A Life of Order

Back in January, inspired by the success I had reorganizing the studio, I decided to tackle the office. With the Sweetie's help, I moved the desk and got the computer and the printer set up. That was a month ago. Not a lot of progress has been made since then.



I've mad a few attempts to organize my on-going projects by income stream and gather up my '08 tax info. I also painted the bulletin boards to make them more . . . appealing. They have yet to go up on the wall, though, in part because I really want to paint the wall. There's also an embarrassingly large stack of papers on the floor that need to be sorted.


I've been attempting to sort out my books, and have this empty bookshelf to show for it. I managed to buy a wall calendar so that I could see the year-at-a-glance, but it's still on the floor, along with some unused exercise equipment. There is also a stack of stuff that I cleared out of the studio that needs to be given away or go up on on Craig's List or otherwise gotten rid of.


Ah, yes, and here we see all the books that are laid out for sorting, along with some furniture that needs to be put together. I've also got a bookcase full of photo albums and unsorted photos that I keep meaning to deal with . . . someday.



So what does all of this mean for you? One, I'm really hoping that showing you this will help me stay on top of the organizing . . . and Two, I'm clearing a lot of things out. Like some art and craft books. And extra supplies from the studio.

And they'll be showing up as give-aways on the blog over the next few weeks . . . cause, who doesn't love free stuff?

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!

Organizing

One of the things I did last week - when it felt like I didn't accomplish much - was organize my fabric stash.

It began, of course, with a trip to IKEA, a mecca for people who like to figure out how to turn cheap flat boxes full of laminated boards and little metal parts into things that will hold other things. I am one of those people.

I am also one of those people who really likes to be organized in my own deliciously chaotic way. Anyone who has ever taken a class with me can attest to the appearance of many plastic drawers full of collage papers, art supplies and found objects, all clearly labeled using a label making machine. The labels provide information as to the contents, using categories like "Cardstocks and Solids," "Critters," "Feathers - Pale," and "Pearls, Pom Poms, Eyes, Odd Bits, Shiny!"

I had been trying to organize my fabrics in similar bins, except that most of them simply read "Quilting." Which is misleading, as I have never actually made a quilt, per se. I have done a lot of fiber art and applique and piecework, but have never actually finished a top and put a layer in the middle and then put on a backing and actually quilted it. They were also so stuffed that I couldn't find anything.

Obviously, time to update the system. I decided it would be easier to use all the fabrics labeled "Quilting" if they were actually visible, and the Ikea Expedit bookshelf, 5 feet by 5 feet of lovely cubbies, looked perfect! I put it together in an evening, then spent a large part of the next day organizing the fabrics. Most of which . . . I did not remember buying. At all. And not all of them would fit on the shelf. I still have tubs of "Fleece" (left over from the Christmas when I was going to make everyone a hat) and "Felted Sweaters" (left over from the Christmas when I was going to make everyone fingerless gloves and matching purses). It goes on.

Yet, I am very proud that most of the cottons are now easily visible - which means I'll actually use them in my upcoming projects instead of just hoarding them like a fiber-addicted dragon. And it will be easy to find "Purple Fabrics," "Upholstery Samples From SCRAP," "Bright Patterns on Black," and "Fabric with Vegetables and Fruits on it."

Yum!