Ilka live for those special print making moments, from revealing designs on the screen when emulsion is washed away to mixing colours good enough to eat. Process is very important to them, there is no better feeling than seeing the journey of an initial idea transform to bold and colourful inks on quality paper.

Coordinator Laura tells us about this environment where she creates her print works. For more information and to get in touch with the studio follow the links below.

While we were setting up we tried out a few different screen printing studios before settling on East End Press. Starting up outright in in the screen printing business is very costly so we thought that if there was a way to print as often as we want and support another printer that would be the way to do it for now.

The studio itself is is an old factory building and the room is bright with big windows framing the east end of the city. There’s a metal drying wrack and every colour ink you can imagine. We keep ours in old jars of all shapes and sizes. We expose our screens behind some big red velvet curtains so it feels like going backstage at a show every time we go in there!

Sharing with Ellie at East End Press is a really good way to see what a fellow screen printer is doing and means we can talk about any issues that come up or problems we have.

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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.

Betty Spoke is a Glasgow based luxury brand that began life creating custom suiting and occasion wear for bespoke clients. They have since expanded into manufacturing high end tweed accessories with a strong focus on adaptable style and quality materials for a durable yet stylish garment. Betty herself tells us about where she makes…

Renting my first creative space was an amazing feeling. I was progressing. It was terrifying of course, but adding a major outgoing onto your life and your income is going to be daunting for anybody. I’d been working from home for over a year with clients visiting for consultations. My equipment was far from minimal. I was slowly going insane.

As a compromise, I rented the biggest unit I could afford. It’s split into two rooms, the first of which has three massive windows along the south wall. These allow in endless light during the summer months. When Scotland decides to do summer. 2014 was a comparative heat wave & these long days somehow charged my limbs into working more effectively.

The first half of this area is where I do fittings and talk to clients. Here I store all my fabric samples and inspiration books, next to comfy chesterfields and a large looking glass. I talk about design ideas, perfect toiles and have one last gaze at the final garment.

The second section of the room is a little more chaotic. A large whiteboard reminding me what tasks need to be accomplished. A continuous roll of paper and card for pattern drafting. A large bag of fabric ends that I slowly fill then donate to my local community centre (for stuffing up-cycled draught excluders). Mannequins stand dressed in various examples of my work; currently a bias cut pinstripe dress with a tailcoat feature. A green ribbed jersey dress matched with a navy crop lambs wool jacket. A pair of strobe effect dropped crotch trousers and a pink check Harris Tweed Poplet scarf with magnetic fastenings (the accessory I am focusing on for the Christmas period).

They all crowd around my worktable, admiring the colourful array of fabrics stored on its built in shelves yet embarrassed by the clutter associated with my latest project strewn across the surface. I tend to sprawl myself over the whole space pretty effectively. And enjoy discarding pieces of paper and thread on the floor while focusing on the task in hand – only to grumble when the time comes to clear up after myself.

A second door directly opposite the first leads off into a smaller back room. This area oversees the construction side of things and is occasionally used as a large dressing room for my more modest clients. Here hides two mammoth industrial machines and a steam iron as well as a plethora of thread, shoulder pads, sewing needles and garment fastenings.

The building was created to barrel whisky originally. And the room I reside in was a recording studio before I set up shop. Every wall had been painted black. It was both dramatic and depressing simultaneously. Now it is white. With patterns, pictures and materials pinned on every surface.

You can find Betty at her studio 674 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow (contact her first on tailored@bettyspoke.com).

Images and video kindly provided by Make Works. For more about Make Works on Central Station, go here.

More: Website | 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.

Mark Dorf is an artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. This is where he makes…

Two years ago I moved to Brooklyn and I have had two spaces that I work in, this one being of course the most recent. I tend not to have complex large workspaces at the moment because I work almost exclusively digital albeit through photography or other digital media like 3D, video or animation. I try to make my walls a reflection of the current headspace that I inhabit – they stay cluttered with recent works, inspiration, and texts that I have been working on so that I can at a glance look and understand my placement in my process. Additionally, I try to keep the tools I use most within arm’s length on the walls so that I’m never searching for anything for a long time – it is so important for me to be able to keep my momentum and not get stopped by something silly like trying to find a straight edge and consequently lose my direction. My work predominantly is based within the landscape, so the real studio is of course in the remote reaches that I love to explore.

