Friday 25 January 2013

SOS - Save Our Studio

I am in the brilliantly fortunate position to have a light, dry, warm studio space to make my work in [this has not always been the case].  And not only that, I have it totally rent free - I know I am super lucky.

My studio space is, in fact, also my [very generous] parents' basement, which has been designed to be used as space to make art.  My parents are both creative and are very involved in the local art trail each year.  So not only is this their creative basement space, and my studio, but for one or two weekends a year, it also becomes a gallery space - all the clutter is schlepped upstairs to make way for visiting artists and ourselves to exhibit. We all love doing it, and enjoy having our community look round.

The big removal, and then return, of all our studio stuff is in some ways a brilliant way to wipe the slate clean and come back to the studio fresh.  In another way, however, it is physically exhausting hauling all that accumulated stuff up and down the stairs.  Some how things never quite go back how they were before, this can be a good thing, and other times, even though its slightly hindering productivity, I ignore it, because I'm lazy, and I carry on working around the clunky mess and just get used to.

But in the run up to Christmas I had been very busy making and selling my work, that when I returned to my studio in January - having dumped everything, in exhaustion, prior to the holiday - it literally looked like a bomb had gone off - seriously messy.  Something had to be done!

The true horror of the task ahead!






















































So for three days I have sorted through every box, shelf and draw and been very ruthless, and got rid of an awful lot of stuff that I have been holding onto for the 'perfect craft project'.  I have mended things that were broken,  I have relocated things that haven't been in an easy-to-get-to place, and generally made the whole space just a lot more efficient to use.  I actually feel like I can breath again, and am really looking forward to getting back to work again on Monday.  The joy of a newly clean and clear space was perfectly illustrated, by my daughters' instinctive reaction to kick off their shoes and dance about in their socked feet - a celebration!

A place to be creative and dance!



3 comments:

  1. I'm seriously impressed, Ruth. You don't feel like tackling our back bedroom, do you?

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  2. Ha ha sorry Gareth, i....have.....no.....more.....tidying.....strength....left.....in....me...!

    ReplyDelete