About this Service

“Before taking this course, I had stopped working on my art for years due to my job situation.

The BUILD course gave me a detailed structure, starting from setting up the studio to showcasing my work to the general public which distinguishes this course from others. While many courses focus on techniques, materials, and subject matter, this course uniquely covers the entire process from studio practice to presenting your work. This comprehensive approach ensured that I received guidance every step of the way and helped me believe in what I was doing.

As a result of this course, I have produced small works including drawings and paintings every day. I don't have a fear/pressure of producing good work. I just make work.

I am so glad that I decided to take this course. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this course to anyone who is in a situation similar to me, or anyone who wants to take another step with their creativity.”
L.S., London

“The way the course is set up it allows for the development of your practice to find substantial footing.”
M.M., Chicago

BUILD Your Studio Practice course takes you from setting up or redesigning your studio through to making the work, writing about your work and being ready to show your work to the world.

BUILD Your Studio Practice is a self-directed online course which includes 8 Modules with 50+ videos PLUS Bi-Weekly Zoom Gatherings for Q&A and occasional breakout rooms PLUS a Community Share space for each module to upload your work and discuss with others in the course community.

"After BUILD, I'm less in my head…I've started to recreate my studio space, clearing out old work and thinking about the new works that will go into it. I've identified a direction for a new body of work. I appreciate Nancy’s generous energy and the calm, supportive space she created.” S.L., New York

"I really appreciated the intersection of group discussion and Nancy's coaching. She meets me where I am and gets me to the next level. Now, instead of fear and loathing heading into the studio, I have a practice that I'm excited about.” J.H. Chicago

About this Lister

I am Nancy Murphy Spicer, Artist Coach and the host of the Women Artists Connect network.

I have created the BUILD Your Studio Practice course to support women artists in building strong and resonant practices and connecting with a community of other women artists eager to do the same.

To this work, I bring my backgrounds as a professional artist for 25 years, an art professor, and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC). I am passionate about supporting women artists to find their fullest expression and get their work out into the world.

Background and Expertise

Nancy Murphy Spicer's work is centered in painting and drawings and its relationship to social, architectural, and geographic space. It takes the form of works on paper, paintings, installations, and performance.

Murphy Spicer has exhibited her work at galleries and museums in the US and in Europe. Her work has been reviewed and highlighted in Sculpture Magazine, Art New England, Der Tagesspiegel Berlin, and Art Papers. The Boston Globe has twice named her exhibitions among the top ten shows in Boston.

Murphy Spicer currently teaches online for The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, and The University of the West of England. She completed a mid-career MFA at SAIC with an exhibition of paintings and a written thesis entitled The New Brag: Erasure and Co-Constitution of Self. Paintings from The New Brag series were included in New American Paintings MFA Annual Vol 141. Her essay on the work of Cy Twombly is included in the Art Institute of Chicago exhibition catalog entitled Material Meanings: Selections from the Constance R. Caplan Collection.

Murphy Spicer is also a Professional Certified Coach with over 750 hours of coaching experience working with women artists and entrepreneurs to develop their most authentic work and share it with the world. She hosts the Women Artists Connect network and created the BUILD Your Studio Practice course.

Murphy Spicer's artwork is held in private collections in the US, UK, Germany and Japan.