× Ed Nash
At over 3,000-square-feet, artist Ed Nash’s Inglewood studio features 16-foot ceilings, an office loft (where local bands take over for house concerts), a kitchen, and a framing shop. A large garage door rolls up filling the space with natural light and allowing Nash’s two shop dogs the freedom to enter and exit at their leisure. “Light puts me at ease, x93 he says. “I have a real hard time painting in artificial light. x93
For Nash, who is originally from Letchworth Garden City, England, his studio is more than just a place to paint. “It’s a workspace, an exhibit space, an office; it’s a place for my kids to play and learn, x93 he says, adding, “It’s a place to reflect and think. x93
With paintings often reaching over six feet in height and width, Nash needed a large space to create his work. He found his current space in an industrial park in 2010 and quickly made it his own, bringing in forklifts to move walls and building out the loft space. “We embody the space we work in and live, x93 says Nash. “Big paintings need space to breathe. x93 ednashart.com
Ed Nash
Painter // Inglewood
At over 3,000-square-feet, artist Ed Nash’s Inglewood studio features 16-foot ceilings, an office loft (where local bands take over for house concerts), a kitchen, and a framing shop. A large garage door rolls up filling the space with natural light and allowing Nash’s two shop dogs the freedom to enter and exit at their leisure. “Light puts me at ease, x93 he says. “I have a real hard time painting in artificial light. x93For Nash, who is originally from Letchworth Garden City, England, his studio is more than just a place to paint. “It’s a workspace, an exhibit space, an office; it’s a place for my kids to play and learn, x93 he says, adding, “It’s a place to reflect and think. x93
With paintings often reaching over six feet in height and width, Nash needed a large space to create his work. He found his current space in an industrial park in 2010 and quickly made it his own, bringing in forklifts to move walls and building out the loft space. “We embody the space we work in and live, x93 says Nash. “Big paintings need space to breathe. x93 ednashart.com
× Crackerfarm
For the last eleven years, photographer Crackerfarm (aka Mike Beyer) has worked with The Avett Brothers as their photographer and documentarian. When he’s not on the road with that band or working with others, like Old Crow Medicine Show, Langhorne Slim, and most recently, Sturgill Simpson, he can be found in the North Nashville studio he shares with his wife Emily.
After purchasing the 800-square-foot home in 2014, Crackerfarm began renovations on the property. “I gutted it completely—took all the walls and ceiling out. I left one room, x93 he says. The open area created in the middle of the house now serves as his space for photo and video shoots, as well as project editing, painting, and screenprinting. “I like the way the house looks and feels. It’s like a nice version of the studio I had in New York City. x93
The one room that was left in tact was converted into a space for Emily’s massage studio A wood-burning stove, the artist’s favorite piece in the house, was also installed. The walls feature a rotating mix of backdrops for shoots, Crackerfarm’s own paintings, and other artists’ work, including a framed 1993 Danny Clinch photo of Tupac Shakur. crackerfarm.com
Crackerfarm
Photographer // North Nashville
For the last eleven years, photographer Crackerfarm (aka Mike Beyer) has worked with The Avett Brothers as their photographer and documentarian. When he’s not on the road with that band or working with others, like Old Crow Medicine Show, Langhorne Slim, and most recently, Sturgill Simpson, he can be found in the North Nashville studio he shares with his wife Emily.After purchasing the 800-square-foot home in 2014, Crackerfarm began renovations on the property. “I gutted it completely—took all the walls and ceiling out. I left one room, x93 he says. The open area created in the middle of the house now serves as his space for photo and video shoots, as well as project editing, painting, and screenprinting. “I like the way the house looks and feels. It’s like a nice version of the studio I had in New York City. x93
The one room that was left in tact was converted into a space for Emily’s massage studio A wood-burning stove, the artist’s favorite piece in the house, was also installed. The walls feature a rotating mix of backdrops for shoots, Crackerfarm’s own paintings, and other artists’ work, including a framed 1993 Danny Clinch photo of Tupac Shakur. crackerfarm.com
× Edie Maney
Old credit cards, bits of cardboard, squeegees, these are the tools Edie Maney, an abstract expressionist painter, reaches for first in her home studio just outside Percy Warner Park in West Nashville. “There are endless possibilities for moving paint, x93 says Maney. “What’s exciting is not just painting traditionally but painting without a brush. x93
In 2004, a stroke of luck led Maney and her husband Jerry to a home for sale in their dream neighborhood. The homeowner, also a painter, had already converted the upstairs into an artist’s studio. All Maney had to do was move her things in.
“The studio is perfect. It’s cozy and warm, x93 she says, adding that an in-home studio allows her to be surrounded by some of her favorite and most inspiring things: mementos from trips abroad, photos, and a cat that wanders in and out.
