The “Strip” series focuses on obsession. The images Covey created are based on the relationship between an actual couple. Tantalizing and a little naughty, the viewer is left wondering what the story is behind these characters. The engravings are printed on Japanese papers and phone book pages, and then the vertical strips are encased in encaustic medium. The strips are presented on a light box like a photographer would use to dry negatives and prints and to view his/her work. When displayed in groups horizontally, the effect is akin to a dark comic book or graphic novel.

In Covey’s “Peep Show” series, she combines the secret, sexual world associated with the modern definition of “Peep Show” with the innocent world of Victorian-era peep show boxes. In order to view the engravings, the viewer must bend uncomfortably to glimpse through the peephole, which forces them into the role of voyeur. The prints in this series are evocative and suggestive rather than blatantly sexual. The boxes themselves are custom designed and beautifully handcrafted by a master cabinetmaker. These peep boxes are replicated and inspired by the elegant peep show boxes circa 1820.

Peep Show boxes date back as far as 500 years ago, designed by artists and scientists to portray a variety of subject matter. During the 18th and 19th Centuries, peep show viewing was a popular and innocent form of street entertainment. By using lenses and mirrors, a private, interior world was created by peering into a mysterious box. The term Peep Show ultimately came to be most closely associated with viewing pornographic films and live sex shows.

Covey’s award-winning work has been exhibited internationally, with featured solo exhibitions in Argentina, Switzerland, and the Butler Institute of American Art. Her work is held in public collections including, the Corcoran Gallery of Art; the New York Public Library Collection of Prints and Drawings; the Papyrus Institute, Cairo, Egypt; the National Library of Australia, Canberra; The National Museum of American History; Georgetown University Library Print Collection; Harvard University Library; and Princeton University Library.

She has been featured in Art in America Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, on BBC America, and on NPR’s ‘Studio 360.’ Covey was a 1998 recipient of a Rockefeller Foundation Grant and has been commissioned by The New York Times and The Washington Post and has illustrated many books. She has given lectures at universities in China, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the University of Wyoming, the International Monetary Fund, as well as other institutions in the United States and abroad.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Covey lives in Alexandria, Virginia and works in her studio in the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

In The Art League Gallery:

“Peep and Strip Show,” March 11-April 5, 2010

Opening Reception at Meet the Artist: Thursday, March 11, 6:30-8:00 pm

**Featuring modern dance throughout the evening inspired by Covey’s work.**

**The March 11th event is part of the statewide kick-off event for Minds Wide Open: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts 2010. Stay tuned for more details!!**

Gallery Hours:

Daily, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Sundays, 12:00 noon – 6:00 pm

Open Thursdays until 9:00 pm

Exhibitions and events are free and open to the public.

What works here is the functional drawer spaces of the converted sideboard and the somewhat retro wood shelf unit which this artist has highlighted with a very sweet pink and red hearts border.  This studio LOOKS like a sewing room or a place dedicated to fabric, even if it is a bit heavy with the wood element with the floor and furniture.  A bit more of the metal element in mirrors or accent pieces would help the balance.  Very clean, crisp, and ultra-feminine, if but a bit on the adolescent side in terms of the design maturity, this artist is thinking about organization, scheme and interplay. Small hints that could help in unifying this design would be rosette ceramic drawer pulls, a continuation of hung lace over the middle shelf of the wall unit, fabric ties on the curtains, and a matching rug on the floor.  I’d also like to see a bit more color on the top shelf of the wall unit, perhaps a pink or green wire fitting form.  

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Here’s a studio example posted by The Blushing Bird.  Although I would encourage this artist to completely clear her floor, invest in a better table, invest in some direct lighting, invest in a better ergonomic chair (preferably one that matches her shelving scheme), and get rid of her temporary plastic and cardboard bins, what DOES work here is the use of color on her walls and shelves.

With yellow to the left, and exciting orange directly in front of your vision, complimented by red/orange long shelves – what she’s got here is a real start to a highly creative in home art studio space.  

I also think it’s important to have your tools within arms reach and it’s often a balance between tools and decorative items.  With a little bit of shifting around of the photo boxes, bins, and baskets, this space could be more workable with a little less visual confusion. Great wood shutters on those windows!

I would also consider shifting the table slightly to the right to take advantage of that window view.  I see the bookshelf doesn’t fit under her long shelves, but it doesn’t appear there’s that much material in the bookshelf now, so we have to reassess its value.  By also shifting and rearranging those items onto the long shelves, this artist could consider removing and selling her bookshelf and taking advantage of natural lighting by moving her seat closer to the window.  If the bookshelf must stay – paint it the same color as the long shelves for continuity. Sometimes less IS more.

Richard Reams helps us redefine the meaning of art studio with his arborist work in grafting trees for art and function.  He creates his “arborsculptures” in the yards and outdoor spaces of his clients in the hopes that we’ll all return to the garden.  His business, Arborsmith Studios,  demonstrates how trees can be turned into furniture, homes, messages, and functional garden devices.  If you live in a year-round warm climate, this is a perfect way to take a fresh look at the options for creating an outdoor art studio space.   I love horticulture and am a big believer in bringing the outdoors in.

A word of caution.  Ultimately as you grow as an artist, the plastic bins will start to irritate you.  And if you’re the type who is easily inspired by some of the beautiful studios being featured in mainstream media, you’ll curse the day you ever bought those darned things (and then just try getting rid of them).  I always tell beginners who are establishing an art studio to think about whether wicker, cardboard and plastic will hold them over – sometimes is really is better to make a little bit more of an investment purchase in storage systems at the get go (glass, metal, wood).

