Introducing Elaina & Creative Spaces

By: Elaina Johann, administrative manager on September 23rd, 2020

Me at the Museum

As I settle into the administrative manager position at the Woodson Art Museum, in many aspects of my life I continue to discover a place for all of the pieces that make me Elaina Johann – who you will soon get to know through this blog, future posts, and when you visit the Museum.

My paintings, loaded for transport form my Milwaukee studio space to storage while away in Pittsburgh

Over the past two years, while I completed a Master of Arts Management degree at Carnegie Mellon University, I found myself studio-less in Pittsburgh. Now in Wausau, I have a space ready to be transformed into a studio I can personalize. It’s a clean slate.

New studio space in progress, fall 2020

It’s been odd not having a designated space in which to create art. I suspect many who are working from home feel similarly, as home lives merge with work lives.

Previous studio space in Milwaukee, winter 2018

Before making the journey to Pittsburgh, I shared a studio space with seven other emerging artists after graduating from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. This space was full of creative energy and perfect for that time in my life.

I have plans for my “clean slate”: shelving and built-in storage along the east wall; a large counter-height rolling work table for the center; a checkerboard pattern painted on the raw floor, leaving alternate blocks of cement exposed. That’s all soon to come. For now, the electrical work is complete for ideal studio lighting and the drywall will be up soon.

From My Space to Yours, on view at the Museum

Many Birds in Art 2020 artists have graciously given us a window into their studio spaces through the exhibition From My Space to Yours. As I meandered through the lower gallery featuring the artists’ studio photographs, I was inspired by how each artist created a space specifically suited to their artistic and atmospheric needs. Explore From My Space to Yours as well as Birds In Art, both on view now through Sunday, November 29, and see how you might be inspired to create your particular space.

I look forward to getting to know Woodson Wanderings readers and Woodson Art Museum members and to learning about the spaces and places that inspire you to get creative.

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