Remember the children's book "Yael's House", written by Miriam Ruth? It was published when I was already a grownup, but I liked to read it to my nephews. I related to this urge for one’s own space. First it was a pillow house, then the warehouse my father built for me underneath our home. Later I had my own one-bedroom apartment, but since I built a family (not alone ..) I have not really had a space of my own.
Until I began painting.
Then I felt the urge. Now I know how to explain it. First and foremost, it is convenient. If you do not have to rearrange the space, each and every time, clean, remove and put in order all equipment - it is more inviting to create. But it is more than that.
There is something in this combined development, a kind of co-evolution, between the sense of belonging to the space, and the personal development as an artist, that is so important. For me it was initially the corner at the entrance to my bedroom.
You really do not need a large space. A small table, an empty wall, on which you can hang canvas and work on would be enough. If the space is a little more spacious, you can also place an easel. It is better to be bright and have a sink nearby. That's it. You do not need much.
The idea in such a place is that it is defined. After a while you feel a different energy in this space. Energy of creation.
That was the beginning, and for over 4 years I worked that way.
I recently moved into a new studio that feels like a ballroom to me.
I can choose which wall I want to paint on each time. I can scatter works on all the walls and move between them. I'm celebrating this place. Both alone and together with friends and with friends of friends (of friends ...) and also with others who come because they have heard that there is a place here that makes you want to create. Want the truth? It is tiny. But intimate and bright and pleasant.
And that's basically the whole thing in your own space. That it will be pleasant.
What does a pleasant space feel like?
First of all it is yours, and that means no one will decide for you when it is available, how it will look, how it will be organized (if at all ..). It is bright, but not dazzling. It is wide, but not too much. Intimate, but not crowded. Quiet enough, and it is comfortable and inviting.
But what's so beautiful about all that?
That if it's not possible - it's not terrible. Because part of it is to flex the creation with what is possible. Even the great artists did it (see Matisse's paper cuts that started when he was bedridden).
I'm in favor of just getting started.