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Welcome to the Drawing Board #11!

Yes... the blog’s been quiet. But sometimes creative momentum demands a shift- and I had to press pause on posts to bring the Podcast to life (more on that soon!). I’m thrilled to say blog posts are coming back, and I’ve got some favorites to tide you over while fresh ones are in the works. Plus, this week we’re stepping inside Rodin’s studio and seeing what that space can teach us about collaboration, iteration, and letting our creative environments evolve alongside us.

Let’s get into it:

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Some of My Favorite Blog Posts:

• ​Evan Kitson's Graphite Drawing Materials Kit​
• ​Kenneth Nicholson's Daily Sketchbook Habit​
• ​WOYEW: Judith Leyster's Musicians​
• ​Creative Productivity: Pomodoro Technique​

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Rodin’s Studio Wasn’t Just His

When we imagine Auguste Rodin, we tend to picture a solitary genius carving away at stone in a haze of inspiration. But that’s not really how he worked (or any other major artist's studio.)

Rodin’s studio, particularly during the height of his career, was more like a creative engine: It was filled with assistants, models, collaborators, and endless iterations. His workspace was part sculpture lab, part idea factory, and part stage for artistic exchange. Yes, Rodin carved stone and modeled form in clay, but often, he drew. He made studies. And sometimes he just observed (he had a whole space just to observe models in motion... can you imagine how interesting that must've been?) He had other sculptors help translate his vision into scale. His studio wasn’t about maintaining a mystique of artistic solitude, it was about sustaining momentum.

And it worked.

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What Can We Learn from Rodin's Studio Today?

1. A Studio Is a Site of Process, Not Perfection

Rodin’s space was filled with fragments: hands, torsos, busts. Parts of things. (Sarah and I were able to take them in a bit at the Met last Sunday! They have many of these fragments lining one of their impressive great hallways.) Not everything was a finished masterpiece, and that was the point. He treated his studio like a place to think through material, to test, to iterate. I find myself often doing this naturally, but feeling guilty about it- I should have more "finished masterpieces", framed art, etc. Reading about Rodin's studio practice helped me just let go of that guilt. Afterall, some of his more "unfinished" compositional components are some of my favorite artworks of his!

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2. Creativity Is Not a Solo Act

Rodin relied heavily on studio assistants and collaborators. While his vision led the work, he built a space that welcomed the energy and expertise of others. While I explored this idea of creative spaces being more about community than isolation in a previous newsletter, the podcast episode today expands on that quite a bit.

Are you letting other voices into your creative space- whether in-person or virtually? I find it really, really helps me to stay motivated and moving forward in my practice when I do.

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3. Let the Studio Grow With You

Rodin’s workspace evolved over time, from modest beginnings to the bustling atelier that produced some of his most iconic works. The tools, the scale, and even the walls changed. Sometimes when our space stays the same, our work stays the same. My philosophy has always been to invest in and collect books/tools/casts/even art that inspire me as well as feel actionable- they open my practice up to an avenue that I couldn't have gone before. How to do this responsibly? Well, in many ways I'm still figuring that out myself- but you'll know what you can take on and if you should.

Rodin’s studio, in a way, was a body in motion. Alive with energy, surrounded by others, and always in progress.

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If you’re thinking about your own workspace this week, consider what kind of energy it invites:

Is there room to experiment?

To connect?

To be unfinished?

If you'd like to share your own reflections- or just peek inside someone else’s sketchbook, come join us in The Virtual Studio. It's our own little slice of the studio tradition: a space for showing work, sharing ideas, and keeping each other moving forward.

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​Join the Virtual Studio Online Community​

The Podcast: Pomodoro Drawing Lands on YouTube

Episode 5 of the Open Sketchbook Podcast is live, and you can find it on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast app!

Weekly Sketch Starter:
​A View of Your Creative Space

The above ink sketch is from Paul Heaston - a phenomenal ink artist who creates wonderful point of view drawings of different spaces where he draws. Check out his Instagram here.

Thanks so much for checking out this issue of the Drawing Board newsletter! Please don't forget to watch (or listen on your favorite podcast app) to the latest Open Sketchbook Podcast episode - it's well worth it on YouTube, as there's a drawing demo to go with it this time!

Have a fantastic week!

Happy drawing,
Evan​​

​​https://learn.theopensketchbook.com/​

Join the Virtual Studio Online Community:
​https://learn.theopensketchbook.com/bundles/virtual-studio
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Join our Discord:
​https://discord.gg/9r8x4k2YPk​