Notes from the Studio

My studio is located in the heart of San Francisco's Mission District. Sandwiched between high-end chocolate shops and five-dollar drip coffee, a little art studio still exists.

The building I work in was formerly a mortuary, and if you were wondering, it only feels haunted at night when it's windy and dimly lit. The former use proves beneficial for painting, because of the wide doors used for wheeling in bodies. Moving my 10-foot canvasses through the doors is an easy feat; down the stairwell is another story.

My studio-mate had the brilliant idea to paint the whole space white. Most of my work has white negative space; with all the little specks of color in my studio it often feels as though I'm stuck in my own painting.

I use my workspace for making paintings and designing textiles. My practice specializes in hand-painted fabrics, so a lot of the work I do involves lots of wet paint and space to let it dry. After two years I'm feeling as though I'm outgrowing the space, but by crawling under and over tables I make it work.

Art studios are one of the rarest things to come by in the Bay Area these days, so every day I feel very lucky to be able to go to work. If I ever get tired, I can trip into that five-dollar coffee shop, only steps away.