Ashcroft has painted live worldwide from Los Angeles to Hong Kong and Osaka. His work is held in private and public collections including The New Art Gallery, Walsall and the Royal Mail. In 2005 he was commissioned by the British Film Institute to create the film poster and DVD for the UK cinematic release of the original uncutGodzilla (1954). In 2010 Ashcroft painted with the Scrawl Collective in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall as part of Tate Modern’s 10th anniversary event No Soul For Sale.

Since 1998 my studio has been located in the former Deptford Library in New Cross, an Edwardian building opened in 1914 and now home to an independent co-operative of about 50 artists.

My studio is located on the top floor, with a glass ceiling which allows plenty of light. In the winter the studio is often freezing, during the summer it’s like a greenhouse.

This is where I can experiment with the process of painting, free from interruption.

If I work late at night to early morning I’m usually the only person left in the building. I’ve been told of ghosts but as yet only heard mice scattering amongst the empty studios. I try not to hang around when it comes to locking up.

Ashcroft’s first monograph Solar System Parameters is published by Gamma Proforma in October 2013 and is available to order here.

More: Website | Tumblr | Facebook | Twitter

All photos (excluding the book) © Joe Plommer

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‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

I work from home and have dedicated a room to it – my studio. I tried working for a year in a studio a short walk from home in Gothenburg, but it didn’t work well – I still did more and better work when being at home. I really enjoy working from home as long as the room is separated from the rest of the apartment. When not working I hardly spend time in my studio – on weekends and evenings I close the doors to it to get some distance and let home feel like home.

Important to me is to dress well before entering my studio – I always wear clothes I feel good in and would wear if there were colleagues around. Personally I don’t feel very professional if I’m working in my nightgown, and I never work in my bed. A good start of a work day is to get dressed and go out for a walk; it doesn’t have to be a long one, but at least to get out of the house and get that feeling of taking a walk to work.

I don’t make plans to meet friends during daytime on weekdays. I need everyday, after breakfast (breakfast dates with friends are amazing), to be a tabula rasa that I can fill with whatever pops up. I never really know what will come to my inbox workwise and inspiration & flow are things that are really difficult to schedule. I do however sometimes meet my husband or friends spontaneously during the day if I all of a sudden need a change of environment. An unplanned lunch date can be very refreshing.

Sandra wrote more about how she works and what she’s up to in her own blog. Read all about it.

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‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

Install shots from Patrick Graf’s project Mr Cow’s Swiss Delicatessen

Alongside providing affordable studios for up to 20 artists at a time, Rhubaba run an annual public programme of exhibitions, performances, screenings and other one-off events. Rhubaba’s programme has included to date solo-shows by Ed Atkins, James Clarkson, Patrick Graf and Hannah James; groups shows and events with works by Nathalie De-Briey, Alex Gross, Rebecca Kressley, Ewan Sinclair, and collaborative projects with David Dale Gallery and Studios, Glasgow, Central Reservation, Bristol, the duchy gallery, Glasgow, Intercity Mainline, London, Lombard Method, Birmingham and Outpost Gallery, Norwich and more recently significant group exhibitions with artists including Gelitin, Julius Koller, Lucy Clout, David Blandy, Gintaras Didžiapetris and others.

Catherine Payton from recent group show We Are All U.F.O-nauts

Rhubaba was founded in 2009 as a communal studio and project space, in response to a gap in appropriate studio provision for recent graduates and the desire to create a space dedicated to both the production and presentation of contemporary art. Rhubaba initially housed ten recent graduates from Edinburgh College of Art and during its first year organised a series of exhibitions in temporary spaces around the city as well as with host venues further afield. Rhubaba has continued to develop an ambitious programme and moved to its current home in 2010 to accommodate more studios and a permanent gallery space.

Graduation by Josephine Flynn, part of the group show Semi

There are currently fifteen artists working in the studios, built within the same space as the gallery, in a warehouse in Leith. The aim of the studios is to provide affordable workspace for early-career artists and foster a critical and supportive community, where self-organised activities such as meetings and critiques are enabled.

