This is what my art studio looked like after I hurriedly finished my nephew's collage kit for Christmas. So last week, I finally stopped dragging my feet and resolved to clean it up. Of course, I also resolved to exercise daily, get a bunch of grading done, and work on my graduate course, but in the case of my art studio, I actually succeeded in meeting my goal.
Here is the finished product. I have to say that I have found organizing to be one of the all-time most creative activities around, because it's so freeing. This wasn't always the case. Unlike my older sister who is an organizational genius, I am a creative soul who is generally more spontaneous and responsive than planned and methodical, and I had to learn it the hard way. Even now, the first thing I had to do was motivate myself. And I did this by thinking of my art room as a sort of 3-D collage. I pretended that I was designing a store front, marketing and merchandising all of my art supplies to entice the consumer into the shop - the consumer being me! I realized that if my art supplies weren't out and visible, I wouldn't interact with them as regularly as I would like to.
One of the first things I did was to break one of my own rules and buy more stuff to organize the stuff I already had. But I'm glad I did. These are all my collage and paint supplies, labeled and ready to go. Magazine images are sorted by size and subject. If you need some fake money, why, just open the drawer marked "money." Likewise with doo-dads, swirls, dots, tags, and scraps. So handy!
The books that used to live in this cubby shelf are still piled in my writing room. Oh well. Who cares when I could make a kind of homage to Kandinsky with yarn and fabric? On top, glass spice jars hold buttons, sequins, bells, and tiny clothes pins, which I use to make my one-of-a-kind prayer flags.
Remember how enticing the children's book display was at the public library when you were a kid? In this little corner, I decided to use book easels to display my small but inspiring collection of art and craft books. The covers themselves are so beautiful -- they look lovely out, and they call to me to make something. Plus, when you have slanted ceilings like I do in my magic attic, not to mention horsehair plaster walls that refuse to take nails, screws, or nearly any other method of hanging art, you have to be...well, creative. An old silver suitcase, courtesy of my older sister ,holds my surplus rubber stamps and ink pads.
This is my stamping center. All my alphabet letters are in the clearly marked drawers, which I labeled with removable labels for easy changes. I do not usually think of myself as the labeling type, but there is something calming about knowing, explicitly, where each thing's home is.
This is my newly cleaned sewing and ironing area. My artist friend Ellen took one look and said, "Way too organized."
"Don't worry," I told her. "It won't stay that way for long!"
"Don't worry," I told her. "It won't stay that way for long!"
Who can resist old-fashioned candy and cookie jars? The brightly colored trims and threads displayed inside entice me to sample the colors, shapes, and designs. And hey, no calories!
This is my grandmother's library table, circa 1930, I believe. It's wobbly and covered with years of many different paint layers, but it feels like a special place to make my collage cards. Thanks, Gramma!
Now, rather than assault me with guilt and overwhelming feelings of disorganization, my art room is a place of fun, beauty, and invitation. I many only spend a few minutes in there in any given time period, but it is a reflection of my deepest joy and desire. As my wise, wise sister Jude says, "All you have to do is tell yourself you're going to sit in there and have coffee. That's all." She's right. When I sit in there with a cup of tea and no pressure, invariably my creative curiosity is piqued. And just think -- now, I can finally invite my niece over to make art with me in a fun and functional environment. Wanna come over and play?
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