21 september 2022, Oscar van Gelderen
The studio of... Annesas Appel
What does the ideal studio look like? How much time does an artist spend in his studio? Is it a sacred place? This week in the 'The Artist’s studio' it’s Annesas Appel, whose solo exhibition 'Ensemble & Duets in colour' can be seen at Galerie dudokdegroot in Amsterdam until October 15.
Do you visit your studio every day?
Yes, pretty much so. My studio is at home. From the living room there is a staircase to the loft where my studio is located. During the week I work when my children are at school. When I'm busy preparing an exhibition – or when I'm overflowing with ideas – I continue in the evening or, dependent om my schedule, also on the weekend. That's what I like about having the studio at home; I can easily go to the studio during all the breaks. Especially when the children were still very small, and the working time was very fragmented throughout the day, I was able to combine motherhood and work in the studio well in this way.
Vide
What time do you leave for your studio, and how: on foot, by bicycle, public transport or car?
In the morning I first take the children to school and cycle back home. I eat something and then go to my studio. When I'm working on weekends or holidays, it's great to just keep my pyjamas on and go up the stairs to the studio with a cup of coffee.
Do you hold on to certain rituals in your studio? Music or silence?
I usually start working where I left off the previous day. If it's a mess, I'll clean up first. When I'm working on an exhibition, I often make a schedule in advance so I know when something needs to be finished, which I follow that faithfully. In the past I didn't, so I often had to work late into the night the days before an exhibition to finish everything, which was quite stressful at times. Sometimes you can’t escape this, as some ideas come up very late in the process and then you want to test it and make it.
When I am doing more practical stuff, such as making books, printing and creasing the papers, or the recent series 'Duets and Ensemble in Colour' where I weave with thread on paper, I can sometimes enjoy listening to music. Often piano music, such as Simeon ten Holt's 'Canto Ostinato', a piece with a repeating cadence, which works well with my work. And if I need more energy, I'll let Dancehall whip me up. The Podcasts I like to listen to are 'Springvossen', ‘Onbehaarde apen' and 'Future Affairs'. It shouldn't be too distracting, I should be able to pay attention. But usually I prefer silence during these repetitive actions, because then I come up with new ideas. If I really need the concentration, such as when researching, designing and trying things out, I just want silence to focus properly, then all sounds distract.
Because my studio is at home, I also value the silence when the house is empty. In the afternoon, when the children are back from school and I can sometimes continue to work, I am still half working and half with the children, because there are always questions or sandwiches that need to be made. Then I try to do jobs that do not require my full concentration, so that combining two tasks is possible.
I am lucky that my two children can play endlessly by themselves. My daughter has a small desk in my studio, where she is busy tinkering, and my son likes to draw. This way we can each sit in our own world after dinner. In between, the children show what they are making or drawing.
Studio 2021 working on Metamporhosis music notation accompanied by daughter Indigo
How important is light to you?
A lot of work is done on the computer, light is not really important for that. For the more precise work, however, such as cutting paper or poking holes and then working with wire on paper, I need really good light. I like two good desk lamps, because I want the light as close as possible to my paper. I also work a lot with a magnifying lamp with fluorescent light in it, which allows me to zoom in.
If I want to photograph a work, I need a lot of daylight and I don't have enough of that in the studio. Then I drag my work into my son's bedroom, which has large windows, put shelves on his bed, and photograph it there.
Studio 2022
What does your work process look like? Do you work everywhere and all the time or does work only commence the moment you enter your studio?
My work pretty much continues everywhere and all the time. I always take a notebook with me to write down and draw ideas. Especially when I want to go to sleep at night, the engine starts. Then everything is quiet and peaceful and there is plenty of room for all kinds of thoughts. If it turns into worrying, because you can't figure something out, the timing is less pleasant. When I hear the nearby tower clock strike its umpteenth round, I write things down to get it out of my head so I can go to sleep and work on it the next day in my studio.
How much time do you spend on average per day in your studio?
It varies per period. If I have a deadline for an exhibition, I will continue in the evenings and weekends. Or when I'm just at the point where you feel like you're making a new discovery and don't want to stop, the laptop goes to bed with me so I can keep working until my eyes hurt.
I also try more and more – when things do not work out the way I want – to let go of work. Just go do something else, apart from work. exercising regularly; kickboxing in particular helps with this, it clears your head and you have been able to let go for a while, which creates space to look at things differently. That's something I can only do now. I think because the kids are bigger now and I have more time for work. Whereas before I had the feeling that I had to work every free hour I had, because I had so much less time to work really long in a row. Sometimes it also helps to completely change my studio in terms of layout. That can be very refreshing.
Chest of drawers
Is your studio a sacred place?
Yes, in a way it is. It's a place where I can really create and that makes me very happy. It is the space where most things come about. Also a lot of struggle, if things don't work out the way you had in mind, but that's part of it. Also I consider my notebook as my 'mobile studio'; that's where a lot of ideas arise and when I'm sketching in them, it doesn't really matter where I am. That way I always have my 'studio' with me.
What I like about a permanent place is that I am surrounded by my books that I like to look in, and all my own experiments and sketches around me. But also the practical stuff, such as my large work table, my printer, paper cutting machine and other materials. It's nice to have everything within arm’s reach. If you want to make something, you have the materials at hand to try it out. The place gives me a lot of peace, and the most important thing is that I am really in my own world – the outside world doesn't count at all, and that is actually the most sacred moment.
Do you receive visitors there, collectors, curators and fellow artists?
Occasionally, not very often. I would like to do it more often, because you end up having other conversations or bring out other work. Also, I think it's also nice for visitors to see work in the making, or the sketches and things that never actually leave the studio.
What does the ideal studio look like?
That has to be my mother’s studio, which is housed in a detached former coach house on the edge of the Kennemerduinen. My father converted it into a studio, and it has a skylight in the roof and a very large glass front. It is high, large and light. There are a lot of pencils on her table, but also in bins and baskets. Infinite colour pencils, delicious. Her drawings hang on the cupboards with magnets or lean against the wall on a wooden slat between two glass plates. As a child I spent a lot of time there and always looked in amazement at her collection of crazy plastic objects that she had arranged in open shelving. A peculiar collection of shapes and colours.
Hoe ziet het ideale atelier eruit?
I am very happy with the studio that I now have, especially given the living situation I am in now. Perhaps I'd like to have a bigger place someday, so that I can better arrange the works for an exhibition, to see how it works together. My studio is too small for that now. I would also like more daylight, allowing me to photograph the works better.
