-explorer of places
-taker of photos
-maker of stuff
S J Botham
The Impact of the Art Space
I've lived in lots of different places and usually really try to find some studio space in all the places that I live. This is often a surprizingly difficult task as there is an incredible shortage of affordable artist studio spaces and often getting these spaces is expensive and/or requires being on waiting lists for a long time.
As I tend to move around quite frequently, conventional spaces are often not an option for me- and I have to improvise.
The spaces that I have worked in, certainly influence the type of work I create. The work I produce is directly impacted by the answers to questions about the space like - Is it big enough for sculpture? Can I make a mess of the floors? Is there enough space to work on large canvases? Are there other people working creatively close by? Is there coffee close by?
Because the spaces I work in have such an impact on my work- I also like to document them. This page shows some images of my previous "studio" spaces.

Cairns 2014
This is my current workspace- lovely light and green views through the large sliding doors. Much of the work for my upcoming exhibition "Between These Lines" is being currently being completed in the space.

Bribie Island 2013
Bribie Island, an island kinda near Brisbane attached to the mainland by a bridge. Alas- the photo doesn't show it, but the view of the canal through this window was often a bit of a distraction...

Machans Beach 2013
Despite the extensive wet season heat and large mosquito population I was quite productive in this space over the summer. Being surrounded by windows in an old Queenslander house was pretty atmospheric when The Rains came- and it was always pretty exciting to encounter Green Tree Frogs and Geckos whilst I worked.

Kuranda 2012
For a time I was working out of a stall space at the markets in Kuranda. It was lovely to be creating in the rainforrest- but a little strange to have tourist wondering past.
This was quite a large space and it was nice to finally have some space to work on larger canvas and not have to be as concerned about getting messy.
This place made me dream of havng a studio in a colony of artists studios - alas they were stalls not studios...

Malanda 2012
A teaching post offered me a brief stint in Malanda on the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland. Very beautiful and inspiring countryside with abundent crops and wet tropical rainforest. Alas I had only a very small work space and almost no time to work on making stuff. Still some ideas germinated here- like the idea to stay in the Tropics after the teaching post finished.

Berlin 2011
Berlin is such an inspiring city! Whilst I was living there, the space I had to work in was incredibly limited. However, I did manage to develop a few ideas and create some smaller scale works which were further developed later when I had more space.

Wellington 2010
For almost a year I was lucky enough to be working out of a shared studio space in "Creative City" in downtown Wellington. From my window I could see down to Courtney Place (which was often amusing on a Friday or Saturday night!). This space was incredibly inspiring as I had all sorts of musicians, artists and designers creating around me. I also had lots of wall space to play with and space to play with sculptural ideas.

New Plymouth 2009
Taranaki is an incredibly underated part of New Zealand and absolutely visually spectacular. New Plymouth was the first dedicated artspace that I had had since art school and I was very excited to have great light, an interesting view and finally some space to experiment and make some stuff!