Artist Liza Smirnova in her workshop
RUBRIC "ROOM" dedicated to the place in which a person spends most of his time. It can be absolutely any space: a huge kitchen in which the hero works and rests, an art gallery that has become the second home of its owner, or just a living room in a one-room apartment, which is at the same time an office, a bedroom and a secret place. The space in which a person is able to concentrate on himself and his affairs and not feel himself a participant in the eternal race of a big city. In the new issue - artist Lisa Smirnova and her workshop.
I always dreamed of getting a workshop - from the very moment I realized that I would be engaged in creative work. Previously, she worked exclusively at home, and, frankly, it was difficult. In the apartment all the time something distracted, besides, over time, there was a strong lack of movement and communication. Now I am incredibly happy because in the morning you can go "to work", read a book in the subway and tune in the right way.
I found the workshop magically. Two years ago, we walked with a friend at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements: we admired the Soviet heritage and discussed how great it would be to keep a creative studio in such an inspiring place. Literally a month later I received a letter from the administration of the complex at the post office - they offered to become one of the residents of the “House of Crafts”.
VDNH over the past two years has become an important place for me in Moscow. The workshop is located almost at the end of the park, and to get to it, you need to cross the territory completely. I often change routes and almost every time I discover something new. Here each pavilion has its own history and unique style, and after reconstruction these places are endowed with new meanings. For example, the pavilion "Books" was a real discovery for me. A place with a perfectly restored interior that works on the principle of a library - there you can drink coffee and hang out with a book for a few hours.
Previously, our building was a pork pavilion and was part of the livestock complex. The pavilion was renamed, but the beautiful neighbors remained: "Horse breeding", "Beekeeping", "Sheep breeding" and so on. By the way, the windows of the workshop overlook a small hippodrome, so you can spend hours watching horses.
The space - perfect white walls and two windows - was ready for work, and there was nothing to repair. I just filled it with work materials and furniture. The furniture itself is not distinguished by its great originality - these are long tables from IKEA, shelves for storing fabrics and threads, many chairs and stools, a rail for clothes with embroideries. On weekdays, I embroider here for hours alone, and on weekends students come, I arrange the chairs, and the workshop comes to life.
The whole interior is quite static, I rarely do permutations. The only thing that changes in the workshop is my work on the walls. Gradually, the space is overgrown with new drawings and embroidery: I like to compose works, it looks like a small regular exhibition. There is a flower shop in the pavilion, and I just love to order, and then dry the bouquets - I think they enliven the space.