 I hope you enjoy Christy’s video – also be sure to keep an eye out for how many projects she’s juggling at once.  This is another important element to consider in planning.  I am an advocate for additionally separating a space for the paperwork end of the arts business – I don’t see much of that in this video, but having a space and system to keep track of your contests, show dates, and submissions is essential – not to mention a running chronology of your works.

The first, “Art Studio” needs a Shockwave download before you can utilize it.  It allows children to “paint” with the click of the mouse.  

The second, “Let’s Draw Arthur” teaches children how to recreate the image of Arthur in step by step online instructions.  If you create anything fabulous, be sure to send me a copy!  

Here’s an example of a clean and organized studio where the artist has begun to post inspirational images on a wallpapered wall.  Then we see some framed and un-framed images that have been abandoned on the floor, some in stages of work on the desk and window, and it’s difficult to see any inter-relatedness.  

The artist’s studio has to have a soul and it gets a soul by how much time, effort and money you’re putting into it – how much you invest in yourself and your dream.  Here, the message seems to be that everything is temporary, from the inexpensive table to the folding chair, to the half-drawn blinds and the abandoned pieces still on the floor.

I’m likely to think that your studio, while being a place to stretch ideas and imagination should also be a place where you feel at home.  Where comfort and functionality exist and where what is reflected back is a sense of “this is where I truly live.”  

Suggestions for this artist include a cork board to pin her images, replacement of the metal sculpture, hanging the works on the floor, investing in better furniture, and finally – do SOMETHING with those horrid venetian blinds.  Protect the floor, get some antique storage items with “soul” in there, and then take some personal time to assess your own visual language and journey.  Thanks to Begins with J who posted this photo in 2005.  I’d just love to see the space now.  

Many artists use clipboards to keep track of inspirational drawings or to keep track of upcoming shows and delivery dates and this type of multi-clipboard organization (hung on a wall) is an effective and inexpensive tool for a small art space.  

Do you want to know a very quick and fun weekend project?  I say spray paint your clipboards in bright glossy spray-paint to enhance their shine, attractiveness and overall color on your walls.  Total time:  less than two hours.  Total cost:  less than $20 for a couple of cans.  And surely, you’ll find something else in your studio you can use for the remaining paint.  This wall was posted by John and Drew in 2008.  

As I’ve been looking at various art studios, it’s interesting how many studios quickly and readily reflect the artist’s most precious resource (short of supplies) and that is the resource of time.  Earlier I talked about the psychological impact of facing a wall when you are creating – and for many of us there are limited choices.  In this studio, which appears to be in a garage of some sort, facing a wall may be the only viable option.  

But if so, what is the artist looking at on that wall?  Where is the inspiration coming from?  And what I immediately see in this studio, as well as many others, is a clock.  If the clock is at the center point of your visual reference, you are constantly “under the clock” or “behind time” or “racing time”.  In this case, the artist is both an artist and a photographer and they mention in the bio of this photo that they “get out there two hours or so daily”.  The artist also mentions how art is a lot of fun – but how much fun can it be when the clock is your visual god?  The item you are meditating on.  Simple and small changes can make a huge difference in the artist’s quality of work and in how they feel about it.

I would recommend one of four small and quick studio fixes.  Install a cork board to act as a pin-up vision board for ideas and inspiration; install an image of the outdoors; install a mirror to reflect any available light in an otherwise dark space; or as a completely different shift, replace the clock with an inexpensive sound system – what is not readily available to the vision senses can be enhanced by engaging the auditory ones.   And then step two for this artist would be to invest in better lighting, invest in a better chair, and rid themselves of plastic bins.  A special thanks to Rustman for uploading this art studio photo.  

Here’s an example of an an artist who is trying to make the most out of a small, cozy corner and who has obviously spent some time and energy thinking about a color scheme and organization.  In general, I’m not a fan of hanging lights unless the studio is just jam packed with great folksy things because without the clutter and color, hanging lights (or christmas white lights) end up looking as they do here, a bit bare.  

What’s really interesting about this space, apparently close to natural lighting by a window, is the drafting table which appears to double as a crafting area as well.  So there, I applaud the artist for killing two birds with one stone.  On the other hand though, there is a tremendous amount of wall space which could be put to better use by installing longer (or just more of the shorter) shelving.  Longer shelves would allow her to move the items from the bookcase up to the wall, and thereby open the entire space near the door opening for perhaps another chair (maybe even turn the drafting table so chairs face each other).  

I believe inspiration is very important and when one is facing a wall, well, eventually so will your art.  Lesson learned?  A minor example of how a small shift can make a huge difference and how using your vertical space can truly energize even the tiniest corner.  A special thanks to Somebody’s Little Weasel for posting her art studio pictures.  

Here’s an art studio with one of the most essential elements to an overall successful working space, access to fresh air.  Note the window’s availability to natural light and seasonal air flow. Just one note, when working with an open window, residue will fall on your papers and your hung works.  You may want to invest in a slidable or removable screen to help protect you from certain elements such as unwanted stray cats or hornets.  This adorable and evidently newly used (note the floor is void of splattered paint – the owner may wish to lay down some protective covering) studio was found here.   The studio lives in a carriage house in the Grand Rapids area.  Its owner reports they like the rustic flavor, but maybe not so much the lack of electricity.  It does have a very treehouse feel and the owner says  they recently installed a stove and painted the walls.  Next recommendation?  Invest in a better chair.  When you’re in your studio for any length of time, particularly as you are doing tiring and demanding physical feats – your seating is as important as your ventilation.  To learn more, visit Studio Beerhorst.