Three Art Books That Inspire My Creative Life (Part 1)
The walls of my studio are lined with bookcases, packed with hundreds of books about art. If you didn’t know what kind of artist worked here, you would find it hard to guess from her books. Here you will find books on Artemisia Gentileschi, Agnes Martin, Wayne Thiebaud, Georgia O’Keeffe and Mark Rothko. All so different, yet each one has lit part of the way in my artistic journey.
All of the books are my treasures, and their silent presence in my studio reminds me of where I came from and where I hope to go.
But there are a few books that I cherish above all others. and turn to again and again. Here are three of my favorite books that nourish my daily practice and sustain my continuing journey as an artist:
Anne Truitt
Anne Truitt made luminous abstract sculptures, and she was also a gifted writer. Three of her books are some of my most beloved (and tea-stained) studio companions: Daybook, Turn and Prospect. Truitt writes in detail about her artistic process and inspirations, her studio life, her yearly stays at the venerable artist colony Yaddo, and the simple yet profound pleasures to be found in home and family life.
Frances Palmer
Frances Palmer is a celebrated potter whose functional ceramics (vases, platters, etc.) are also exquisite works of art. In Palmer’s book Life in the Studio, she shares deeply about her inspiration (she has a ravishing garden with over 500 dahlia plants), her studio practice, and some of her philosophies on art and life. In one of my favorite essays, she writes that when she was a knitter, she learned that an item is created “row by row by row.” Thus, it isn’t necessarily the luxury of long periods of time in the studio that yield art – it is the small chunks of time patiently devoted to one’s work (row by row by row) that add up to a single work, a collection and a life.
Georgia O’Keeffe
Georgia O’Keeffe is one of the pole stars of my life and I own nearly every book written about her. The singularity of her voice was evident even as a young woman, and she crafted a life in service to her vision. Famously, after her first visit to the enchanted New Mexico desert, O’Keeffe’s art and life were transformed. Maria Chabot – Georgia O’Keeffe, Correspondence 1941–1949, is the story of one of O’Keeffe’s great creations, her house at Abiquiu.
Since O’Keeffe was still living most of the year in New York City with her husband Alfred Stieglitz, she enlisted the help of a young woman, Maria Chabot, to oversee the building of her house at Abiquiu. Their letters, most written when O’Keeffe was in NYC, offer intimate glimpses into the creation of a home, and also into O’Keeffe’s rich urban life filled with gallery openings, symphony concerts and her wide artistic circle of friends.
I hope that these books will bring you inspiration, encouragement and delight – as they continue to do for me.
