Student Studio Move-In

One of my studio gangmates taking advantage
of the view from inside our studios.
The view looking into my studio.
A wall of works in progress in my studio.

The school that I chose to attend believes in teaching its students to be self motivated, practicing artists. Part of our training towards this goal is the use of private studios.

There is a huge shift in the teaching between the second and third years of schooling at PAFA. In the first two years as students, we attend 10–yes, you read right, 10–classes per week. Our time is spent learning the technical skills that will enable us to draw, paint, print and sculpt. (Of course, two years is only enough to begin to understand how little we understand. )

Then, when we make it to our third year, we are assigned private studios. The class load drops dramatically (as few as 2 classes per semester) and we are expected to spend our time in our studios, practicing what we have been taught and finding out what kind of art we will make. As I learned this summer alone painting the landscape, only those hours of private exploration will teach an artist what she has to say. So we take private studios.

My studio this year is in what is called a "gang" studio. Ten of us share this space, with each having a private part of it. The studios are lined up shotgun style, with locking doors at each end and a row of windows running the length. That means that we have natural light available (east facing in our case), and privacy when we want it. The space feels airy and open, and my gang-mates are all serious artists who make it a great place to work.