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Writers’ rooms: Gregory Rogers
This is one corner of my studio which is on the first floor of an old building in the main street of Woolloongabba in Brisbane.
It’s a large space and I am totally self contained without needing to share facilities with anyone.
If I want solitude, I have it. My building is sandwiched between a Tunisian restaurant and a fancy dress shop in an old and established inner-city part of Brisbane, close to cafes, pubs, restaurants, shops and my post office.
I’ve been here for nearly ten years and have no desire to leave. I often walk to work, a twenty minute stroll from home in Kangaroo Point.
I’ve tried the home studio thing many times before bit I realised that the physical separation between work and home is essential for me.
This picture shows where the serious work takes place. The desk with the lamp is the hub of the action, usually after a quick shovelling aside of paperwork to reveal a clear surface.
I am able to work on top of the mess but it can be a bit unstable. It’s here that I do my “sitting up” work, the type that needs a surface and good light.
As you can see I surround myself with “treasures”, those odd on usually old objects that I can stare at and study if I need a distraction.
Sometimes I retreat to the front room where I house my Art Deco collection. It’s a more formal space but very restful.
But for serious relaxation I make use of the “big red chair” that sits in another corner of the studio.
Here it is in all its glory. I have had this chair for over thirty years and will never part with it. It is the place where the thinking happens.
It’s where I can let ideas wash over me, usually before I drop off to sleep. It is the single most important item in my studio. It lures me to its over-stuffed velvety plumpness and can send me into states of transportation.
The studio is spacious enough to have several projects going on at the same time.
This helps because I can get easily bored and distracted so I move from space to space, and job to job and have a new setting for each. Is it an attention deficit thing or is there simply too much going on in my head?
Occasionally I will have what I call a “landslide” when files and books and papers start to move like a tectonic shift.
It usually heralds the need for a tidy up. But however Zen I attempt to make my studio space, on those rare occasions when I feel in the mood to tidy and minimalise, I find that things eventually return to a natural state of clutter. I love to surround myself with “things”.
Visitors are often overwhelmed. But I find it comforting. Traversing my studio can be fraught with danger. Even getting in and out of the door is not without hazard. But my studio is my second home where more than half my life is spent. It is my oasis of tranquility.
My publisher once visited. She stood staring in awe of the sight and said, “I just want to see what’s inside your head”.
Topics: Gregory Rogers | 1 Comment »
June 2nd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Hi Greg,
I’m George, the Yellow Taxi Driver that picked you up to take you to Quantas Domestic on Monday 1st June 2009.
You left me you business card, and I left it in the Cab.
Forgive me my transgression as I forgive others.
Just kidding.
My contact details are
07 3800 7210
0402 611 681
georgenexus@yahoo.com.au
Hear from you soon.
Cheers.
George