My favorite art-related activity in the summer is visiting a visual artist in their studio. This is a tad curious, given that my own art practice involves research and writing, digging into dusty archives and using the nuggets I unearth to craft an essay or story. But for some reason, the creative energy I need soars if I first immerse myself in the work and the creative space of a visual artist.

And that’s why I spent a recent afternoon with Barney Zeitz, a self-taught artist who works in mediums such as pen & ink, glass, steel, wood and more. His home studio itself is a work of art. Outside, stainless-steel dragonflies hover over bushes and alight on cedar-shingled walls. Shadows of past metalworking projects decorate the underside of a door awning. Inside the house, Barney has crafted most everything: light fixtures, bannisters, windows, even floors.

But it’s when we pass through a latched door to his studio that things get exciting. I pause in the doorway to take in the central nervous system of this artist. Here, in a sprawling space with soaring ceilings, the creative synapses fire.

On the wall ahead, a collection of small forged-metal shapes hang. (That’s what I need — that bevy of angels and osprey over my writing desk.) Along a full wall of windows, the mid-summer sun makes Barney’s works of fused and stained glass glow.

A metal sculpture of an owl perches on a worktable, awaiting talons. Nearby, carousels of cards are decorated with Barney’s pen & ink sketches of Vineyard scenes, on cardstock heavy enough to hold watercolor too. I nab a few to paint on later — a far better outlet when a bout of writer’s block strikes than scrolling through social media. (Barney’s cards are also available at The Beach House and Olive Branch Fair Trade, shops on Vineyard Haven’s Main street.)

While we peruse his space and projects together, Barney and I chat about his methods and materials. He explains why he prefers stainless steel welding to other types of metalworking, like casting bronze in a mold.

“I like the individually handmade stuff,” he says, “and how each time it comes out different.”

Yet he’s clearly a craftsman in control of his materials. Case in point: an oversized metal and glass chandelier hanging from the rafter just above us. He made it completely by hand, yet its precisely curved steel arms and branches look identical to my eyes; same with the swirls of the purple and green glass holding the light source.

A kiln and more worktables take up the east side of Barney’s studio space. Most every surface is covered with works in progress or remnants of projects past. My eyes settle on one corner where, over a lamp-lit desk, a long plank shelf bears dozens of black-covered sketchbooks. They’re a collection, he says, of drawings, doodles and project notes.

That’s how it’s done, I think. Successful projects accumulate through dint of daily collection, reflection and implementation. But first the ideas need to be preserved. No more sticky notes, I vow. Be like Barney and always keep a notebook close. Because you never know where inspiration will strike.

Barney sketches everywhere he goes; you’ll see him on the beach or at PathwaysARTS musical events in Chilmark or even at the Tisbury town meetings. Over the years, he’s also belonged to several drawing groups on the Island. “Drawing is really important to me,” he says.

Collectors across the United States and abroad have acquired Barney’s drawings and metal and glass works, which is gratifying to him, but he’s particularly fond of crafting memorials and monuments. He likes that those remain accessible, both to him and to the public.

Among Barney's many commissions are public sculptures at the Wang Theatre in Boston and at the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center in Rhode Island. He also created both the Plymouth Immigrant Memorial at Brewster Gardens in Plymouth, Mass., and the Diversity Sculpture Memorial at the Fall River, Mass., Government Center.

Barney’s memorials can be viewed around the Island too. One is of Rebecca Amos, a woman who was seized in Africa and lived as an enslaved person in Chilmark. Barney’s Rebecca stands seven feet tall and is part of the Martha’s Vineyard African American Heritage Trail. Another of his memorial commissions is the plaque installed at Oak Bluffs’ Sunset Lake, made in honor of Vineyard naturalist Gus Ben David, who died in 2024. It depicts Gus and Chameli, the golden eagle he adopted when it was a 12-week-old hatchling. Above the plaque soars Barney’s sculpture of an osprey, a species whose population the Vineyard naturalist played a key role in reviving.

I leave admiring Barney’s creative confidence and his ability to take on so many projects in multiple mediums. I leave inspired and ready to get to work.

Maybe you need a dose of creative inspiration too? Happily, Barney opens his studio to the public every Wednesday in July and August, from 4 to 6 p.m. You’ll find his place at 595 State road, Vineyard Haven (located between the Lake Tashmoo overlook and the Scottish Bakehouse).

During open studios, whether Barney is just hanging out or at work on a project he’s happy to answer questions or let visitors look around as long as they want.

Brenda Horrigan lives in Vineyard Haven and is one of four Island writers behind the Substack newsletter, The Creative Current. For more information, visit thecreativecurrent.substack.com.