MY DESK
MY SPACE
Artist Emma Rose, an old hand at this working from home business, gives us a tour of her office desk Picture by Betty Bhandari That’s one heck of a desk you have there Emma. It looks chaotic! Is there a method to the seeming madness?
Ha ha! Well, yes, sort of. The truth is when I am in full throttle of painting, then admin comes second. There is a vague pattern of organisation but it frustrates me having to get the right side of my brain going to sort out the paperwork, so I tend to put it in piles on the desk. When I’m finally ready to make sense of the piles, they are, by then, in an awful mess. How long have you worked here, and where is your office situated?
It’s been 12 years now, and I have The Art Studio, which was converted from a tumbledown stable in the garden. It is next to our holiday let The Art Cottage (which was converted from
stables and pig sheds). But what also really helps is I have the tiniest office in our kitchen, in what was a pantry – this means I can carry on working in the evening while cooking and seeing our girls. What’s that amazing view behind you?
It is a gobsmacking south facing valley view. At the bottom of the garden is the old steam railway line, long gone sadly, but it looks over Wellow Brook, the ridge and over to the Long Barrow. How much time at your desk, say compared to your art studio?
I would say I spend 50 per cent on admin and 50 per cent painting. Where’s your desk from?
It is an old dining room table – it is covered with very old
hessian that my stepfather, who was a sculptor, artist and photographer, gave to me. It is ancient and cherished. …and the chair?
The chair is some manky old thing – no idea where it came from, probably my husband’s old office. It is covered in paint and dog hair, thanks to my lurcher Kizzy who spends a lot of time with me. Talk us through some key items on your desk...
Art books, paint brushes, paint, measuring tapes, notebooks, palette knifes, old aprons caked in old paint, a press book, printer, loads of coloured markers and calligraphy ink pens. And on your mood board?
The mood board is 12 years of
colourful inspirational art/design postcards – work by admired artists, including Fred Cuming, Monet, Sue Wales, John Eaves, Rothco, Richard Twose, colour charts, silly drawings by our girls, and family snaps. Anything sentimental you couldn’t be without?
There are a couple of family portraits that were done in an arcade booth, where the photo is turned into a Great Master’s pencil drawing. I love those. Do you eat at your desk?
Yes, I’m dreadful really, I often dip my brushes into tea and coffee if I have run out of water. n
Emma’s Art Studio, Knight’s Barn, Bath, is open every day, by appointment; www.emmaroseartworks.com
www.mediaclash.co.uk I BATH LIFE I 15
