To celebrate Poetry Month, we asked A Pond, a Poet, and Three Pests illustrator Lauren Tamaki to give us a tour of her studio. 

What are your ideal working conditions? Ex. Do you listen to music, or do you need silence to work? Do you work in daylight, or are you a night owl?

Honestly, I’m trying to figure out my ideal working conditions! My workspace has been in flux my whole 10+-year career. Except for one year renting a studio, I’ve always worked in my apartment, and I’m used to being tucked away in a little corner. My current home set-up is being overtaken by our stuff, so my desire for a dedicated space is mounting! I wish I had gorgeous photos to show you of giant windows and the perfect space with the right amount of artistic clutter … but this is what I’m dealing with!

Despite my not-so-ideal studio, I still have work to do, and I do my best to create pleasant working conditions: If I’m drawing, I’ll listen to a podcast or audiobook, and if I’m on the computer, I’ll toss on a show I’ve watched a million times as white noise (right now I’m cycling through Star Trek: Voyager). Historically I’ve been a night owl but I’m getting old and need more sleep.

Describe your creative process. How do you begin? What tools do you use?

 The first thing I do is research, research, research! AI slop is polluting internet reference searches, so I’ve been hitting the library even harder than usual. Online museum archives have also been helpful.

I’m still trying to hone my setup, but generally, I need two desks: one for computer work/scanning and one dedicated to drawing/painting. They should be close together, ideally with a monitor at the drawing desk/light table where I can send reference photos to look at while I draw.

I’ve dialed down my tools from over a decade of working: acrylic ink, brushes (preferably round), crow quill pens, 2B pencils, cartridge paper for sketching, Fabriano watercolour paper for ink (preferably 90lb). Every now and then a pencil crayon. I’m feeling the need to switch it up, though!

What are your three favourite items in your studio? Where did they come from? What makes them special?

In no particular order:

Mozart Sneezes poster, from Milton Glaser’s online shop. Glaser is one of my favourites because he played in everything: graphic design, branding, drawing, books … the man did it all! For any Glaser newcomers I recommend the book Drawing is Thinking.

Mone’s phone number. I struck up a conversation with a Chinese woman in her 80s on the A Train a few years back. She swore like a sailor and took up tons of space, a huge person in a tiny body. Mone said, “If you ever need anything,” and handed me a piece of paper with her digits. I’ll never call her (sorry, Mone) but I pin up her number to remind me that I too could be a formidable, brassy old Asian lady.

My library. I keep most of my children’s books in my studio and the rest are scattered throughout the apartment. I’m extremely greedy for children’s books, especially vintage ones; they’re incredible objects to behold, and they remind me why I started drawing.

Learn more about A Pond, a Poet, and Three Pests