Her greatest inspiration, however, comes from the hundreds of oil and acrylic paints at her fingertips. “What inspires me is color, x93 Maney says. “Color intoxicates me. There is no resisting the call of paint to canvas. x93 ediemaneyart.com
Edie Maney
Painter // West Nashville
Old credit cards, bits of cardboard, squeegees, these are the tools Edie Maney, an abstract expressionist painter, reaches for first in her home studio just outside Percy Warner Park in West Nashville. “There are endless possibilities for moving paint, x93 says Maney. “What’s exciting is not just painting traditionally but painting without a brush. x93In 2004, a stroke of luck led Maney and her husband Jerry to a home for sale in their dream neighborhood. The homeowner, also a painter, had already converted the upstairs into an artist’s studio. All Maney had to do was move her things in.
“The studio is perfect. It’s cozy and warm, x93 she says, adding that an in-home studio allows her to be surrounded by some of her favorite and most inspiring things: mementos from trips abroad, photos, and a cat that wanders in and out.
Her greatest inspiration, however, comes from the hundreds of oil and acrylic paints at her fingertips. “What inspires me is color, x93 Maney says. “Color intoxicates me. There is no resisting the call of paint to canvas. x93 ediemaneyart.com
× Christian Fecht
When Christian Fecht visited Nashville eight years ago to help a friend rehab a house, he ended up staying permanently, moving from construction gigs and bartending to work as a professional woodworker. After renting several studios around town, he settled into his current space in Inglewood four years ago. Fecht quickly packed the 2,000 square feet with workbenches, lumber, and a slew of saws and other menacing-looking tools. “It helps that I work with wood that’s got a lot of warmth to it, x93 he says, noting the industrial feel of the space. “I think that’s why I like working with wood in general. x93
Light pours in through an open garage door, and the space stays heated by a large wood-burning stove fed with scrap material and project cast-offs. Fecht, who maintains different working hours than the artist with which he shares his studio, is kept company by a variety of timber types sourced from around Middle Tennessee. Loyal to no particular tree species, Fecht says, “I look for weird growths in the tree, ripples, strange oddities. Half the time you know what you’re looking for, half the time you don’t. x93 fechtdesign.com
Christian Fecht
Woodworker // Inglewood
When Christian Fecht visited Nashville eight years ago to help a friend rehab a house, he ended up staying permanently, moving from construction gigs and bartending to work as a professional woodworker. After renting several studios around town, he settled into his current space in Inglewood four years ago. Fecht quickly packed the 2,000 square feet with workbenches, lumber, and a slew of saws and other menacing-looking tools. “It helps that I work with wood that’s got a lot of warmth to it, x93 he says, noting the industrial feel of the space. “I think that’s why I like working with wood in general. x93 Light pours in through an open garage door, and the space stays heated by a large wood-burning stove fed with scrap material and project cast-offs. Fecht, who maintains different working hours than the artist with which he shares his studio, is kept company by a variety of timber types sourced from around Middle Tennessee. Loyal to no particular tree species, Fecht says, “I look for weird growths in the tree, ripples, strange oddities. Half the time you know what you’re looking for, half the time you don’t. x93 fechtdesign.com
× John Donovan
For John Donovan and his wife Lisa, the decision to purchase their Cleveland Park home in 2014 was a no-brainer. The house came with two small buildings out back, which they converted into a studio for Donovan, an award-winning sculptor and the force behind Tenure Ceramics, Nashville’s go-to source for custom, commercial-grade ceramic tableware. “I’m more productive because I’m closer to the kilns [now], x93 says Donovan who used to drive thirty minutes to his former studio.
With just 250 square feet to play with, Donovan had to get creative—he learned early on he wouldn’t be able to do ceramics work and sculpture at the same time. “It’s tight. We have to almost reboot the space each time, x93 he says, referring to the studio overhaul Donovan and his assistant perform each time they change genre.
The space is filled almost to capacity with works in progress for clients like City House and the new Wedgewood/Houston restaurant Bastion, plus drying racks and three electric kilns. There is little room to spare for objects of inspiration or even previous work. For Donovan, however, his greatest inspiration lies just a few feet outside the studio’s front door: his wife and two children. “They are my most coveted audience. x93 zeitgeist-art.com
John Donovan
Sculptor & Ceramicist // Cleveland Park
For John Donovan and his wife Lisa, the decision to purchase their Cleveland Park home in 2014 was a no-brainer. The house came with two small buildings out back, which they converted into a studio for Donovan, an award-winning sculptor and the force behind Tenure Ceramics, Nashville’s go-to source for custom, commercial-grade ceramic tableware. “I’m more productive because I’m closer to the kilns [now], x93 says Donovan who used to drive thirty minutes to his former studio. With just 250 square feet to play with, Donovan had to get creative—he learned early on he wouldn’t be able to do ceramics work and sculpture at the same time. “It’s tight. We have to almost reboot the space each time, x93 he says, referring to the studio overhaul Donovan and his assistant perform each time they change genre.
The space is filled almost to capacity with works in progress for clients like City House and the new Wedgewood/Houston restaurant Bastion, plus drying racks and three electric kilns. There is little room to spare for objects of inspiration or even previous work. For Donovan, however, his greatest inspiration lies just a few feet outside the studio’s front door: his wife and two children. “They are my most coveted audience. x93 zeitgeist-art.com