Where does art come from? How do artists create their work?

For the audience, finished artworks often seem magical -- made by artists with supernatural skills -- because the viewer has never visited an artist's studio, handled their tools, touched the materials or witnessed their demanding work in progress.

This series offers a glimpse into the creative lives of seven generous, open and talented artists with studios in the Brushworks Arts and Industry building (a former toothbrush factory). My goal is to show where their art comes from -- from love, care, intention, skill, experience, clutter, disorder and most especially, hard work. I had the great privilege of watching them create their work over a four-month period in 2016-2017.

Although these artists work with very different media, their studios share some surprising similarities -- a hot plate for heating soups and drinks, a small library of reference books, stacks of empty yogurt containers, a music player, and wall-to-wall clutter.

A huge thank you to these artists who so generously shared their time, space, passion and creativity with me:

Emily Rosenfeld (jeweler)
Frances Kidder (painter)
Grant Figura (printmaker)
Justine Barrett Figura (potter)
Lynn Peterfreund (printmaker)
Mike Fitzpatrick (silkscreen)
Terry Blanchard (seamstress/painter)