When I was a very young boy, a well-known sculptor had his studio in an unused part of my parents’ garage for a few years. I remember the intrigue and mystery of seeing him at work, and I was fascinated by the materials, tools and smells. Later, my father worked there on his projects, as did others in the family. It engendered in me a deep curiosity for the atelier, the creative space that supports an artist in realizing their vision. I’ve been exploring those feelings recently with this series of portraits of artists in their creating environments, a privileged view behind the scenes that often reveals as much about the creator as do the works they produce there.

The Creative Spaces project was featured in an exhibit at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin, from 25 October, 2019 to 01 December, 2019 in the entrance gallery. Along with portraits of the artists, the exhibit presented a piece from each of them alongside the photograph. For more information, visit thephipps.org.