“I love my backyard studio,” Seattle jazz vocalist Dina Blade says. She recalls trying to practice music in a corner of her family’s dining room: “Everyone would be coming and going — and talking to me.”
Blade, who has lived in her Ravenna/Bryant home for 20 years, put together the studio of her dreams seven years ago, shortly before retiring from a career as a dental hygienist. She bought a prefab structure that was carried piece by piece into the backyard and assembled in the shade of an apple tree. Her husband added drywall and flooring.
Blade was so excited at the prospect of having a studio (shown on the cover) that she’d go out and tap dance on the plywood subfloor during construction. “Now I do yoga there, give lessons and, of course I’m practicing a lot,” she says.
After a two-hour walk with her husband each morning, she’s in the studio for the rest of the day. Evenings and weekends find her performing Brazilian bossa nova or jazz standards with one of her bands.
A dedicated space
Creative spaces can range from standalone studios, like Blade’s, to thoughtfully equipped guestrooms, closets or sections of a room. Activities that involve computers, machinery, photography equipment and other complex technology usually require a dedicated room. With space at a premium, many homeowners look to their basements, garages, closets and attics with an eye toward remodeling.
When Lisa Kobeck and her partner were looking for a house to buy, she insisted that it have space for a weaving studio. At the time, her loom was set up in their kitchen, where, she admits, “It was definitely in the way.”
She was thrilled when they found a house near Woodinville with a multi-car garage that included an unfinished attic space for her looms and spinning equipment — and enough land for some sheep to provide her with wool. Kobeck spent months finishing the attic space herself.
“As important as the physical space for the looms is the atmosphere,” Kobeck says. “My space is filled with weaving from other cultures, and the cones with the material I’m going to be using. Having these on display reminds me that what I’m doing is craft, and not just a hobby.”
Like Kobeck, Doug Northman requires a good bit of space for his creative pursuit. He studies and teaches tai chi — a martial art that can include using a stick or a sword. Retired from a career in information technology, Northman does his home practice and remote teaching in the family room of his Marysville home.
While many people view a home studio as a place to escape to, Northman is perfectly happy to have his space intersect with other household activities.
“Tai chi is about engaging with the world,” he says. “It’s OK to be interrupted. I can pause and talk, and then go back to what I was doing.”
Something special
Many people talk about a single element that resides at the heart of their creative space. It might be a special storage cabinet, a writing chair, a vintage tool collection or the perfect worktable.
Ross Taylor’s home studio in Ballard is designed around a massive wood table with a stainless steel top that he found at Ballard Reuse. “It’s basically a kitchen island,” he says. “I can lay things out on it, I can cut things on it — it’s a crafter’s delight.”
Taylor, a hairstylist at the Glamour Palace in Ballard, sees his art studio, located in his garage, as a place where he can step away from the streamlined perfection of his professional life and get experimental. He fabricates puppets, among them his drag puppet, Miss Ruby. During the pandemic, he sewed a line of masks in bright-colored fabrics.
“The studio has all my books and materials, glues and paints, and my sewing equipment,” Taylor says. “It’s organized and messy at the same time. I’ve produced a lot of interesting stuff in here.”
Poet Raúl Sánchez has a special table, too. It sits at the center of his small home office in Cedar Park, north of Lake City. Raised on a wooden platform, the piece can be used a standing desk when he’s tired of working from a chair. But the most important element of his table is a piece of glass he’s set over the desktop. It holds in place significant postcards, artwork and photos that resonate deeply for him.
Retired from a career in technology, Sánchez is currently the poet laureate of the city of Redmond. He’s often working in and around the city, doing readings and teaching poetry in English and Spanish. When he’s at home and focused on his writing (which he does in a former bedroom), lighting is an essential part of his setup. The office window, overlooking Lake Washington, shows him the dawn and the changing clouds throughout the day. At night, he often writes by candlelight.
“It makes me feel that I am really bringing it out from within,” Sánchez. “It’s just me, the candle and the paper.”
Create your own space
Looking to set aside an area that’s dedicated to your own creative pursuits? Here’s how to get started:
Begin with comfort and safety. This might mean an uncluttered area for movement or a spacious worktable for crafts. Make sure you have good lighting, heating and (if necessary) soundproofing.
Keep everyday tools close at hand. If your table or floor space is limited, put up shelving or pegboards for the equipment and supplies you use regularly.
Invite inspiration. Personalize your space with your favorite colors, a display of thought-provoking items or a good sound system for music.
Seek out new ideas. There are many books and websites from which to draw inspiration for your space, including the book “My Creative Space,” by Donald Rattner.