Well I am not going to start coming out in front of the camera, so don't panic, but one prompt is to share your studio.
So, I thought I would share mine with you.
And it is not very inspiring really is it? ( Unlike the rather charming space belonging to Mrs Bertimus - I've got plastic stag head envy!)
My studio is a conservatory off my bedroom. It is a simple rectangle in shape with a sloping plastic roof - nothing fancy masquerading as a orangery, just a simple conservatory.
The space is somewhat restricted by the fact that there are two double doors. One leads into my bedroom, and the other leads into the garden.
In December, January and February it is pretty in hospitable out there much of the time. But now we are into March it is much more welcoming. (It is pretty inhospitable in high summer too! But I do have swags of IKEA calico over the ceiling to help keep the worst glare of the sun out and consequently keep the temperature down.)
In my last post I explained that I had set up an impromptu photo shoot with an old sheet. Consequently I had tidied up. So this is when it is tidy! I am a mucky pup! A messy worker. I don't intend to be, but it is just as I am.
The first picture was taken with me standing next to the old filing cabinet (which contains fabric, by the way) looking towards the other corner. That wall is looking a bit blank. If the house was mine (it's rented) I would probably have shelves along there, or may be a rack for thread, or maybe a design wall. Just looking at it in the photo it looks a bit of a wasted opportunity.
The other picture is taken from the corner with the white cupboard with the boxes on top. That blue IKEA bag contains some lamps - they were reduced in the sale after Christmas and I pounced. I ought to store them in the garage really but I don't want them to get damp. The boxes contain either finished lampshades or lampshade frames waiting to be made. Pictures are either stored under beds or under the work tables.
And here are my two studio assistants, blending very nicely with the carpet (an eBay purchase that helps keep my feet warm in winter).
So, this is my happy place, but it is very workaday - not a place for relaxing at all (unless you are a dog!). When I am out there I am on a mission!!
Love your studio, I'm just trying to sort mine after the chaos of prep for the show in Glasgow! You could always use that blank wall as a design wall, with an inspiration board corner couldn't you? Nothing like inspiring yourself with your own work ;)
ReplyDeleteYes I could I guess. And just to add to the chaos today I was drying work clothes in there!
DeleteOooh, Emma has a great idea there. I used pushpins to hang a piece of cotton batting above just such a space where I sit and sew. You might check into the 3-m brand options of hooks and velcro that attach to the wall with an adhesive strip that pulls free without damaging the wall when you are ready to remove it if you'd like to hang something more solid like a cork board.
DeleteYes of course! A cork board hung with the temporary hanging stuff, which I know well as we use it when we are hanging at the gallery! I spent the weekend in there so it needs another tidy but I will think about this.
DeleteOo! I did a little squeal when I saw my name on your blog post! It's not always tidy, believe me! I love your creative space, and your beautiful studio assistants x
ReplyDeleteWell thank you Mrs B. I love your space too, and particularly your little details.
DeleteI'm not sure I trust artists who work in spacious tidy studios. ;-) I think the reality of the hard working but time-limited inspired artist is often what you show here - lucky to find any space to call one's own and always stacked everywhere the tools and materials of our trade and whatever storage units we can muster. As much as I meant to thoroughly tidy up my work space back in January, it is still far from sorted. Things I don't know where to put, things I don't think I can part with yet, things I don't dare put out of sight or I'll forget altogether that great lightbulb idea I had. I think there's a Murphy's law for us anyway, that the bigger the space, the more the storage area, the more scattered across the landscape our things will be! Thanks for sharing your little corner of creativity.
ReplyDeleteSheila - of course you are quite right. That's just how my work space is and out of sight would be out of mind! I love my work space and really do sweat it.
DeleteI too am a messy worker, so much so that I frequently have to move out to find table space to work! Since an infestation of moths in our carpets, I've had a BIG TIDY and for now all is order ... but it won't last so I'm not giving myself the pressure of showing it!
ReplyDeleteVery many thanks for linking to Mrs Bertimus. I very much enjoyed my visit, envying like you the plastic deer's head - and also a delicious red parrot. How I wish I had such stuff to brighten my day!
Mrs B is bit of a gem in my humble opinion. She has spurred me into a search for things to brighten up my studio. But may be I do need to tidy and sort first!
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