboard paint and bought them a bunch of chalk and magnets to continue to encourage them to use this space to create and display their art. Over the past few years I have claimed a little more of the space as my own, and I sometimes I have to erase all of their cute little chalk drawings to use the wall as a photo backdrop for one of my projects, but I still try to let them use this room to make their art as much as I use it to make mine. 

They have a desk along one wall, I have a desk along the other, and we fight over the floor space in the middle. Usually the room is a creative disaster of projects in various stages of completion, with pages of paint drying on every available surface. And since I share it with my girls, there is pretty much always glitter on the floor. But regardless of whether it’s clean or messy, when the afternoon light streams in through the windows, it is pure magic.  

What inspires you? What motivates you to create?

Without a doubt my two daughters are my inspiration, my motivation, and my everything. 

In a broad sense, my work is inspired by them because it’s very colorful and joyful, and almost all of it is stuff that they want to hang in their rooms. Lots of my artwork features positive messaging, and as my girls rapidly approach their teen years, I think more and more about the importance of promoting positive self-worth and self-esteem.  When I’m creating, I always think about what I want them to see every day when they wake up. 

In a literal sense, my world of inspiration is very much a product of our daily life. In the past 10 years as a mom, most of my time has been spent with them- at parks, playgrounds, museums, and the sidelines of sports fields. We are constantly out exploring together, and the colorful images of our daily life sink into the corners of my brain and then eventually spill out through my paintbrush.  I sometimes don’t even know exactly where my inspiration is coming from until I find an old photo, and realize that my latest painting has all of the same colors and movement as something that I photographed on a whim months ago. 

How do you organize your creative schedule?

As an artist I have learned that without deadlines, I pursue perfection to the point of producing nothing.  So, I have been forcing myself to commit to things that I am not necessarily ready to do, in order to get a deadline in front of me. For example, the only way I could actually get myself to hit publish on my website was to enter an art contest that required me to have a website. In the end, it was the contest submission deadline that finally forced me to finish the website. Then I registered to sell at an art show even though I had no inventory to sell and frankly had no idea how to set up a booth once I had my inventory. At that show, I put a notebook out on my table saying “Join my email list,” even though I had absolutely no sort of email system in place.  Once I commit to something, and I know I have to make it happen, I always pull through. I guess it’s called “Fake it until you make it.” 

What is a typical day like for you?

I’ve been selling my art for less than a year, so I honestly feel like a baby that is still trying to learn to walk. For the longest time I just kept adding things to my plate without taking anything off…and that didn’t go very well. So I’m still learning how to actively pursue my art and make it my priority, instead of just trying to fit it into the nooks and crannies of my day.  I find that I have to continually fight back at the self-imposed notion that I have to be everything for everyone all of the time.  

On an ideal day I’m up early before the kids, sometimes early enough to get a little bit of computer work done over a cup of coffee. Once everyone is awake and I’ve successfully completed the lunch making, hair brushing, shoe finding shuffle to get them off to school on time, I try to spend a few hours painting.  My energy and creativity are at their peak in the morning, so I try not to waste that time on household tasks. I tend to chase the natural light around my house, and if I have any projects to be photographed, I’ll drop everything for an hour or so in the early afternoon when the light is warm and perfect in my studio.  

Once 3 pm hits, it’s a flurry of homework, violin practice, dinner making, and getting everyone out the door for sports practice. I rarely work after dinner so that my hubby and I can relax together on the sofa, and then I turn into a pumpkin around 10 pm. I feel like each day is simultaneously a marathon and a sprint. 

What are you working on right now?

Oh, so many things! I’m still learning so much every day, both on the creative end, and on the business end.  It feels like there is a never ending list of skills I would like to learn and things that I should do to help my business grow.  On days when I just want to create, I’ve been painting lots and lots of greeting cards. They truly are my favorite things to make. Each card is like one of my babies, and I have the hardest time letting them go.  But I know that they spread joy to everyone who sends them and receives them, so that motivates me to just keep making more.  

