The Art of Staying Home, with Clare Grossman

Firstly how are you feeling today?

'In truth, not having to get up with a feeling of having to rush to get somewhere is a positive. By nature, I am always fighting against the clock. I try to fit in too many things in my day and as a result am often a few minutes late for most things! Being early has always felt to me as if I just didn’t make the most of every minute and so waiting which is what you do when you are early, is a strange feeling! I think we are lucky to have clear blue skies today and that the sun has been shining over the past few days. Maybe Mother Nature is showing us just what she can offer when you take time to slow down, look and listen.

Tell us about your art and your studio.

I live in North London, in a busy area of town near to Hampstead Heath, so now that there is less traffic on the roads, a sense of calm has been afforded to the neighbourhood. I am lucky to have a purpose built studio at the bottom of my garden which was built as a music room by the previous owners. It has two small sky lights and it is north facing. I have always managed to have a studio somewhere over the years that I have worked as an artist, but this has been my first north facing studio and it makes such a difference. No more chasing shadows which fall across your artwork as the sun crosses the sky! I studied Art as soon as I left school and moved immediately from a Degree on to study for an MA in Fine Art Printmaking at Camberwell School of Art. Where at the time I was the youngest student on the course. I have always known I wanted a career in art and although this has led me to other work such as teaching or curating, it has been important for me to remain in the art world at all times and continue to keep a studio wherever or whatever else I was doing so that I could also continue my practise whether it be painting or printmaking.

Do you normally work from home?

I normally split my time between working in my studio, printmaking at London Print Studio on the Harrow Road and a portion of my time on my laptop doing administration connected to exhibitions, art fairs and teaching. It always amazes me how much time can be spent online and so in this past year I have allowed myself certain days where I don’t sit at the laptop at all, as a day can be eaten up quite easily answering emails, updating files, uploading artwork etc. I remind myself that all of this other 'stuff' mustn't take over for I have chosen to be a working artist and making artwork must be a priority.

How has your day to day life changed since COVID-19?

Generally speaking, if I have too many days away from making, I start to feel slightly out of sorts. I believe every human being is inherently creative. It is important if I cant make artwork, that I do something with my hands. I always say to my students who I teach the skills of life drawing (drawing from the human form at Fernside Life Classes; a structured series of sessions specifically organised to unlock creativity and tutor drawing skills), that learning to draw, finding your own creative voice is important. A person who draws, sees the world differently, more clearly, than one who does not. But whatever creative skill you choose to learn whether it be in the arts, crafts, cooking or gardening, it will give you a sense of grounding and fulfilment. We need to 'make' whatever the choice of making is.

If I can just go into my studio on a day that has been full of other stuff, to spend a little time to look at artwork in progress and tidy a few things away, this gives me room to think both mentally and physically. By making free open space, whether it is in the home or in my case in the studio, the very act of clearing and opening up your space enables 'new' to come in to your world.

What are you doing creatively to stay calm and mindful?

So I would say, in order to start thinking in a creative way, clear a table or a corner of a room. Stick up on the wall nearby some images of things you love, that are beautiful, interesting, inspiring or just bizarre. I have a couple of cork boards covered with postcards of artwork that I have found on trips to exhibitions, photographs I have taken, magazine clippings etc. Having these things near you will affect what you do....

Do you have any creative ideas for people to do at home?

Then take anything that is beautiful or interesting in your home and draw it for 10 minutes, just with a pencil, a simple line drawing. It could be a flower from your garden, a shell from the bathroom, some fruit etc.. put this first drawing aside and make another one, this time for 20 minutes. Maybe this time change the scale of the drawing, think about how you could draw it differently, maybe with two colours or just looking at the shadows forming around and on the object. Then go have a cup of tea. Come back and take a good look at your two drawings. Compare them. Don’t expect 'good' drawings. Just have the desire to be observant, brave and bold. I always say to my students, "its only a piece of paper, don’t be frightened by it". I also say, "keep all your drawings, at least for a few weeks. you will learn from looking again at them" Come back to them, compare them. Expect nothing but a gradual development of skill and ideas. These are your learning exercises, not finished works of art. With this in mind you create for yourself the space you need as an artist to develop and grow. If you only want a polished masterpiece, you are doomed before you've begun.. Creativity is a journey, it’s as individual as you are. The 'making' is the ultimate joy, results take care of themselves, in time.

What do you think the world will have learned from this?

If you mean, learning to live within the confines of your home. I hope it will mean that we will have the time now to really talk to one another, both to those we may live with and those we usually don’t have enough time to get round to calling or meeting up with. We are social animals, we need to converse, exchange ideas and hopefully realise that there is so much that we can do right now, we can make a difference, in many ways, both for ourselves and for others.'