A New Art Studio for TinkerLab

A New Art Studio

Last night I was officially introduced to my new art studio! It’s a gorgeous space, formerly occupied by my friend Cristina Velazquez, who’s working on a large-scale installation with over 400 unwanted VHS tape. (If you live in the Bay Area and want to join her for a VHS tape knit-in this week, more details can be found here.)

I applied to be an artist in the Cubberley Artists’ Studios Program in Palo Alto earlier this summer, and recently learned that I was granted a spot! I’ve been eyeing these spaces for YEARS, and to say that I’m excited about moving in is an understatement.

The program is housed in the former Cubberley High School complex, along with other community-based programs such as preschools, dance classes, and continuing education classes. It’s a remarkable reuse of what might have been an otherwise vacant space, and I’m honored to soon be a part of this community magic.

They hosted a welcome event last night where I found out which studio would become the new home of my art initiatives and big tinkering plans. Most of the 28 artists were there, and a highlight was getting to peek into all of the incumbent artist studios. I didn’t get permission to share any of their spaces (yet) and hope to introduce you to some of them in the upcoming months.

My Former Art Studio

As you might know, I’ve been working out of our small home for the past many years 🙂 You can take a look at our current maker space here. I love this space, but it has been getting cramped, and it will be SO nice to reclaim my home for, you know, living in.

My kids will undoubtedly continue to make this space their own, but I’m sure they’ll also make their way into my new studio since I don’t do a very good job at separating my work from them. As such, I have a feeling that the content of this blog may reflect some of these physical changes.

TinkerSpaces

In case you’re not already privy to the awesome spaces I’ve been sharing here, you might enjoy the Tinkering Spaces Series. These are largely home and community-based spaces that support tinkering and making.

More Art Studios on TinkerLab

I’m obviously an enthusiastic proponent of art studios — either at home or off-site — and I’m eager to make this topic a larger part of TinkerLab. If you have a moment to fill out this QUICK survey, I’d be so grateful!