Beginner's - ArtTrader Magazine

Art TRADER
m a g a z i n e
Part I: Developing a Studio Space
When my husband and I decided to pack up our household
and move to Oregon in the summer of 2008, I had one wish
for our new home; I didn’t want my art space to be in the
basement any longer. In Pennsylvania, my art was created
on a cramped workbench in a corner of a damp, centuryold
stone cellar. In the winter, it was so cold in my little art
dungeon that I constantly dragged projects up into all other
rooms of our little house, just to stay warm.
My husband had his own wish for our new home—that he
could have a spare bedroom as his own space, for workout
equipment, video games and our second television.
So, when we landed in Roseburg, Oregon, in what seemed to
be an otherwise perfect house, we realized we were stuck—
there was only one spare bedroom, and the house had no
basement. My husband didn’t care where my art supplies
went, as long as he was able to claim that little extra bedroom
as his own. So, it didn’t take much discussion—in lieu of
adding a table and chairs to our dining room, it became my
art studio.
The windows along one wall let in ample natural light, and I
was able to furnish the space from scratch. My largest piece
of studio furniture is the white wooden countertop that fills one
wall—it was found in an architectural salvage yard, already
painted. I added the trim, made of a salvaged board, and the
calico skirts to give myself a little hidden storage. Underneath
the skirts, I store scrapbook papers, ephemera and vintage
book text.
-31-
A Look at the
Layered Art of
Amy L. Sargent
and the Studio
Space Behind Her
Process
By Amy L. Sargent