What does the place where you do your work say about you? According to Kate Donnelly, quite a bit. For some time now, she has been conducting a collaborative project (and accompanying blog) titled From Your Desks, where she asks creative types to turn their eyes inward, and (honestly and accurately - no preemptive tidying allowed!) document their own work spaces in photographs and in writing - studios, home offices and the like. Donnelly writes of the desk's significance:

A Desk is where we work. Symbolic. Psychical. Present. A second home. A Desk is a platform. A hearth. Roots are planted. It’s where hours upon hours pass.

Personally, I want to be (and have always been) inspired by my work space. I’m surrounded by “my stuff” which helps me think and conjure new ideas. I covet solitude; it gives me more time to think. I’m one of those organized clutter types (yes, I remember where it went). I keep torn pages for inspiration on my cork boards and Polaroids of friends which reminds me, I should retell that story. I’m always rearranging, taking things down; keep it choppy and not get too comfortable. Still, I crave familiarity from my workspace.

This past July, we were allowed a glimpse of Mickey Smith's meticulously, enviably tidy home office and of the space Craig Damrauer uses to create his hilarious New Math prints. Now, Carrie Marill has her (slightly busier, but definitely still orderly) workspace featured on From Your Desks, and its cheerful, brightly colored paints and works-in-progress, bathed in warm sunlight seem very much in keeping with what we know and love of her work. Carrie writes of her space:

This is a new studio for me, which is why it looks pretty sparse (although i really like it this way). My husband and I are sharing a studio in downtown Phoenix.

The old house has excellent light, realized I hadn’t painted to natural light in 8 years, so sitting down to paint is like seeing colors all over again.

Kate also talks to Carrie about her attraction to painting birds, how she captures the gaze of animals, her National Geographic fetish and her love for enamelware. See more photographs (including ones of Carrie's dog and kittens!), and read more about her inspirations and her process here. Then browse some of Donnelly's other featured desks, and see if you can't find more connections between an artist's work and the places where they create.

Lazuil Bunting by Carrie Marill