Workspace Wednesday: featuring Aperture Agog

Welcome to another edition of Workshop Wednesday, where I take you into the studios of genuine New York City artists.  New Yorkers have the challenge of making our tinier-than-tiny spaces work to our advantage, while still keeping the creative juices flowing in our limited work areas.

Today I'm featuring Kelly from Aperture Agog, where she makes crazy cool prints, cards, t-shirts, wall art, roller derby fashions and many other fabulous items using her own photographs of the city streets.  Kelly has a unique view of the world and an even more unique 'workspace' solution.

First lets take a look into her 'home base' work area.  This space is in her living room where she does all her print prep, mat photos, night light assembly, craft show prep, silk screening and big thinking.  Kelly says, "my workspace is my small little corner in the world that I get things done in. I try to organize it to squeeze all my supplies in and have a bit of room to get all the work done too."

So here's the cool part.  In addition to working at home, Kelly makes her art on the go: from subway trips to long bus rides to train rides Kelly brings her work with her and makes use of the space wherever she is.  She says, "I've found from previous travels that embroidering on the bus or subway is very Zen. I catch up on This American Life podcast or new music and happily embroider my cards or artwork." Here she is on her subway ride from Brooklyn into Manhattan.  That looks like the B train to me...

But wait, there's more!  She commutes to Boston most weekends to visit her husband who is getting his Theater Directing degree at Boston University, so she uses those hours of commuting to get into her craft.  Which is a brilliant use of time in my opinion!  Here's Kelly on the train, podcast-listening-embroidering-multi-tasking:

She looks so serious but I assure you she's hilarious and very fun.  I think she's just focusing on her work.  Maybe she was making this hand embroidered Wall Art Hanging, available for $35 in her Etsy shop:

Kelly is also one of the featured artists and will be selling her work at the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade sponsored by our awesome Etsy team, the {NewNew} team.  Be sure to stop by and say hello to Kelly on December 5, 2010 from 11am-8pm. This year’s Holiday Handmade Cavalcade will take place at OpenHOUSE Gallery in Nolita, New York.

I hope she'll be selling some of her cheeky hand-screened t-shirts like this one available for $20 in her ApertureAgog Etsy shop.

Thank you Kelly for opening up your studio and sharing your unique ways of using space to make your art!  See you at the Holiday Handmade Cavalcade!

Stephanie Maslow-Blackman
Metalicious