The Great Studio Re-Organization!

I've been in this house, and hence, this art studio since the Spring of 2007. A year and a half. It seems a little soon for the two-car-garage turned art studio to have fallen into such disarray - but I suppose it's also been just long enough for me to spend time in the studio and figure out what works and what doesn't. First, the view from the door into the kitchen:


And the view with the garage door open:


And things have changed since I first moved in. The number of media I work in regularly has increased, I've built a light box to take photos for the blog and the up-coming Etsy shop, and I'm making a lot more art and teaching a lot more classes than I was a year and a half ago.

Now, this means that the studio has been doing its job - and it means it was time for an upgrade. I bought some more shelves from Costco on Monday (which the father-in-law-ish sadly pointed out were made in China) and I took the before pictures above on Tuesday in a state of overwhelm. I've spent the past three days re-organizing the studio.

Now, to the untrained eye, the before and after pictures may look, well, the same, so allow me to guide you through the myriad of functional improvements! First, with the garage door open, just look at how much organized it looks! (just nod your head) And you can actually see parts of the floor!


And, when you come in from the kitchen, there's a painting area that's well-lit. I haven't had a good spot in the studio for process-painting, and I've been craving it! Now, there's also a clear spot on the garage door nearby so I can put up some cardboard there and do large scale work! (A spot that was previously blocked by . . . the easel).


And the main tables, for doing print-making, collage, and assemblage construction are a good bit clearer . . .

I switched things out so that I have a counter-height table at the encaustics area. I usually stand up while I work . . .and I hung up these plastic papel picado banners from mexicansugarskull.com. Happy! Colorful!

Perhaps the biggest improvement is the creation of a larger dedicated jewelry-making/dremel tool using area. All the small power tools and the jewelry-making tools are now together and easily accessible. Good, since often both get used for both my assemblage work and my jewelry-making. And, there's a better place for me to leave jewelry projects in progress without them getting mixed up with the bigger, messier projects on the main tables.

And, the student supplies are separated a bit better. They're in their own corner by the garage door for easy loading/unloading. They're also still accessible, since I do raid the student supplies for my own projects.


And, there's a little more room now around the lightbox. I'm anticipating that this area will become not only a photo area, but also something of a packing area/freebie button-making area once the Etsy shop is really open.

Phew! Now, to get in there and get my application together to teach at Art & Soul 2009!