Workspace

I think it’s every artist’s dream to have a studio of their own. The unfortunate part of that is they usually aren’t cheap. Being a photographer interested in multiple printing methods, most of which being pretty hands on and “old-fashioned”, they tend to make in even larger dent in my shallow coin purse. If money was no issue this is an idea of my all-encompassing dream studio set up.

Let’s first start with the amount of space I would need to fit everything in one workspace. My guess would be about 2,000 square feet. So basically a second home just for all my studio supplies.

My ideal workspace would have a black and white darkroom to process prints as well as an area for color prints. This would require at least two different enlargers, one for b&w and one for color film. For both processes I would need running water and a disposal system for all those nasty chemicals I decided to play around with.

The equipment:

• Enlargers
• Color Paper Processor
• Chemicals
• Darkrooms

Entrance with set up.

Black & White Film Enlarger.

Color Film Enlarger.

Color Paper Processor.

On top of film and darkrooms I also like to dabble in a process called photogravure and would really like to experiment with other printing methods. Photogravure is a mix between photography and printmaking, simply put.  The set up, however, is anything but simple. You need quite a bit of equipment and tools.

Such as:

• Light Unit
• Press
• Chemicals
• Inks
• Copperplates

Light Unit.

Press.

The other thing I would want in my studio would be a computer and open workspace for my digital work as well as a planning and thinking area. And since I’ll practically be using a house anyway lets throw in a bathroom and kitchen. There is a lot of small items I’m leaving out here to reduce the list size. It could go on for pages.

The very last thing I will go over is this open work area.

Must have big windows!

Chalkboard paint to write down ideas and lists.

Concrete flooring. Easy clean up and beautifully designed.

That pretty much sums up my ideal space to work in. Although, having the entire layout in one location may be slightly unrealistic for many reason. One being I hope to be traveling. It can still be fun to think about. Plus, I can still incorporate some of these ideas into smaller studios and be happy.