Video still from Alan Currall’s video Congratulations and Goodbye, part of the group show Semi

Rhubaba is committed to generating a supportive workspace and a dynamic platform for local and international artists. Rhubaba aims to give early-career artists the opportunity to produce new work in a discursive environment, work collaboratively with other artist-led initiatives and explore wider debates in contemporary art, bringing exciting and challenging works to Scotland. The gallery provides a welcoming and experimental environment for audiences to access thought provoking art projects.

Rhubaba Gallery and Studios can be found at 25 Arthur Street, Edinburgh, EH6 5DA.

For more information, including how to become a member of Rhubaba, visit the website here.

Find out more:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

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From time to time we feature galleries and spaces that showcase & encourage grassroots artists. Browse through more of our Featured Venues.
Contact us to talk about a feature on your venue.

Alex Boyd with his portable camera, Downpatrick Head, Ireland

For several years now I’ve been working as a photographer specialising in historic processes such as wet-plate collodion. This is one of the earliest ways of making images and was first invented in 1851 by Frederick Scott Archer.

Den Bruiste Sea Stack, County Mayo, Ireland

This process has the slight downfall that it requires you take your studio with you, with enough chemicals, supplies, water and materials to make images wherever you are working.

Alex’s portable studio

It currently takes a car to move my studio from one location to another, with little room left once the camera and my darkbox are packed alongside me. If I’m working inside, in a dedicated studio space, or an improvised one such as the vaults of Stirling Castle, then making images is fairly straightforward, as long as there is an ample supply of light and water, and the chemicals such as silver nitrate are behaving themselves.

Inside the darkbox, portrait on tintype

Louise Boyd

Working outside in the landscape however brings a whole new set of challenges, difficulties and frustrations, however it is probably where I most enjoy working with this process. Setting up my portable darkroom, in effect a large wooden box in which I can work in the field, I need to contend with high winds, rain, snow and intense heat and in the case of a residency on the Atlantic coast of Ireland I undertook earlier this year, all of these within a matter of hours. Difficult locations also mean that you have to drag all the gear to where you want to make images, sometimes a back-breaking and laborious task.

Alex’s studio, WW2 bunker, Downpatrick Head, County Mayo, Ireland

Scottish artist Hugh Loney

To date I’ve worked across Ireland, Scotland and England with my darkbox, everywhere from Rannoch Moor up in the Highlands, to the ruins of several Second World War clifftop bunkers in County Mayo in Ireland. Working in this way allows me to completely immerse myself in each location, due to the slow and methodical approach to image making, with each plate taking 15 minutes from the moment I pour collodion on the glass, to the final development using potassium cyanide.

Darkbox, camera and chemicals in studio

I’ve been asked many times why I persevere with collodion photography, especially given the difficulties in producing images using chemicals and the need to bring so much equipment with me. The answer is a straightforward one – it perfectly complements the way I make images. I found that with film and digital my approach was slowing down and becoming more contemplative, and that I was investing more time into each individual shot. This of course does change with the subject, however for landscapes I would say that my pace at the moment is fairly glacial.

Cashlanicrobin Rock, County Mayo, Ireland

The approach also produces distinct images. Aside from collodion’s unique aesthetic, each image is a moment in time recorded on glass, not just the scene before me, but every flaw and imperfection which goes into making that image. This can range from chemicals producing chaotic and unexpected results, to blades of grass from the side of Loch N-achlaise or midges from Glen Etive trapped forever in the collodion like amber. The corner of every image also contains my fingerprint from where I held it during its creation, a marker which signifies that I was there.

The Old Tree Graveyard, Ballycastle, Ireland

Alex Boyd is currently the RSA Artist in Residence at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye.

Find out more:
Website | Blog | Flickr |Facebook | Twitter

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‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

Louise Emslie

Located in a windowless subterranean city-centre warren that operated previously as rehearsal space and recording studios, 26 was formed in 2009 by a group of six NE-Scotland based visual artists, initially to meet the need for low-cost, independent studio space.