Dorf’s most recent show //_PATH is being exhibited at the New Realities Exhibition in Barcelona – an international exhibition curated by Alpha-ville and powered by Mobile World Capital. Read more about this on Central Station here. Dorf is also releasing a set of digital limited editions from his //_PATH series on Sedition, along with other artists participating in the exhibition. You can view and purchase the collection here.

Mark Dorf -  //_PATH, Untitled

More: Website | 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.

Herman Kolgen is an internationally renowned, multifaceted artist, who has been modelling sumptuous ‘audiocinetic’ performances for over twenty years. The Montréal-based sight and sound virtuoso, continually hatches new conceptual approaches to celebrate the powerful synergy (and intimacy) at the heart of his audiovisual works. Constantly exploring, Kolgen works at the junctures of different media, as well as elaborating a new technical language and distinctive aesthetic. Kolgen’s works take the forms of installations, video, performances and sound sculptures. He has performed at prestigious international events such as Berlin’s Transmediale, the Venice Biennale, Austria’s Ars Electronica, Elektra and Mutek.

He tells us about where he makes:

During the last 7 years, I’ve been living in an old factory near an incinerator (converted into a recycling center) and a railway. It’s a refurbished space, in an up and coming area that serves me both a place to live and work and is not far from downtown Montréal. Situated near the metro, bike lanes, shops and markets, the area is both quiet and lively.

The physical and practical organisation of my creative space revolves around my different work mediums and interests. In this way, I can go from the sound studio to the digital image studio, from the painting workshop to the little film studio, and from the carpentry and metal workshop to the little electronic lab.

Throughout my working days, I fluctuate from one pole to another, constantly using these additional resources. I test and renew my point of view, my perceptions and I find new options, new approaches and creative responses. It’s a dynamic way to reach my goals while combining development phases, tight deadlines and international tours.

The workshop:

The Storyboards:

The Studio:

All images courtesy of Herman Kolgen.

To see more of Herman Kolgen’s work, don’t miss Herman Kolgen: Inject & Dust as part of Alpha-ville LIVE at Kings Place, London on 18 May. You can book tickets online here or read more about the event in our feature here.

More: Website | Blog | Vimeo

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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’m a contemporary jeweller inspired by nature, science and photography. I draw and extract shapes, developing these into wearable designs. I predominantly work in recycled silver in an effort to make more environmentally friendly jewellery. I currently combine making and exhibiting with teaching evening and weekend jewellery classes and working in community art.”

“I create jewellery from my home studio in the west end of Glasgow. It allows me to be flexible and work around teaching workshops. Working on a small scale means that I don’t need a lot of space and saving money on renting a separate studio has allowed me to buy more tools and equipment. The space has evolved and changes depending what I’m working on. I surround myself with all the things I love including other peoples artwork. The speakers also play an important part as I enjoy listening to music while I work.”

More: Website | 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.

Sally Wanless is a Scottish photographer, born in Edinburgh and based in the Scottish Borders. After studying Art and Design at college and Business Studies at Open University, she has since worked as a freelance photographer. Regularly working on projects whether personal, or for exhibitions or for clients, it’s a nonstop process but certainly exciting and inspiring. Sally loves to explore the outdoors and being based in the Scottish Borders, she is spoilt for choice. At the moment, she is focussing on landscapes and portraits, as well as exhibiting new projects. This is where she makes:

My main studio is actually in my parents house, which is not always as ideal as one might think, but it works for the time being. It means having to be strict with a schedule which isn’t a bad thing. It does help me getting motivated though, and to keep shooting new work, which is a necessity and inspiring. When not in the house studio, my studio is out in the open world, shooting what i love to shoot and to get inspired.

Sally’s series of black and white portraits will be shown at Old Gala House, in Galashiels at the end of March 2014-start of May. The exact dates will be confirmed soon.

More: Website | Blog | 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.

Kirsty Whiten has been working since 2000, exhibiting her distinctive drawings and paintings internationally. In collaboration with other artists and in street settings, Whiten has used paste-up techniques to enlarge her characters and work them into public murals.

She is known for her warped large-scale portrait paintings and highly detailed photo-realistic drawings, often containing powerfully subversive content and irreverent humour. Her work has been featured in magazines such as Juxtopoz and Hi-fructose, and art-blogs worldwide. Whiten’s work is about people; human behaviour, history, family, society, sexuality and culture.  Her take on her subjects is quirky and unsettling.

