Life beyond grade school doesn't afford many snow days, but today we got lucky.  Especially considering March generally doesn't yield much snow in the Mid-Atlantic states.  I feel especially blessed today, though, because I was able to take the time to take inventory and order start-up supplies for my home darkroom. 

I've enjoyed the planning stages for my basement studio space, but nothing rivals making a monetary commitment and getting my hands on the materials to do my work.  Suddenly an idea has become an investment, and I will expect my abstract goals to crystallize.  Of course, I don't advocate buying new equipment to cure artist's block, but I do feel it's necessary to have a "craft space" for photos just like any other art form.  Digital photography has (conveniently) condensed the work space into a single piece of machinery, but this opens a rift between the artist and the craft.

To develop visual art, the artist must dedicate space, time, and resources to the creative process.  There are no shortcuts.  The easier work space and materials are to access, the better.  If I'm feeling inspired at 10:00 at night, how does it affect my process if I can just sneak down to the basement and shut myself in the darkroom for a couple hours?  Digital eases the draw on resources, but not without cost.  If I sit at a computer in the office all day, how do I feel when I come home, sit in the middle of the house, and scan my pictures from the color lab?  Does my digital art-making become less craft, more assembly-line calculations?

The truth is, I don't know.  I don't know how all-digital photographers feel when they plug in their cameras and pull off the week's photos.  For the most part, I need to retain a connection with the craft of image-making whenever possible.  Clearly doing event photography for my job is neither the time nor the place, but there is no reason for all my 110 prints to come from a mail-order lab.

Often, I feel like a dividing line exists between "fine arts" and "crafts."  We shouldn't forget, though, that both are all about creating a work of art with our hands.  I have to imagine the way a crafter feels making jewelry is similar to how I feel when I'm making prints in the darkroom.  And just like having a jewelry-making corner/table will lead to more and better work, so will setting aside a space to make my photographs.

Creating a dedicated art-making space in my home is going to be great, I can tell.  The process today proved much more time-consuming than I expected, but isn't that what snow days are for?  Now it's done, and all I have to do is wait.