Not pressure washing, but deadline pressure to do a cleaning and reorganizing task that I’ve been putting off for too long. The studio.
With a guest arriving this afternoon, I decided that Wednesday would be the ideal day to pull the studio apart and rearrange it.
My art supplies and tools are pretty much where I put them when we moved in three years ago. However, I have added more supplies and stashed them wherever there was room instead of storing them logically. I had watercolor paper in three different places; adhesives could be found in a drawer, or on a shelf and/or on the work table. Paintbrushes have gone MIA. Drawing Meditations workshop stuff is wherever it landed after classes. I misplaced my good collage knife because it wasn’t with the other cutting tools.
Deadline pressure proved effective. After emptying some drawers onto the floor and getting help from the cats, I thought about how I mentally categorise my projects and materials:
- Bookbinding
- Weaving
- Printmaking
- Frames
- 555 Archive
- Art Workshops/Retreats
- Sewing
- Books (reference and art books)
- Surfaces (paper, canvas, sketchbooks)
- Basketweaving
- Collage
- Office Supplies
- Adhesives
- Paint & Ink
- Pencils & Pens
- Finished Projects/Art
- Jewelry Making
- Magic Work
- Yoga & Meditation
Well, if I ever wondered “Do I have too many interests?” that list tells me that it could be so much longer. Where’s the papermaking?Botanical colormaking? Woodworking? Hahaha…that’s all in the shed. Musical instruments are downstairs. Honestly, I have just the right number of interests. I am eternally curious.
But where to keep this stuff? I cataloged all of the storage up here and had a good look at how it could be used more effectively. Amazingly enough, I fit almost everything back into the shelves, drawers and boxes that I had. I labelled the drawers so that I don’t forget what’s in them.
The exception was the large quantity of yarn I have acquired. So I bought five plastic boxes to keep all of that tidy and dust free. I organised by color, of course.
Now the loft is a useable workspace again. And our guest arrives in 4 hours to a tidy and comfortable place to sleep!
