Serena Kovalosky's Studio
Like any visual artist, my studio is filled with inspiration that ignites my imagination. My walls are filled with quotes, images, collage work, pictures, notes on my process and magazine clippings. But there’s one place in my studio that always sends my creative brain on a field trip. Along one of the studio walls is a series of cubbyholes I inherited from a New Zealand artist whom I greatly admire and who had a studio in Montreal’s St-Henri district where I had my own studio many years ago.
Carol didn’t create artwork for sale, her work was mostly creative research and anyone lucky enough to know her and visit her studio were treated to pure visual eye-candy. On her workbench, there would be the beginnings of a sculpture using dried oranges. On her walls were abstract photo images achieved by shooting blue ink into bubble wrap. In a corner of her studio, a “painting” that she began by placing the canvas on the ground and driving over it with her car. What always got my attention amidst the sensory overload were twenty-four wooden cubbyholes perched atop her workbench. They were filled with all sorts of exotic visual stimuli like dried seaweed and unusual stones, and I’d sometimes go to her studio just to soak up their magic and inspiration. After Carol moved from Montreal to spend a year in Africa, I was surprised to find that she had left the magical cubbies behind in the building’s trash room.
Those cubbies are now a permanent part of my studio, and I brought them with me when I moved my studio to upstate New York. Now they inspire me on a daily basis, filled with my own collection of organica that tickles my creative brain cells. Sitting at my workbench, I allow these visuals to be unconsciously absorbed into my psyche so that when I create, some of that inspiration naturally appears in my work.
Since this New York studio is not open to the public, I thought I’d share a few of my cubbies with all of you.
Welcome and enjoy!
Dried gourd, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, corn. Serena Kovalosky studio
Primitive-fired local clay from Lake Champlain (NY), seed pod. Serena Kovalosky studio
Suede lacing, postcard with drawing by Rick Hunt ("Walks With Drum"). Serena Kovalosky studio
Indian corn, pods, water chestnuts, wood, butternut, dried orange. Serena Kovalosky studio
Nests, print of rooster painting by Leslie Peck. Serena Kovalosky studio
Clay bowl, pods, nuts, pinecone, dried apple slices in jar. Serena Kovalosky studio
Pussywillows, birch bark. Serena Kovalosky studio
Milkweed. Serena Kovalosky Studio
As I stated before, these pieces serve only as inspiration. I don’t take a form or a texture and copy it……I allow these pods, nuts, seeds and nests to provide the lens that my artwork passes through as it makes its way into the physical world.
I’ll end this tour with a new sculptural piece I’m currently working on for an upcoming exhibition in Vermont. It was inspired not only from these objects that inhabit my studio, but also from a powerful weekend I spent learning the art of keeping a sacred fire with a Native American firekeeper. (See the Keeper of the Fire series)
Work in progress. Serena Kovalosky studio
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Lovely idea:) My husband is building my art cabin as I type. He is so wonderful to me. It has ended up taking much more time and money than I thought but I cannot wait to incorporate cubby holes, which was something he had also talked about doing for me! Thanks for the inspiring photos:)
Every artist should have cubbies! How wonderful your husband is building you an art cabin! It’ll be worth it when it’s done – a place all your own to create freely and openly – an artist’s dream!
Absolutely beautiful photos of your studio, but how do you keep it so clean?
Actually, that’s the cleanest part of my studio. The rest is a jumble of gourds, bark, feathers, stones, tools and materials. I’ll give it a good cleaning several times a year but while I’m working, it gets pretty cluttered! It’s a sign of a creative mind, I always say!
I was looking for pictures of your artwork. Do you have them posted on line? I am an email recipient of your Artful Vagabond and love your daily musing of why you love being an artist and we are sisters at Gourd Art Enthusiasts. I have admired your work and just wanted to see if you had it posted in pics for all us struggling artists to admire ?
Sincerely,
Judy
aka
GreyFeather
Hello Judy!
So glad to have you along for the 365-Days on Artful Vagabond! And a special welcome to a fellow gourd artist!
I have a website dedicated to my artwork: http://www.kovalosky.com
I also have a blog on that site that chronicles my creative process.
What name do you use on GAE? It’s such a great site and a wonderful community of artists.
Looking forward to more conversations!
SerenaK