Creatives at Home
TORONTO ARTIST VIRGINIA JOHNSON CREATES A SPACE FOR DEEP FOCUS AND FLIGHTS OF FANCY.
Nothing Could Be Better Inside artist Virginia Johnson’s new Toronto studio, a light and airy space for unbridled creativity.
POTTED GERANIUMS heavy with pink and crimson blooms are sprinkled throughout artist Virginia Johnson’s city garden. “They reward you with very little work,” says Virginia as she steps out of her west end Toronto house and heads down the pea gravel path that winds through her backyard. “My grandmother had a potted red geranium that grew to be huge,” she adds, a little wistfully. I notice the caftan she’s wearing happens to be geranium red. “I bought it one week before the world shut down,” she says. “I love it because one arm is faded from being in the store window.” The nostalgic charm of garden florals, the wabi-sabi allure of imperfections, pieces with a story — in less than five minutes, we’ve touched on the hallmarks that make Virginia’s art and design work so sought after. They also distinguish her newly built studio, a separate, single-storey structure tucked into the back of her garden. “This isn’t my office; it’s not about dealing with spreadsheets and inventory,” she says as we enter the sunlit room. “I wanted this to be a purely creative space.”
Virginia’s portfolio gives the misleading impression that she’s the consummate side hustler, someone who’s happiest when she’s on the go-go-go. In the last three years, she’s authored and illustrated a travel book, launched a line of wallpapers, created home goods for Hudson’s Bay and continued to produce her popular textiles and clothing. But what she was really craving was some healthy separation from the demands of being a mother, wife and entrepreneur. “I’d never had an art studio,” she says. “Creating this space was about valuing that more and acknowledging that it’s important to me.”
Virginia’s deep, narrow yard presented the perfect spot to build. Spanning the full width of the property, the studio neatly replaced an untamed pergola and her kids’ long-forgotten sandbox. Its overall design is simple, with clean lines and poured concrete floors. But, the exterior caters to Virginia’s preference for time-honoured looks. “I’m not a modern person, so I went with more traditional doors and used reclaimed bricks on the façade to give that old texture,” she says.
Weathered materials add character to the interior as well. The ceiling is reclaimed timber that Virginia first thought she’d paint white, then decided to keep natural. “The beams are wobbly, which adds the imperfections I love,” she says. “They give the space a not-so-slick feel, so it has more warmth.” The bathroom — decorated with Virginia’s own geranium-print wallpaper — has a quaint cottage vibe, with a vintage sink for washing up. “I love things that once belonged to someone else,” she says. Luckily, the judge who granted the studio’s plumbing permit was a watercolour artist himself and understood that Virginia would need to clean
“I WANTED THIS TO BE A PURELY CREATIVE SPACE”