Personal space
Melissa Gill
Where I live: Capitol View/ Stifft Station neighborhood of Little Rock
Occupation: Associate professor of art at Hendrix College
My favorite space is: The front room of my apartment.
Why? I love this space because it has so much beautiful natural light and the walls are painted in a tint of my favorite color — sea green. I also love that no matter which window I look out, I can see beautiful trees. This is a multi-use space. It’s where my friends and I hang out when they come over, it’s also my art workshop, home gym and meditation space. I can relax in this space and watch a favorite show on Netflix, work on my new art projects — printed and dyed fabric collages (my sewing machine is in this room), work up a sweat and bring my mind to a calm, centered, grounded place through my meditation practice. Basically, I pretty much live most of my nonwork life in this space.
If I could make one change to improve this space, I would: install a “wall-garden” with a grid of small hanging potted plants. My collection of plants would include succulents to remind me of home (Arizona), as well as mint and lemon verbena which I love to add to my drinking water. They would love all of this natural light and I love to care for plants — it’s so calming and makes me very happy. Yes, I do talk to my plants!