I built a house with my partner, Ben Seal, a couple of years ago. We moved out of Edinburgh and into a small village in Fife. We designed a passive house; that is one which requires little or no heating, and it has a sound studio for him and a painting studio for me. It’s by far the best studio I have ever had – in the past I was always in a semi-derelict building with mice and frost. I still can’t really believe it every time I walk in – I love it.  Because I got to design it from scratch, it has good north light and a skylight to the east for morning sun.

If I am painting I work at the easel and make a mess everywhere, other times I sit at a drawing board to work on paper and try to be precise. I have images and little bits of text all over the walls, and I find my brain makes good and odd connections out of these in it’s own time, when I am not concentrating too hard. I have to keep refreshing this pin-board to keep ideas flowing. I also have a few images of favourite artists around – Paula Rego, Charles Avery, Frida Kahlo, Dorethea Tanning – just to remind me where to aim I guess.

I bring people into the studio to photograph them and dress-up and play – it is essential to have this neutral, creative work space – everyone behaves differently in there, quieter, more focused and sort-of free.

I’m working on a set of rituals and rites just now – I have an exhibition in Austria in July and I have a lot of work to make – so I am collecting little fetish power objects and photographing and drawing different people in costume, dancing and freaking out.

From time to time I work outside because I can make my work public and monumental by enlarging the drawings into paste-ups. I really like the public aspect of it – it is the antithesis of the gallery where it all has to be clean and crisp and the feedback is very civilized. It is highly glamorous work, often balancing on commercial bins and chatting to various tramps and passersby in an alley like a wind tunnel.

More: Website | Flickr | 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.

Scottish painter Leo du Feu was born in Edinburgh in 1984 and is based in nearby Linlithgow. He graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2006 and has since worked as a full-time freelance artist. Regularly sketching and painting out of doors, Leo explores the landscapes and nature of Scotland thanks to generous support from rail operator ScotRail. He is a keen birdwatcher and supporter of conservation and volunteers for the RSPB and the British Trust for Ornithology. Birds are increasingly flying, hopping and swimming into his paintings. This is where he makes.

Leo du Feu, giants’ sentry box, Isle of May, 34x16cm

My regular studio is nothing overly special. It’s a cosy and fair-sized room in my dad’s house in Linlithgow but it’s not ideally set up to be an artist’s studio. The location however is inspiring; outside the windows is a big garden of fruit, veg, shrubs and trees. The list of visiting birds and insects is large. This is where I paint my acrylics and any large works and finish off field work. It’s also where I spend far too much time doing office work.

Leo du Feu, razorbill, Isle of May, 15x21cm

My other studio is the rest of Scotland – anywhere outdoors where I find things that interest and inspire me. I spend a lot of time travelling the country in search of landscapes and birdlife. I make my explorations primarily by rail, thanks to support from ScotRail. My outdoors materials are watercolours, pencil, pen. I have painted along most of Scotland’s railway lines and even on some train journeys. I often sketch on the train, glimpses of scenes and details as they flit past.

Leo du Feu, Loch Awe old station buildings

Leo’s art is exhibited across Scotland and the UK and has been recognised through awards from The Bet Low Trust, The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour, and the Royal Over-Seas League. Leo also carries out tutoring and commission work.

More: Website | Blog | 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.

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.

Victoria Evans is a Glasgow based artist working out of Wasps’ Briggait Studios in the Merchant City. This is where she makes…

I’m primarily an oil painter – a very messy one – and I work on a large scale, so a studio/workshop is a must. The beautiful cultural complex at the Briggait helps keep me in touch with a diverse group of artists, and the building’s Victorian industrial vibe, updated for contemporary use is a continual inspiration. My work often deals with feelings about impermanence and time passing, so the fact that parts of the building date as far back as the 17th Century resonates with me.

I’m lucky enough to have a studio with high ceilings, iron rafters which I’ve hung a swing from, and big windows with a view on to a little green. It’s pretty much my fantasy of what a painter’s studio should be like. When I moved in three years ago I remember feeling guilty that I’d landed such a perfect spot so early in my career. Now I’m very much at home and would sacrifice a lot before I’d give it up.

One of my other favourite parts of the studio complex is the airy, piazza-like 1873 Hall – a stone flagged covered courtyard that used to be a fish market. My upcoming exhibition ‘Standing Stones’, which opens 21 June and runs until 19 July, was especially conceived for this space. For more details about Evans’ exhibition, please go here.

Website | 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.