It is increasingly impossible to differentiate between personal and professional time in our culture. Necessary CoViD-19 pandemic work-from-home practices aggravated what was already an eroding boundary between home and work life. Many studio users utilize being at Ruby’s Clay Studio & Gallery as a haven to express and explore their own creativity and use the studio as an escape from aspects of their lives. Unfortunately, for this artist both working for the studio and in the studio have muddied what was once this shared experience with studio users. As an employee and artist working at Ruby’s Clay Studio & Gallery, this artist is often interrupted with employee requests by studio users while he is engaged in his personal art-making practice.

Additionally, technological communication devices are pervasive and evolve in their convenience of use, making users as accessible as the vast information they themselves access. When this artist is absent from the studio, his private phone number and email are a channel some studio users utilize for non-emergency employee requests.

The artist has set up an art-making space in the gallery which is adjacent to the desk he uses while working as an employee. Studio users and visitors are welcome to engage with the artist in conversation about this art piece, “This is not working.”, or other topics. When he is working as an artist and interrupted by a studio user with an employee request, then he will break a finished piece of his own ceramic work, the studio user given an “I’m Sorry!” sticker, the incident logged, and the lost time incident record updated on the posted sign. A suggestion box has been provided and will be opened and the suggestions available for review during the closing artist reception.

Joseph P. McGovern
February 2023
Ruby’s Clay Studio & Gallery
San Francisco, California