For visual artists, having a separate building to work in can mean positive effects for both creativity and productivity. When you have a space dedicated to creating, there’s an undeniable draw to be in there, doing what you love. You’ll likely find that you’re driven to work on your art more often and for longer spells of time. If art is a business for you, this can mean more pieces to sell – and therefore more income. And if you make art as an outlet for self-expression, emotional release, and even mental well-being, you’ll feel increased inner peace and happiness.
Your Art: Your Space
Whatever you want in your freestanding art shed can happen: the size, style, and number of windows and skylights (natural light is a must-have for most artists). It can be a simple off-the-grid building that you use seasonally, or it can be wired with electricity for lighting and climate control so you can be in there any day of the year. Some of these home studios even include a spot for napping, so the artist can take a few timely winks for inspiration.
Since your backyard studio shed is solely for your art, you can treat it in the way that works for you. For many people, organization is the antidote to clutter, and it can be stress-inducing when you have to make room inside the house for canvases, easels, frames, paints, brushes, a drafting table, glues, tools, and whatever else you require to make your works. An art shed isn’t just a place to get creative projects done: it also gives you somewhere to keep supplies. The beauty is that it can be completely customized with shelves, cabinets, wall hooks, overhead loft storage, and the right-sized work surface for whatever you’re doing.
Of course, some artists thrive on chaos and feel that they create more freely when their surroundings are less buttoned down. Having supplies scattered around within easy reach – instead of filed away neatly in a bin – makes the creation process more natural for some. If this is how you work, you can feel free to embrace a level of disorganization in your dedicated studio building that might not be welcome in your living space, especially if you live with a neatnik.
That goes double for the potential stains, smudges, and smears that might result you’re your creation process: making art often means making messes. But when you have a dedicated space to work, you can also choose to forgo the dropcloth and allow those messes to happen. There’s freedom in not worrying about getting a little paint – or epoxy or whatever materials you work with – on the floor, counter, or wall, whereas you’d fret about doing the same inside the house. Rather than worrying about protecting surfaces, spreading dropcloths, and rushing to clean up every little spill, you can put that energy into your art itself. Plus, in an outbuilding dedicated to creation, there can be charm in those telltale splatters that remind you that something beautiful was made in the process.
Right in Your Backyard, Yet a World Away
Even though you can probably see your house from your backyard shed art studio, it can feel like a different world. Household distractions are left behind – that basket of dirty laundry, the dog wanting to play fetch for the tenth time that day, the kids with their noisy video games, the clattering pots and pans of your spouse making dinner – and your mind is clear and open to creating. But should anybody need you to solve a household crisis, you’re just a few steps away. You’ve got all the benefits of taking on studio space away from your home, without writing a monthly rent check. A well-built outbuilding also adds beauty and value to your property. This detached at-home studio just might be the best thing you could ever do for your art – and your life in general.
