A View From the Easel
Welcome to the 282nd installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists ward off loneliness with music and visit with wildlife throughout the day.
Want to take part? Check out our submission guidelines and share a bit about your studio with us through this form! All mediums and workspaces are welcome, including your home studio.
Ayin Es, Joshua Tree, California
How long have you been working in this space?
Six years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
I like to start work as early in the day as possible, watching spectacular desert sunrises unfold from my front porch. I usually work on more than one piece at a time since I mainly work in oils. I can work on one painting while the others are partway drying. Working in the quiet is something that gives me peace and solace. The birds chirp away over the silent landscape, and there are no loud leaf blowers or traffic. It’s a big change from my life among the chaos in Los Angeles. My rituals haven’t changed much over the years. I’m slow and meticulous in the way I work. I first sketch out my ideas before making final decisions about what I want to create. While my art is planned out in this way, the actual painting process gets rather spontaneous over the days I work on a particular piece.
How does the space affect your work?
I have a lot of privacy, which is something I highly value. Throughout the day, I may receive surprise visits from the endless wildlife outside my back windows: tortoises, cottontails and jack rabbits, coyotes, and bobcats. Nature uplifts and inspires me. It helps me focus better on the tasks in the studio. Because I don’t have as much space as I used to, it’s important to put items away and keep what I’m not using in its place.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
There is a thriving art and LGBTQ+ community in Joshua Tree and the surrounding area. Many more galleries have opened since 2001, and continue to. We have a monthly art walk and yearly art tours that I’ve participated in, and I meet new artists all the time.
What do you love about your studio?
I live up against the Joshua Tree National Park, and have an outstanding view from my studio window of the rocks, boulders, creosote bushes, cholla, and Joshua Trees. I also love the commute; it’s a room in my house!
What do you wish were different?
I wish I had more room, hardwood, or concrete floors, and white wall space to work out installations.
What is your favorite local museum?
The closest art museum to me is in Palm Springs. It’s not my favorite museum, as I’m a fan of the Norton Simon in Pasadena, California.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
While I love oil paint and using paper and textile collage, I also create soft sculptures from various materials. Sewing these together by hand soothes and relaxes me.
Mardi Burnham, Inverness, California
How long have you been working in this space?
Twenty years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
I must have been a farmer in another life, as I automatically rise at 4am. I leave my studio, walk outdoors through the darkness to the kitchen, make coffee, do a crossword, then return to the studio. I spend time with my sketchbook in which I lay down thoughts and ideas. I do work on several pieces of varying materials at once; each helps me to navigate the others. I tend to listen to a movie or music as working and living alone makes me lonely.
How does the space affect your work?
This workspace allows the out of doors to come in. That ability is clearly reflected in what I make. And by allowing in, I mean that in both a very large sense and a very small one.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
I am affiliated with my local art community through an open studio group that exhibits twice a year. I live within range of a healthy artist community, which can be quite supportive of one another. I spend much of my day out of doors hiking, walking; which feels right and helps me to think. I am very fortunate to live within a national seashore that surrounds me with open spaces and animal and bird life. This is important to my work.
What do you love about your studio?
The wood stove, this room’s ability to open to the outdoors, the wood, its size, and its ability to create a womb-like work space, and that it is also where I sleep.
What do you wish were different?
A bit larger; but not by much.
What is your favorite local museum?
The Museum of the American Indian.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
Paper, tho I am spending more time with porcelain and thread and enjoying that immensely.
