I recently finished reading the book “A Place of My Own”, by Michael Pollan. Most people will know Pollan from the plethora of food-related books that he has written. This book, however, is about architecture. More than that, it is about the spaces that we create in, how these spaces inspire us, and the process of creating a space of your own.
Pollan had purchased an old clapboard house in Connecticut. After having the clapboard house renovated, he has a seed planted in his mind, a little building off in the distance. No one is sure exactly what the building will be, just that the vista doesn’t seem complete without it. The seed is sown and what we find out this leads to is the creation of a writing hut at the end of a path.
Pollan weaves the narrative of building this writing hut of his with architectural and building history. I immediately thought of another favorite book of mine, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. Pirsig uses a similar style, a narrative of the process interspersed with theory and history.
The book led me back to my own thoughts of a place of my own, a cabin in the woods, or on a lake. I have always thought of creating some space for working on my “side” projects.
In deciding to create such a space there are some important considerations:
- What are your most important projects?
- What space do you need to create things?
- What will you create?
- What is comfortable and inspiring in design to you?
Your space may be as simple as a small room with a table to place a laptop on, it may be an empty room used as an art studio, or an elaborately furnished area. The most important part is that it is your own.
I currently live in a 750 square foot apartment and find that I want a space that is separate from the apartment to work on my personal projects. Now, I know that sounds odd, 750 square feet should be plenty of room for one person to do whatever they need to do. However, it is my everyday living quarters. With that come the everyday hiccups in getting work done.
My “space”, I think, would be a 10×10 room. I’ve even envisioned a small little building that would serve this purpose. It would include my writing desk underneath a window, and a space for my art projects in another corner. It would be one place where I could go to be separate from the everyday.
As of now, my space is a corner of my living room with a simple writing desk and lamp. I also use my kitchen to paint. But this hodgepodge of spaces doesn’t feel natural; it feels forced sometimes. It feels like my projects are being forced into pre-determined spaces, and not in worlds of their own.
That said, do we really need a place for these things to live, or should they be able to flourish wherever we are? I’m writing in a cafe now, rather than at home.
Pollan’s book also led me to think of Walden, which I have started to re-read. I suppose the message is that we need an “other” to help use define our goals and ourselves. I’m not sure that I really believe that theory.
If we are striving for a minimalist life, shouldn’t we be striving to be able to create anywhere, regardless of furniture, or buildings?
What Pollan gets at, through all of his design and building, is that the spaces where we go to create are not always of our own making. Yes, Pollan hired and worked with an architect to design his writing hut, and he worked with a carpenter to actually build it; but the feel of it was created as much by his architect as by nature; the inspiration that could be obtained in the house was a product not just of the design of the house, but also of its placement, and the desires of its occupant. Indeed, we find out that the writing hut is now a home office for a realtor. This is quite a re-purposing of a semi-sacred place.
But, much like a church, it is only sacred when those who hold it as such occupy it. The sacredness of our creation spaces is fleeting. They are sacred for the short time when we occupy them, and, just as often, lose all meaning afterward. This is not a depressing thought. Rather, I consider it to be extremely inspiring. The spot where you sit to drink a cup of coffee was once occupied by a noted author, putting the finishing touches on his great American novel. The spot where you spread your blanket for a picnic was the vantage point of a painter, creating an abstract landscape that defined an artistic genre. The subway car that you rode to work in was the concert hall for a violinist whose performance brought joy to those who did not expect it.
We create our own spaces. In a world as crowded and hectic as our own, we can only hope for a retreat, perhaps at the end of a walkway that led from the backdoor of our home. More often than not, we must seek to define our spaces as they interact with a busy world around us. I can be totally isolated in a busy coffee shop when I immerse myself in my writing, or, I can feel distracted and uninspired in my quiet apartment as I sit with no creative spark. I define my own space, physical or otherwise.
Pollan was just lucky enough to have been able to build his ideal space in his backyard. And I was lucky enough to read about it.
