Welcome to the 307th installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists sew with human hair and manipulate the translucence of organza.
Want to take part? Check out our submission guidelines and share a bit about your studio with us through this form! All mediums and workspaces are welcome, including your home studio.
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Farmington, New Mexico
How long have you been working in this space?
Nine years total; however, in the current configuration, since May 19, 2025.
Describe an average day in your studio.
My cats, Felix and Smudge, enter the studio each morning with me. I read one of my “Badass Bitch” affirmations to start my studio time. Besides the hand-stitched human hair artworks, which are labor-intensive and take months to finish, I have soft sculptures, drawings, and installations in various states of progress. I work in my sketchbook each day; I have all my sketchbooks since 1984. Object-making is balanced along with writing and reading. My typical music selections include Lucinda Williams, Jack White, Alejandro Escovedo, and Vivir Quintana.
How does the space affect your work?
An extension to my studio space was completed in the spring of 2025. Since I recently moved back into my studio, I am still getting acclimated to the space. The expanded space allows for the fabrication of multiple artworks at once. It gives me the opportunity to hang up preliminary artworks on the wall to ponder and take slow, progressive steps. I like to create mock-ups of installations and the new space can accommodate this activity.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
My studio is connected to my house; my home nestles in a cul-de-sac. The intimacy of the neighborhood draws me to the yard where I fiddle with flowers, bonsai bushes, and yard art. This area of New Mexico is called the Four Corners; it is a high desert environment. Surrounding rock formations are an endless source of fascination. I am connected to the art communities of Farmington, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque, as well as Durango, Colorado. I live three and a half hours from a hotbed of art: Santa Fe.
What do you love about your studio?
The windows! New Mexico light saturates my studio, it snakes across the floor, it permeates the air.
What do you wish were different?
I wish I could see hoodoos from my windows.
What is your favorite local museum?
The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
Human hair.
Mimi Czajka Graminski, Red Hook, New York
How long have you been working in this space?
Twenty years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
I usually begin work in the morning around 9am and can have several projects going at the same time. I often travel from one piece to another — sewing elements on the sewing machine, then gluing pages for an artist book, and back to sewing again. I often take a break in the afternoon and then return at night. I listen to music or books if it is work that does not require a lot of decision-making. If I need to figure out logistics or engineering, I need silence.
How does the space affect your work?
My studio is fairly spacious and allows me to create compact versions of installations that I will install on a larger scale at various venues. The low ceilings make it easy for me to suspend work so I can manipulate it.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
I live in the country just outside a small town and have formed a community of artists that connect on a weekly and monthly basis. We meet regularly to discuss work, opportunities, and exhibitions.
What do you love about your studio?
I love the windows that look out onto the woods, and since it is on the second floor it gives me the feeling of being in nature (in a tree house).
What do you wish were different?
I wish I had more wall space to hang work. (I love the windows but they cut down on the wall space!)
What is your favorite local museum?
The Dorsky Museum at Bard College is very close and easily accessible.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
I have been working with organza and love the way it holds its shape while maintaining its translucency.
