time and tomes

Helllooooo out there......just peeking in as the dust settles [literally] in our new place. I have a nice, bright studio here, more storage too but there's much to do in the way of setup & organization. The upside to all this work is that I'm purging as I go and finally bidding adieu to things I've long outgrown. It's been quite the haul this past week or so but I'm keeping my eye on the horizon as I sift through all the boxes & totes.

I'd love to have a little giveaway/pay it forward once I sort through everything as a way of sending some good vibes out into the universe - I may even throw in a small art print or two, we'll see :)

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday weekend if you're celebrating where you are - be well friends.

Muse Monday: week one

Thanks again everyone for your wonderful support and welcome to my first Muse Monday! As I mentioned in my previous post, I hope to inspire and inform with this project. Since downsizing my stationery/invitation business last year, I really can't justify taking up the whole front of our home anymore. We all miss the space and hanging out in there together. The trade-off is that the new space, currently the tv/spare room, will finally get a much needed facelift and I'll also get a door :)

At this point I'm gleaning ideas, packing, sorting, purging - basically getting things in order in my present space. The real work (read: blood, sweat & tears) hasn't started yet. Well maybe a little as we started on the floor of the new space by ripping out the carpets over the weekend. There were 2 'lovely' ones over the hardwood floors, which we also discovered had been painted - twice - so it's going to need some refinishing too.



My muse discovery today: pics of the floor make a great background for use in Photoshop.



I've read some good reviews on this book "Where Women Create: Inspiring Work Spaces of Extraordinary Women" by Jo PackHam so went ahead and ordered it. It features over 20 artists' creative spaces with fields ranging from papers crafts to gardening. If nothing else, I'll be hugely inspired (the title alone is empowering) and have a beautiful reference to spur me on when things are moving slow.

With regards to resources, I've been searching everywhere out there for any and all ideas but most involved heavy duty remodelling, organizing closet space (which in my circa 1940 home is almost non-existant!) and/or were for setting up spaces specifically for one thing or the other. I have sooo many mediums that I'm into that I need to devise a multi-tasking room where numerous projects can be accommodated as each particular muse visits. Each medium will also need its' own storage system that's fairly contained but easy to rotate out at whim. And so again, I need to reinvent the wheel :)

We're also contemplating a move in the next year, so that means I need to come up with workable storage ideas that can also go with me. That said, I don't want to alter the structure of the original space too much for resale reasons. I am however going to utilize the built-in bookcase in this room as much as possible and want to take out the existing window and put in a larger one to allow more natural light into this north-facing room. I also want better task lighting and a flat storage area for large sheets of papers and to store prints. Not everything works out though so have to remember to be flexible and keep it real. Which brought about the subject of budget recently with my 'contractor' and I said, "what's that?" *huge grin*

See you next Muse Monday!

'Muse Monday' - coming soon

My studio will be in transition mode the next 4-6 weeks as I downsize into a smaller (but brand new!) space so to help me stay focused, I've decided to try and find creative ways to use all the little bits of stuff that I'm finding as I wade through 5 years of stationery, art and craft supplies (!)

I'll be posting my finds and what I did with them, before and after, that sort of thing on Mondays, soon to be known as 'Muse Monday' - title of which I've already shortened to keep things simplified!!















A hint at things to come: I started in on a corner of the studio this morning and found a bag of paint chip swatches from like 3 years ago, I collect those things what can I say *smile*, lots of yummy colors and textures. This little swatch above (2x2) in particular though had an amazing texture as well, sandpaper-ish, and I've been wanting to try a technique that I came across recently using colored pencils on sandpaper - so there was the connection :) I spent about 10 minutes on this and loved the results.

I'm also very much into remodelling pics, how-to's, storage & display ideas so I'll be sharing that with everyone as well as I go along. It's gonna get messy and it might not be pretty at times, lol, but I'm hoping to make this fun and productive. It's an exciting project but I also know that some parts of it won't be, so I'm looking forward to Muse Monday to help me get through the not-so-exciting parts. Would love for you to join me here!