Maker : Jenny Phillips
A few months before I moved while in the midst of packing and planning, I had a crazy idea to visit as many of my artist’s friends' studios that I could squeeze in and photograph them for inspiration. Each of their studios are as unique and beautiful as they are and I wanted a memento of them to take with me. Plus, a little inspiration in creating my new studio space. Now I can share their beautiful spaces with you.
First up is a visit to Jenny Phillips’s beautiful San Francisco studio. Jenny is one of those artists that breathes creativity from every pore of her being. You know those artists. The ones that we all aspire to be. Jenny’s got it. I feel so fortunate to have met her thanks to those old days of in-person art classes. The classes that last for several weeks where you do deep dives into ideas and make actual connections with fellow classmates.
We both signed up for the infamous drawing class taught by Theodora Varney Jones at Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, CA. Neither of us knew the other was in the class until we introduced ourselves but we both knew each other's work and had been wanting to meet. Kismet! We’re both still absorbing all we learned from Theodora. But Jenny really made the most of it.
Since then, I’ve been lucky to call Jenny a friend and an inspiration. At the time, she was working out of her beautiful home studio that her husband, Yann, an architect, designed. But it was small and she had big ideas. Now she has a spacious loft studio in Yosemite Place in the Bay View district in San Francisco.
It is a true artist’s studio and such an inspiration to visit. Jenny is amazing about sharing her creative process. It’s a large part of the work she makes, the paying attention, the observing of the world. And this shows on her studio walls (and ceilings) as well.
Your eye immediately is drawn to the foraged, rusty garden stakes beautifully arranged underneath a perfectly matching stairwell.
Those garden stakes are constantly reinvented in her work. It is a true art to be able to mine a simple object in a myriad of ways. Her Foraged Series echoes her former career as a graphic designer, with bold graphics and Pantone-like pure color.
The Unearthed Series was also inspired by those garden stakes but this time, they become a ghostly gesture.
All the bits and bobs collected on her daily walks through her neighborhood becomes fodder for new work.
You can clearly see that each element of the artwork is important to her and holds a reverence in itself in her studio. Collected bits of paper are both beautiful and functional, ready to utilized the moment an idea inspires her.
Color often plays an important role in Jenny’s work. The colors she sees on her walks filter into her work. In early spring it might be the bright yellow Oxalis blooming all over San Francisco.
These smaller paper scraps, used in several series, also inspired a series of large scale murals. The mural below is for the Lululemon store in Walnut Creek, CA.
A desk in the loft area overlooks the large work space below and also has a fantastic view of the bay.
The desk is filled with watercolors and ink at the ready for when she wants to quiet her thoughts and make smaller works purely based on color or line.
Downstairs is where the larger work happens. Either on the floor or on one of the huge walls.
The nice thing about a true artists’ studio is you don’t have to worry about spilling paint on the floor. Something I will envy.
She is currently preparing for a solo show this November at Seager Gray Gallery in Mill Valley, CA. I wish I could be there in person to see the exhibition. If you’re in the area, be sure to check it out!
I miss you Jenny! Thanks for the morning of inspiration and talk! There will be more Bay Area studios coming soon!
Website: www.jennyphillips-studio.com
Instagram:
Great post- I’m always inspired to see how the creative spaces inspire the work- can’t wait to see more!
What an awesome post!! So happy to have found you through Jenny's instagram. Her husband Yann is my cousin Maureen's partner at Field Paoli Architects in San Francisco. Have LOVED watching Jenny's art career develop, she's AMAZING!!