Where I work

We just moved into a larger, more affordable apartment in Queens.  It's a bit of an adjustment but I adore having a bit of space to work.  For the first time since college, I have a space that's just dedicated to drawing.   Right now it's just a card table but when money is less tight I'll invest in a nice table or desk. I decorated the space around the desk with things that make me happy and inspire me.  On the table you will see a porcelain lamp. What you can't see is that is is carved with trees to remind me of the woods.  There is also a little troll I bought as a present for myself after I received my master's degree and a piping pig reproduction of a medieval sculpture.  I have all of my supplies: pencils, pens, colored pencils, envelopes, giclée prints, cello bags, paper cutter, etc.  Some are kept in a castle tin I've had since I was a child.  Above the desk you'll see a signed print of a winter castle by Gennady Spirin, a lovely illustrator whose work looks like the Limbourg Brothers with a Russian twist.  Above that is a print of "Snow White and Rose Red" by Trina Schart Hyman, a woman whose detailed and gorgeous watercolors made me want to be an illustrator.  To the left is my own drawing of "Hans-My-Hedgehog," to keep me working with a sense of wonder, while to the right is an engraved reproduction from Rabelais' Dream of Pantagruel: it's a monster playing his nose as a flute. My brother bought that for me because I own two nose flutes.  Above that are two more medieval reproductions: a running knight and a jousting knight.  Below, we'll see a metal name plate of Zur Böttcherstraße, that street in Bremen with all of the toy shops that I loved as a child.  Below that is my self portrait as Snow White, and to the far left, a tiny print of Domenico Ghirlandaio's Giovanna Tornabuoni.  The photo oddly looks a bit fisheyed, but really, everything is straight.  So now, once grading is done, comes a drawing binge...and I can't wait.

My tiny, sweet "studio."