“The darkness surrounding my studio has its own magic.” Joan Danziger
Welcome to the 312th installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists run laboratories of light and speak to the glass sculptures surrounding them.
How long have you been working in this space?
I have been creating art for more than 60 years and have been working in my present studio since 1988. It’s the perfect studio for me, which is attached to my home. I love to be able to just walk through my house into my studio, night or day. If I wake up at 3am with a great idea, I just go down the stairs, and there I am, in front of my worktable filled with wire, metal, glass, paint, and many tools. What could be better?
Describe an average day in your studio.
It depends on my schedule with possible art exhibitions, writing essays, or other art activities. If I am planning a major exhibition, I will work seven days a week. Otherwise, I work about five days. I try to work during the day as I like natural light, but working at night can also be beautiful. The darkness surrounding my studio has its own magic. It’s fitting since my art deals with a fantasy world. As I work, I listen to fiction and non-fiction books on tape which I find stimulating.
How does the space affect your work?
When you walk into my studio, it is filled with ravens, scarab beetles, flying butterflies, horses, trees — all symbols of animals and nature in the world around us. My studio has 40 windows and high-beamed ceilings and is very large. I designed the studio space, and it was important to me to have many windows with natural light that reflects on my sculptures. I can open my door to a terrace and feel the natural world. The space is so airy and filled with light that it makes you want to create art that is tied to the earth. Through my work, I try to show the fragility of the natural world and the chaos due to human activity and the importance of nature and animals in the ecosystem.