Welcome to the 303rd installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists bring their beloved pets into the studio and make work inspired by the environments they inhabit, both natural and built.Want to take part? Check out our submission guidelines and share a bit about your studio with us through this form! All mediums and workspaces are welcome, including your home studio.Lorena Molina, San Francisco, CaliforniaHow long have you been working in this space?A year.Describe an average day in your studio.My studio has always been shaped by the transitory nature of my life. Immigration teaches you to be resourceful — to construct makeshift spaces into whatever you need them to be. For me, my studio can be corn growing in my living room or fermenting curtido with my family in their kitchen. It can be the corner of my bedroom turned into a full photo studio, or the time I spend growing food alongside others. Often, it’s an empty classroom at the university where I teach. And sometimes, it’s a traditional studio — but that’s rare. My process includes deep research, growing and caring for plants that have ancestral history, preparing food, reading/writing, taking snack and dance breaks to Bad Bunny/Combo Chimbita. Because I teach, my studio days are long when I get the time to fully dive in. My dog usually joins me in the studio, and I see my walks with him as part of my studio practice. My walks are meditative, observant, and they’re also when I do a lot of my thinking and troubleshooting for my projects. Because my work is so deeply rooted in the geographies I’ve lived in and the relationships I’ve built there, studio work and everyday life often blur together, constantly feeding each other.How does the space affect your work?The space I’m in always shapes what I make. Either by the ecologies that surround my studio spaces, or the people and sounds I hear every day. The outside always seeps into my studio. Because I haven’t always had access to a traditional studio, I’ve learned to adapt, but it also shapes the type of work I can make. I really think that one of the reasons I started to make studio still lives was because of the limited wall space I had to make my photographs. But also because I wanted to incorporate the objects, flora, and places that create my home in the margins (I see my home in the margins as a place that is a result of violence and displacement, but also a place for potential for dreaming).How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?I’m a curious person. I talk to people and often get lost in conversations. I don’t see these chats are distractions, but something that really fuels and energizes me in the studio. I want to know what others are working on as well (whether it’s art or not). I am also always paying attention to what’s around me, either during my neighborhood walks or coffee breaks. Community is an essential part of my work, both in how I make and what I make. For example, if I’m working at school, my students often work alongside me. We share space, ask each other questions, and those exchanges often shape what we are creating.What do you love about your studio?What I love most about my studio is being able to be around my pets. My dog and cat keep me company during long days, and their presence brings me comfort and the purest joy. They remind me to take breaks, to play, and to enjoy the quiet moments in between working. I also love when I get the chance to work with my family. The meals we share afterward are moments I truly cherish. And of course, I love a studio with good light to grow my plants.What do you wish were different?Funny enough, what I want in my studio is what I want for my life. I always wish to root somewhere long-term. I do wish I had a more permanent studio space, a place where I could settle in and grow into the work over time. Right now, I adapt and grow wherever I am, and I’m grateful for my ability to do that. But I’m craving a space that offers consistency, room to create larger-scale work, and the chance to build lasting community with others. I want to share space, share meals, and be part of a space for a long time with others.What is your favorite local museum?Oakland Museum of California.What is your favorite art material to work with?Plants and microbes.Brigid Kennedy, Wethersfield, ConnecticutHow long have you been working in this space?I’ve been working in this studio since 2021. It’s a prefab garage.Describe an average day in your studio.Every day is a workday. I start the day swimming, early in the morning. This prepares me to work in the studio, which is located behind our house. My workday begins after noon with my dog Petey close by. I’m always working on a painting, preparing to make a painting, or organizing materials I use to make a painting. I work from photographs that I take, enlarging and editing the image as I go. I start a new painting as I wait for the paint to dry on another that needs a final layer of transparent color. I listen to audiobooks and the podcast Letters from an American.How does the space affect your work?My studio is ample and filled with natural light. It has high ceilings, and the windows look out on trees and the surrounding neighborhood. It is highly accessible, and this ease of access helps make me highly productive. At times, ideas for paintings are found close at hand, in and around the built environment of my home and neighborhood.How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?I make time to visit galleries and see shows of friends’ work, networking and sharing ideas with other artists. I am active on Instagram and other social media. Everyday scenes in my immediate environment and neighborhood are a source for many of my paintings.What do you love about your studio?I love the privacy and quiet of my studio, and the light, and generous space it provides. I feel fortunate to have heat and air conditioning, so that I can comfortably work year-round.What do you wish were different?I do wish that my studio had better insulation on the windows and floor … it can be drafty on extremely cold days!What is your favorite local museum?My favorite local museum is the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, the city next door to me.What is your favorite art material to work with?My favorite material to work with is oil paint. After that, I love photography as a tool to develop subject images or compositions.