Mark Rennie – Devout Fanatacism

26 Collective studio is now managed by Stray Dog and provides communal space, a b+w darkroom, permanent accommodation for seven visual artists and two bands, and supports the wider creative community with regular collaborative projects and events, including exhibitions, installations and screenings (Stray Dog Project Room), The Mural Project (a season of collaborative live-mural club nights curated by Jon Reid), Tuff Wax/Dolfinz single launch, and ongoing podcast/video series POST.

Stephen – The Mural Project

Our current aims are: to continue supporting and retaining emerging talent in Aberdeen by providing independent, low-cost studio space and developing opportunities to showcase new work; to provide a creative, social space for the exchange of ideas and strengthening of networks; and to make connections beyond our local region, building new collaborations and bringing creative talent to the city.

Kuba Markowski in the darkroom

We have more events planned this autumn/winter and will continue to document our activity. You can contact us and find out more via our Facebook page, and listen or watch podcasts via our Vimeo and Mixcloud pages. We’re always keen to hear from potential collaborators and anyone who wants to get involved.

Find Out More:
Facebook | Blog | Mixcloud | Tumblr | Vimeo | Twitter

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See here for more Collectives featured on Central Station.
Contact us to talk about a feature for your Collective.

Grotta Zine is a brand new art-zine, a 36-page bi-weekly magazine featuring exciting artists from Iceland. Grotta is edited, published and produced by Frosti Gnarr Studio, a newly formed creative design-studio at Grótta, Iceland. Grotta Zine is as said published twice a month, each time featuring only one artist and his offerings to the issue. Emphasis is put on interdisciplinary artists that we at the studio feel need to be seen. This handmade art zine is photocopied at our studio, with the cover sheet hand sprayed for a unique artist signature. Only 500 copies will be made of each issue.

Frosti Gnarr Studio Staff

The first artist featured was Sigurður Angantýsson Hólm, an introverted artist obsessed with the combination of symbolism and nature. Before the release Sigurður spent three weeks in the studio library, drawing his brains out, choosing and developing the artwork for his issue. This is something we implemented from the start, having the artist over at the studio for at least a week to work and develop some kind of ideology, style or concept. The profit of each issue is shared fairly to everyone involved.

Artist Sigurður Angantýsson Hólm

Inside Grotta Zine Issue 1

The second artist we chose to feature is Hellcat, a photographer that documents the dark sides of the Reykjavík nightlife. Extremely graphic at times, these moments tell a story, not only of the subject but also of the photographer. Famed for the sincerity of his images, Hellcat shoots with analog film cameras from the corners of nightclubs, afterparties and other generally shady circumstances. Issue #2 of Grotta Zine glimpses into Hellcats darkroom and his life right now.

Grotta Zine Issue 2

Frosti Gnarr Studio is the brainchild of Frosti Gnarr, a graphic/editorial designer that recently made his return to Iceland after a few years study in the Netherlands, where he got his MA in Editorial Design at the HKU in Utrecht. Previously he got his BA from the Iceland Academy of the Arts.

Inside Grotta Zine Issue 2

In the beginning, the studio bought a copier. That’s it. They found an excellent 15 year old Konica-Minolta, about 70 km away in the next town to Reykjavík. A few days later, Grotta Zine was born, and they were already making tests to see how they could play around with this printing technique. It really sparked a great interest in this medium.

In the next months Grotta have lined up collaborations with a lot of great artists from different fields such as photographers, painters, musicians and filmmakers to create versatile and unique issues of Grotta.

Find out more about Grotta Zine:
Website | Facebook |Twitter

Find out more about Frosti Gnarr Studio:
Website | Facebook

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Find more zines we’ve featured here.

My work is quite messy, haphazard and eclectic, so I guess I quite suit where I am. I use many different mediums across design, craft and fine art; I love being based where I am, as it allows me the space and time to explore working across such a diverse area of styles and outputs.

See more work from Ruth on her website.
Follow Ruth Parker on Twitter.
Visit Ruth Parker on Facebook.

