Welcome to the 362nd installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, Natali Bravo-Barbee moves between modes of motherhood and making while testing the limits of what photography can be.
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Natali Bravo-Barbee, Governors Island and South Street Seaport, New York
How long have you been working in this space?
Three years (the spaces change every year).
Describe an average day in your studio.
An average day in the studio is rarely average. As an artist and mother, I have learned to build flexibility into my studio practice. My days usually start once my children are in school, around 8:30 or 9am. I start by making a to-do list. There is an incredible amount of administrative work that is part of being an artist and maintaining a studio practice, so I usually try to get those tasks out of the way first.
Once I clear that list, I can pick up where I left off creatively. I usually have my mate and a thermos of hot water with me, and I sip as I settle back into whatever I was working on. Sometimes that means exposing cyanotypes that I coated the day before. Most recently, it has meant going through the photographs I selected to print and spending time with the images before deciding how I want to move forward with them. I’m constantly moving between making, looking, researching, and organizing. For me, all of those things are part of the studio practice.
How does the space affect your work?
The space affects my work quite a bit, particularly because I move between my home studio and my studio on Governors Island. They create two very different conditions for working.
When I’m working from home, the day is much more fragmented. I’m able to work around my family’s schedule, but I’m also surrounded by everything that comes with running a household: laundry, groceries, dinner, and the general visual noise of home. Sometimes I’ll be in the middle of something and realize I need to switch gears completely. There is always another task waiting for me.
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