Creative Space – 2

In the first post on creative space we looked at some studios and ateliers to enhance our awareness and consideration of aspects we might include in a creative space of our own. In this post we will examine studios or ateliers of individuals engaged in doing various types of creative work and perhaps clarify ideas about what might be helpful in a space of our own.

Nearly every time we venture out into the surrounding community of the Texas Hill Country I meet and converse with individuals who are pursuing or interested in pursuing their own creative endeavors. This could perhaps be a post of its own! My experiences have shown me that a designated space organized around various activities is the best gift to oneself. Let’s look at some of these spaces and see how creators around us are discovering what is essential for their “studies of the mind”.

British fashion designer Henry Holland notes his “…creative spaces are busy with samples, colour swatches, reference pieces and images that trigger my thought processes.” (Fiona McKenzie Johnston, ‘What makes an inspiring interior for creatives? House and Garden UK, November, 2023) The introductory photo is of a juniper ash tree root and a dead dwarf yaupon with its root. These relics rest on a plinth at the entrance to our upstairs studio. They are a constant reminder of the struggle of flora to survive in the harsh growing environment of the Texas Hill Country. As my creative work is closely related to nature this collection of dead (and living) natural elements is illuminating.

The image above is from the studio of Jonathon Gibbs, an artist and illustrator featured in World of Interiors (Holly EJ Black, Photography by Murray Orr, December 9, 2024) Jonathon Gibbs often collects objects from nature and refers to them as he carves images on blocks of wood.

Here he is at work in his efficient and compact studio. There is both natural and artificial light in abundance. The shelves hold boxes of printing paper and tools. There is a cabinet with multiple drawers behind him, presumably to hold completed prints.

Additional shelves hold the completed carved wood blocks standing vertically like books and numbered on their “spines” in a way that enables him to find them when needed.

Next to them is his printing press. In the article he notes that he seldom uses it unless he is making multiples of prints, preferring to ink the wooden block and press the paper onto the block using a rounded instrument like a large spoon.

Nigel Slater’s creativity centers in the culinary arts. He is a journalist, cookbook author, and television personality whose world is food. In 2020 he was awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for service to cookery and to literature.

Nigel Slater included these photographs of his kitchen on his social media pages with the words, “I write in the kitchen…” The kitchen with its stone floor and immense work surface feels strong and substantial and somewhat monastic. On one wall is an art installation called Tea, Fire, and Smoke by contemporary writer, artist, and potter Edmund de Waal. The piece consists of 269 small handmade ceramic pots in a case built for them.

Well-worn copper pots hang on a dark plaster wall.

Concrete shelves inserted in painted stone walls are filled with neatly organized cooking tins and bowls. Nigel Slater prefers to serve food in bowls which could be held in your hands if you like. We have a few of his cookbooks! We too eat our breakfast from bowls held in our hands.

His cooking implements are lined up neatly at hand.

Photographer Dafydd Jones studio is a well-organized space in the garage of his home in East Sussex. The home, known as Whydown was once a chauffer’s cottage. Here we can see computers, printers, photographic printing paper, binders filled with prints and contact sheets, loupes for examining photographs closely, and so on; all organized in what is likely a rather small space wrapping around him as he works! (Ivan Shaw, Photography by Dafydd Jones, ‘Snapper’s Delight’ World of Interiors, August 7, 2025)

Here is French illustrator and designer Marin Montagut featured in House & Garden UK. He had an online shop for many years and is now the owner of a brick and mortar shop in Paris located near the Luxemburg Gardens. Here he sells vintage and antique goods and his own eclectic painted creations which include hollow books, tarot cards, silk scarves, maps, and ceramics.

He had been creating in a small space in Paris when an opportunity arose for him to rent a 19^th century cottage in Normandy. He calls it the “happy house” and it is a place where he begins with watercolor designs of each object, saying “Almost everything I design for the brand begins here”.

Marin Montagut is very specific about choosing one of the bedrooms in the cottage to be his studio. He painted it green to reflect the green of the outside he can see from the window above his desk. We can see various colored inks on the pale blue dresser and the wall is covered with images he can refer to in his work. There is a wooden paint palette on the floor next to the dresser and we can assume the shelves are filled with books and objects to motivate his next project!

Sally Hemphill and Sharmil Govindia are successful textile artists working with fashion designers and architects on fabrics for clothing, furniture, display and draperies among other things. On the walls of their Spitalfields studio are examples of their works in progress as well as objects and fabrics that impel them to push their creativity further.

In the corner beside a window are shelves filled with neat stacks of fabrics which could be used to create prototypes for future projects. On the window sill are large spools of thread in tonal colors.

Above a multi-drawered file storage cabinet hangs an open shelved wall unit holding fabric tape, glue, punches, brushes, and other tools used in textile design and manipulation. Pieces like this keep needed implements within reach and off the work surface.

Josh Young’s book for the publisher, Rizzoli, Artful Home, demonstrates how the home of an artist and designer can be a studio itself. In addition to creating portraits, collages, and abstract paintings he designs for William Sonoma Home, Visual Comfort, and Farrow and Ball among other well-known purveyors of beautiful things for home and environment.

Here is a photo of his desk and a closer view of the bulletin board above it. This space is where Josh Young develops ideas and tracks orders for his art works. There is a basket of unstretched canvas beside the desk.

He uses baskets, silver trays and bowls to organize pens and tubes of paint!

Here is a sketch of a lamp you can see realized in his home in other photographs in the book.

Here are sketches for designs of skirted seat covers. Quite luxurious and yet crisp in solid white; a nice juxtaposition with the dark wood of the chairs.

Here is the London studio of Scottish artist Sarah Graham featured in Lisa Fine’s book, Near and Far: Interiors I Love. The photographs are by Miguel Flores-Vianna (Vendome)

Sarah Graham paints and draws monumental images of insects, flowers and leaves on hand made calligraphy paper with inks made from plants and nuts. The process, the work, and the studio are exquisite and powerful evocations of the natural world. 

A table in the studio is a place to hold brushes, sketches, natural objects and perhaps containers of her inks. Below the table are rolled drawings and color sample sheets.

Moving in closer we can see her sketch book and an assortment of nuts and pods she may be studying for a drawing or painting.

This magnificent glass fronted chest on chest holds reference books, animal skeletons and skulls, mounted insects, dried leaves and other natural objects collected by Sarah Graham for study and inclusion in her work. Looking at this cabinet of curiosities is almost like looking into her mind.

These photos of Chez (the place, home, or perhaps studio) of Jean Baptiste Astier de Villatte were posted on Instagram a few days ago. Astier de Villatte is a Parisian lifestyle brand best known for its white porcelain made of black terra cotta clay. The pieces are made using molds and stamping techniques from the 1800’s and glazed so you can see some of the terra cotta through the white glaze.

The atmosphere in the studio is enchanting. In one of the photographs, you can see him working at his desk which is covered with resource reference materials. In the background are shelves covered in pottery and molds.

There are countless others who have been willing to share their creative lives in books and online. As you begin to think about what you want to do and how to prepare a space for your creative life you may want to do some searches on your own. You will discover you can take over almost any unused space or create a new one focused on your area of passion. Hopefully you will refrain from following Picasso’s example; he who turned his kitchen into a lithography and engraving workshop! In my next post I will take you inside our own creative space here in the Texas Hill Country!