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‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

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English Illustrator and Writer Hayley Potter  was voted one of London’s top ten Illustrators alongside Daisy de Villeneuve and Julie Verhoeven (Spoonfed, 2010). She graduated from The Royal College of Art in 2007 and now lives and works between London and Dorset, traveling further afield for enticing commissions or collaborations. Influenced by the magic that can be found in the every day, Hayley Potter’s work is a fusion of the imagined and the observed.

Hayley’s playful working method of re-assembling her own drawings digitally and by hand is used to create images that tell a story, compliment a specific text or answer a brief. This flexible way of making images has been successfully applied to a diverse range of personal projects and commissions for international clients. So far these include editorial, book covers, narrative, signage, murals, clothing, sculpture, display, alternative greeting cards and books.

Hayley was taught by Illustrators including Quentin Blake and Andrzej Klimowski at The Royal College of Art 2005-2007. Her work has featured in several exhibitions across London at venues including The Mall Galleries, The Haunch of Venison, Ferreira Projects, The Hockney Gallery, Dazed and Confused, and The Great Exhibition in Hyde Park. She is a regular visiting lecturer in Illustration & Drawing for popular courses including BA (hons) Illustration at Arts University College Bournemouth and has previously taught at universities including The University of Westminster and The Royal Veterinary College.

When Hayley isn’t working on commissions, collaborations or self initiated work – you will probably find her on a long walk through a forest or across sandy landscapes with her camera – accompanied by her Bedlington Terrier Mr Bumble and her partner, the designer Paul Currah.  But if its raining, then you’ll find her in a tea shop – adding to her collection.  Rose tea is currently her favourite.

Despite Hayley’s interest in magic and the owl that occasionally tries to get into her studio window, she is sadly not related to Harry Potter but her Grandad thinks she might be related to the Author and Illustrator Beatrix Potter. (Research is currently in progress to discover if she is.)

Photos by Anna Morgan Photography

You can find more about Hayley on her website.
Follow Hayley on Twitter here and take a look at her Facebook Page here.

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‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

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I am most happiest when I’m in my studio. I spend a lot of time cutting stencils in order to create my paintings so it makes sense for me to love my surroundings. The idea of spending the day, night or both in my studio is something I look forward to everyday with some tunes in the background with my dog chilling in her bed whilst I cut away.

When I get an idea in my head I pretty much just go for it. I’m not really one to doodle in a sketchbook, my work mainly sparks from photography and then I just plan in my mind what I want to do then just begin to cut the stencils. I started using stencils as a way to create art in my final year of art college, easily frustrated with the work I was creating and having no patience I stumbled in to stenciling and found that I did have the patience to sit for hours upon hours to create detailed stencils. Looking back now, they weren’t that detailed compared to now but you have to crawl before you can walk.

I started creating paintings of things that were around me like portraits of my friends but that progressed to my environment. My urban landscape paintings of New York, Rome and Glasgow dictated the way I worked for several years and allowed me to develop my skills to create super delicate and detailed stencils, making the spray paint finish look almost photographic.

Most recently I have been working on portrait pieces again and combining the detailed stencil work with free hand work. My studio has never been such a mess and again that’s why I love working in there. I go in there now not knowing what the hell is going to happen. My studio wall itself is an ever changing work of art.

I am currently busy working away in my studio for an up and coming exhibition to be held in London.

Find out more about Klingatron on his website.
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @klingatron.

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‘Where I Make’ invites readers behind the scenes of artists from many disciplines to share photographs and a little insight about where they create their masterpieces. See more from the series here.

Studio Club is a place where everyone is invited to advertise studio space – anywhere in the world. There’s no ‘sign-up’ or ‘log-in’, and uploading is made as simple as possible so that it takes only a few minutes to have your listing on the site.

Whether you are looking for somewhere to call your studio, or you want to let folk know about a space that you have, Open Studio Club is well worth a browse. Have a look at it here.

Follow Open Studio Club on twitter here.