I’m also working with my friend on a handmade jewelry and accessory brand, where we are combining our talents to make wearable art that is super unique as well as empowering.  The best part about being an artist is that it really feels to me like the sky is the limit, and now that I have the skills to get these ideas out of my head, it’s just a matter of finding the time to do it. 

Want to see more of Alexis?

Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/DashesofHappiness

Also you can find updates at www.alexisannecreative.com

Or on FB and Instagram @AlexisAnneCreative

"In the Studio" is a feature here on the blog where I share a glimpse into friends and fellow artist's and crafter's spaces. If you are interested in submitting your studio to be featured, send me an email at alisaburkesubmissions@gmail.com

in the studio with janet crosby

Janet is a glass beadmaker and fuser and occasional mosaic-er. She specializes in creating wearable art with fire -- her propane-oxygen torch. Janet grew up and lives in the great Pacific Northwest. Other loves in no particular order: dogs, cats, knitting, watercolor, photography, glass, and everything ocean.

I love seeing how other artists set up their creative space. Can you tell us a little bit your studio?

My studio started out in a barn. My engineer husband built me a space to melt glass in our barn in 2003. I shared this space with wasps, spiders, and the occasional raccoon. It was definitely a no-frills studio, but it was also wonderful and I loved it. I made thousands of beads there over the years. 

I live in a definite 'four season climate' though, and optimal studio times in my uninsulated space were limited. I tried to create most of my work in the thin bands of time during the spring and fall to avoid the scorching temperatures of summer and the sub-zero freezing temperatures of winter. Also, I am older now and less tolerant of these wild swings in temperature.

For years, my husband has wanted to build me an indoor studio. It was me who resisted. Why repeat something that I already had? Would I earn enough with my art to justify it? And my number one concern - would it be safe?

This studio is all that and more. I have the requisite fire extinguisher, propane and CO2 detectors, and a 4-step shut off and disconnect for my propane-oxygen torch. I have a powerful ventilation system that is also an air-temp exchanger so that the incoming fresh air is heated by the outgoing exhaust air. Safe and an energy saver!

What inspires you? What motivates you to create?

Color and the play of light motivate me the most. It is why I feel that I am spread out all over the place -- glass, knitting (yarn!), painting, and photography. Color draws me in and inspires me to explore. I am always looking for new ways to blend various art forms too; glass bead embellishment on a knitted hat or hand-painted notes in the packages I send my customers.

Glass was one of my earliest loves, and still grabs me. I love transparent and semi-transparent glass the best, to see the full effect of the light shining through it. I also love that glass never fades and is basically a moment once molten, now frozen in time.

How do you organize your creative schedule? 

Loosely! ha. I try to set a schedule, but it never seems to happen as I intend. Like most artists, I would love to stay all day in my studio, making stuff. The To Do list for adding new items for sale, keeping track of inventory, and arranging sales on my Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/JanetCrosbyArt/) take up more hours than creating does. 

I strive to balance creating with everything else, but sometimes I just have to go take the dogs for a walk to let ideas percolate and plans solidify.

What is a typical day like for you?

I get up early, get the family out the door, eat breakfast, get beads and glass out of the kiln, then take the dogs for a long hike. Mornings are reserved for writing emails and blog posts, then ... if all works out, I head to the studio in the afternoon.

I like to ship orders the same day if at all possible, so that also happens in the morning. For orders that miss mail call, I try to get them packaged up for shipping out the next morning.

Evenings I relax by painting, doodling, or knitting. Then wrap up with a good book to close out the day.

What are you working on right now?

My comfort zone is making beads, and I push myself trying new color combinations and new types of glass (e.g. silvered glass and the many reactions that you can get in the flame). I am learning new techniques with metals - soldering, enameling, and forming. Trying out new ideas I have for fused glass pieces.  I am also working on improving my watercolor techniques and projects that I can enhance or create using watercolor. I am always looking for ways to mesh different types of art.

My goal for the future is to collaborate with others and create various ways of fundraising money for animals with art. Lots of ideas in my head, now to put them to action. :)

Want to see more of Janet?

Site/shop/blog: https://www.janetcrosby.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanetCrosbyArtworks/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aboutvetmed/

All photos by Janet Crosby and Creative Life Spokane.