Hello Monday! Hello Studio!

My little hideaway, my thinking place, my creating space….I’m very lucky to have a room to myself. I have finally finished re-organizing and designing the space to reflect my current goals. I’ve boxed up a bunch of supplies I will no longer need and filed away a few old favorites to make way for my brushes and pencils to take center stage. It is no longer a “craft room;” it is officially an art studio. It dawned on me a few months back that as long as I was staring at alphabet stickers and pretty ribbon all the while digging in the closet to find paint and canvas, I would never truly be able to make the transition.  So it’s all out in the open just like my intentions. I am an artist and this is my studio!

A window. Most important. Everything else is mostly IKEA:
 kitchen hanging racks filled with printing ink, color pencils and painting mediums.
Our old kitchen island, bookcases and boxes full of old scrapbook supplies.
And a good selection of books and magazines for inspiration.

I just added the wire and clips to put up new work, what currently inspires me, or quotes.
Also, I love the new little shelf with all my new FW Acrylic Inks. See the clip board
in the corner? That has upcoming events and hopeful shows I would like to enter.

An easle. It was a gift that sat in a box for almost a year before I was
brave enough to use it. For fun I collected some milkglass vases at Goodwill
to hold brushes, paint tubes and other supplies. The window is where all my
color sits - glass bottles found from all over. The rest of the room I try to keep neutral.

I want to point out the old wooden box and compartmented container resting on top of it,
both bought filled with treasures found in Europe.  

I'd be a fool to think I will have this room all to myself. This is where the boys hangout
and make a little art of their own. The closets in the background span the width of the room
and shamefully are pack to the max with all the things I can't part with or believe I will use one day.

The main desk from another angle. Yes it has storage and is full, too.
So is the wire rack to its right. Adhesive, ink, punches, paints, cutting implements, etc.
I am proud to say that the baskets on top now have sketch books and works in progress.

So, what am I’m I really thinking and feeling when I enter this room? First panic. It’s a lot of pressure to walk into a room with the hopes of creating something new and hopefully good. Then I breathe and start cleaning and organizing to relax. Ahhh, good, now I will open my notebooks or sketch book or pick up a reference photo to make the next step in creating something. Sometimes I am lucky and already have a plan in place and can just get to work, but most of the time the ideas get stuck somewhere outside of my studio and I need to drag them back in. But once I’ve set on a project or painting I’m good, until about 20 minutes into it when the boys beckon my attention! But as long as I get in there and inhale a moment of creativity, I feel like I’m still moving forward on that long path. Thank-you for walking with me for a moment and I hope you have a Happy Monday!