CYBER STUDIO: VIRTUAL ART COMMUNITY BREATHES LIFE INTO SOLITARY PRACTICES

BY JAMIE HOWELL

Wednesday morning, Adele Little Caemmerer flicks on the lights in her home studio in Plain, gathers her brushes or pencils or whatever she plans to create with that day, opens up her laptop and watches Zoom windows populate with other artists ready to work in their own studios in far-flung locations from all over the country.

It’s called Cyber Studio, offered monthly through the Grunewald Guild (grunewaldguild.com) in Plain, and it’s an idea that’s picking up steam. Modeled after the in-person open studio sessions she used to participate in and sometimes lead at the Grunewald Guild, Cyber Studio is a

Eachplace for artists from any discipline to do their often solitary work in the company of other artists, but without ever having to leave their own studio.

“It’s been so life-giving,” says Caemmerer of the way the Cyber Studio community has been building.

The structure is straight-forward. The artists log on around 9 a.m., check in with each other, setting their intentions for the day, and then they get to work. Some might be painting or drawing, others are working in stained glass or collage. There’s even a songwriter who attends (using the mute button as necessary) to work on new songs.

But there are no rules about how the artists use their time together online. Some use it to clean up their studio, or send out marketing emails they’ve been meaning to get to but haven’t.

The Cyber Studio mornings are pointedly NOT feedback or critique sessions, nor are they meant to be instructional. In order to avoid any related anxiety or perceived performance pressure, there is no expectation that anyone will show what they worked on during the session. The simple act of committing to a weekly appointment with each other brings with it some small degree of accountability and, more importantly, motivation and connection. That is the point.

“It creates or even clears space for the art,” says Caemmerer. “I feel like people use it to support themselves.”

“There’s a certain gain in being in your own studio space,” points out Caemmerer. Not having to pack up their art supplies and easels and drive to some off-site location means that participants can focus more on their work and less on their transitions, while still reaping the benefits of camaraderie.