My Own Space

Book cover for "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf

In 1929, Virginia Woolf wrote "A Room of One's Own", a feminist essay based on lectures she delivered at Cambridge University in 1928. In it, Woolf argues that women need both financial independence and private space — a literal and metaphorical "room of their own"— to achieve the intellectual freedom necessary for creative work.

“All I could do was to offer you an opinion upon one minor point—a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”

Although I was unaware of Virginia's essay, when we moved from our 50' sailboat in the Pacific Northwest to New Mexico in the winter of 2020, I was 50 years old, and for the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to have my own creative space. My husband and I debated where it should be – we both wanted the previous owners' wood shop in the backyard for ourselves. He for his woodworking and construction projects, and me for my art. I fought hard for the wood shop, and eventually he agreed, taking the garage (which needed a lot of work to be usable) for his workshop.

Having my own creative space felt extraordinary, and I promptly dubbed my studio "My Own Space" (MOS Studio).

Artist Lucy Finch holding a hand-painted studio sign made by artist Zephyr Madrone from Pacific Northwest driftwood in 2021

Why was that name so important to me? Well, I didn't have any privacy growing up. My bedroom didn't have a door, and I shared closet space with my father (it was a very unusual house design).

After I left home, I lived in many different places throughout my life. I've always had my own bedroom and sometimes my own apartment (plus my own mud house, a "rondoval," during my time in the Peace Corps), but never a space dedicated solely to creating. Any creative projects I worked on were done on my computer or made at the kitchen table. No wonder I was so happy to have a separate, dedicated creative space at age 50!

Over the years, my husband has learned to respect my studio space. At first, he would just walk in whenever he wanted to talk to me, interrupting my focus and flow. For a time, I locked the door to reduce the number of interruptions. But now he understands that I need the same type of concentration and undivided attention that he does when he is working, so he waits to talk to me until I come out of the studio. Or, if whatever he needs to discuss is time sensitive, he knocks on the door and patiently waits for me to answer. And I do the same for him.

Just a few days ago, we were talking about our childhoods, and my lack of privacy came up again. I could see him connect the dots as he realized why I dubbed my studio "My Own Space". He said he had always understood the words "My Own Space," but somehow he hadn't connected the dots as to WHY I named it that way. Now he knows, and, dear reader, now YOU know too. 😊