When I set up my first studio in San Francisco, I started using feng shui to maximize use of the space.
There were some areas that felt heavy and seemed to accumulate dust and clutter more quickly than others. The dust bunny energies were strong!
But I had lots of natural light, and I used that to my advantage when painting.
Now I work out of my art studio at home, I have evolved my feng shui techniques to protect and cleanse from client energies.
There are many, many ways to apply feng shui. Feng shui has a long, expansive history, and many schools of thought. It can be intimidating to start, but I’ve included some beginning steps to help you get started.
What is Feng Shui?
Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice that seeks to balance the energy, or qi, in a space to promote health, wealth, and harmony. Applying feng shui principles to an art studio can help create a peaceful and productive environment that supports the creative process, your creative well-being and overall creative life.
I have taken some courses at Anjie Cho’s mindful design school and highly recommend them.
I also highly recommend Bell Wen’s website on feng shui tutorials, including a ba gua map that you can download.
Feng shui is not some “woo-woo” mysticism. It is a millennia-old philosophy and metaphysical practice that seeks deep connection with the energetic and physical environment. It holds harmony in the highest esteem and pursuit of a sustainable, well-lived life.
Apply Feng Shui In Your Art Studio
Have you watched the movie Totoro, or any Hayao Miyazaki film? Many heroines start their quest by cleaning a studio or castle. A literal blank slate - real work can’t commence until past detritus has been swept away.
Here are some tips for arranging an art studio using feng shui.
Use Ba Gua directionality to arrange work areas
Ba Gua is a feng shui map that divides a space into eight directions, each associated with a specific element, color, and life area. By aligning different work areas with the corresponding Ba Gua direction, you can enhance the energy flow in the space and support different aspects of your creative work.
For example, the north is associated with the water element and the career life area, making it a good place to set up your primary workspace/desk/table. I often have an artwork or painting hanging in the north: my best work of the year’s series, or a piece I’m exceptionally proud of.
The southwest direction is associated with the earth element and the love and relationships life area. I often have rose quartz in a prosperity bowl, or my sculptural wall piece, Mycelium Map, made of rose quartz hanging in this region.
I keep my altar in the east, an area of influence that is important to me. Again, check out Bell Wen’s tutorial on which areas you want to focus on (as not all areas will be of equal importance, depending on the person).
Use your intuition. In my old studio, some areas I gravitated to naturally. I set up my working tables or easels there, aligning and arranging materials to optimize areas for prosperity, fame and wealth. Areas with no light was where I stored my paints and materials (this was just common sense). If a plant doesn’t feel right there, it probably isn’t meant to be.
Dust, store, purify and cleanse to minimize clutter
Clutter - energetic and literal - can block the flow of energy in a space and create mental and physical obstacles to creativity.
To minimize clutter in your art studio, you can design custom shelves for your materials and tools. I hang my paints from a pegboard for easy access and switch out materials and mediums on a seasonal basis (for example, putting my watercolors away in a box if I know I won’t touch them until summer).
I set aside a day in the month to archive work - taking pictures, wrapping, labeling, & storing them. Then these go into storage, which protects them from light, dust or accidental spills in the studio.
Dust is atrophic energy. It adds unwanted “weight,” however you want to interpret that, to your art studio.
Make sure to periodically declutter and remove any items that are no longer necessary or useful. Materials I’ve squirreled away for an installation are tossed out annually. This is because I now work in a smaller space prone to atrophic energy.
PURIFICATION
If you consider your art studio a ritual space, I cannot stress the importance of regular purification. Especially if you are working with found materials or second-hand materials, it’s important to cleanse them physically and ritually (for example, with incense smoke or salt).
I grew up with parents who ran an antiques store. Some objects, especially spiritual statues, came with “weight.” A little incense and invocation to the spirits were usually enough to get them to leave (if they weren’t meant to stay).
Remember the weight I talked about? Atrophic energy can accumulate. Things will intuitively look unnatural or imbalanced. Your final artwork will reflect this tension if the materials themselves hold imbalance.
While this is not feng shui, I recommend Spiritual Cleansing by Draja Mickaharic, and Diana Rose’s primer on energetic cleansing as basic metaphysical to-dos for purification (for folks who believe in energetic cleansing and want to learn more).
Work with qi to ensure the studio "flows"
Qi is the life force energy that flows through all living things, including your art studio. By creating a space that supports the flow of qi, you can enhance your creativity and well-being.
Cho describes qi as a river that flows through your house and the objects throughout as rocks in that river. The right amount holds qi - but too much, and it can block qi - or too little can let qi slip right through your house.
Some ways to promote the flow of qi in your studio include:
Maximizing natural light and air flow. This is also just for good air circulation: there should be windows or doors opposite each other to ensure air flow so toxins do not “hang” in the air (as paint evaporates, chemicals are released). Note that while this is a problematic arrangement for your front and back doors (wealth flowing in and out), it’s easily mitigated with a ba gua mirror
Using plants to purify the air and bring nature inside
Avoiding sharp corners or angles that create negative energy, or sha. I personally don’t worry over this too much unless it’s a staircase
Adding water features, such as a fountain or fish bowl, to enhance the water element and promote relaxation. Note: I use prisms, which create a watery effect when sunlight shines on them. Plus, they’re gorgeous!
Where Can I Learn More?
Applying feng shui principles to your art studio can help you create a space that supports your creativity and well-being.
By using Ba Gua directionality to arrange your work areas, being creative with storage to minimize clutter, and working with qi to ensure the studio "flows," you can create an environment that nurtures your artistic vision and promotes your success.
Here are the top websites where I go to continue learning about feng shui:
The Spruce: This website offers a comprehensive guide to feng shui, including tips for applying feng shui principles in your home, office, and garden. I love Anjie’s tips and have taken some of her trainings too
Bell Wen’s tutorials - I’ve gone through several of these, as well as done her cleansing rituals, and let’s just say they’ve worked to help mitigate “leakiness” in my art studio
Do you use feng shui in your studio? Let me know!