My Dream Studio 1

...A studio that I can't wait to get into every day and love and feel the space loving and nurturing me back.

I have been putting a lot of thought into this idea.  My Aquarius nature often runs me into the brick wall of other's conservative tastes.  Just recently, in a flash of brilliant decorating, I decided to make the sink window alcove of my country/cottage decorated kitchen more user friendly.  A dark wood surround of old cabinets and poor lighting have frustrated my meal preparations for years.  I got the bright idea to paint the sides of the cabinets facing the window a sky blue like my porch ceiling and it was like instant lighting just from reflected light.  You can actually see this reflecting in the photo.  Good choice!  Then I wanted to hang an old vegetable shredder upside down and suspend a hand towel from it's handle.  To play up the rustic cottage look and add some color, I began screwing down old used paint sticks to the cabinet sides (remember I am a shameless clutter-holic ...and besides, they can always be used again).  I wanted to be able to remove them if/when we move for a more conservative owner.  I mounted the shredder to those and hung the towel.  Love it!  however, when I showed off my brilliant project to the DH his usual state of perfect balance fell away and he blurted out:  "Oh no, we really won't be able to sell this house now!"  I was crushed and have not gone any further with my decorating plan for that window.  ...I will eventually, probably once the studio is done and things are returning to normal this fall.  Anyway, my point is that I would love to personalize every inch of space in this house and see cheerful color everywhere. In the studio with its cream walls?  ...maybe just one wall...  It should be a different one than the working wall which I want to be as bright an area as possible.

Something like this painted wall I shot at Black Lion on a visit to Charlotte, NC...

...a beautiful wash of color, peachy pink first, then faint touches of a warm thin gold, and a white wash lightly brushed over all, it would be a beautiful touch to my studio, and not necessarily in that color.  I also like the idea of beige tone on tone, or white-washed blue.  I have not painted anything in the house blue yet, but it might be too calming for a room meant too encourage inspiration.  I really like lime green, but have three green rooms already, ...and I love purples too but it is so dark.  It has to be light and bright in this workspace.

 

...or perhaps I may wain Poetic, and take a more artistic approach writing snippets of positive thoughts with a chiseled brush a la calligraphy

 

 

 

 

...or maybe I will go WabiSabi!

...and the list goes on!  I love having so many wonderful choices.  The possibilities are exhilarating.  The important thing is to choose a total look that will enthuse me with satisfaction every time I enter the room.  It must be a look that sets the tone for artistic expression.  The studio must give me the feeling of a comfortable nest.  ...That means a bit on the rustic side yet with touches of whimsy to encourage playfulness in my creativity.

The Race is On! Week 1

I am actually doing "it."  

The "it" is the de-cluttering that I have lusted after for so many years now.  In the week since my last post, I have managed to remove one trash bag of junk to throw out every day.  Well, almost.  I had one day that I just simply crashed.  My momentum had been rising and I was so proud of  myself that I went ahead and ordered the Ott light that I chose for my work table.  I found exactly what I wanted from Lowe's.  It is so perfect that I am giddy waiting for it's delivery. It has a 38" reach so that I can have it well out of the way of my work and tools and still provide bright, full-spectrum light.  It's LED and I won't be sweating under it.  When I am working with the Dremel Flex Shaft I can position it so I won't catch it with the cord. On tracking delivery of my light, I see it will arrive on Monday and not Wednesday, as expected, so I really need to ramp up the clearing process because I planned that it would arrive when I was ready to place the table and I am not ready yet.  It's my carrot.

I have had "carrots" before this, but nothing helped much.  I was never able to get past a small amount of organizing one thing and at the same time making another mess in the process.  ...Like the time I organized all my yarn.  I bought hanging closet shelves and stashed like colors in different shelves.  That was great, but I continued to buy more yarn and didn't have room for more.  Then there were boxes and bags piling up and scattered around the floor in front of the closet, making it harder to get to the organized yarn.  You get the picture.

In all fairness to myself, I have not had it easy in this room.  I have a business, my husband has a business and we have yet another between the both of us.  I have several hobbies.  Combine all that in a 10 X 10 room, and have it all organized and I will be awestruck.  In the book,  Organizing From the Inside Out, Julie recommends the kindergarten classroom approach of having distinct areas for each activity.  Well, I decided to boot a few to another room.  I will make it work, and am happy with the prospect of having the business stuff in another room.  The book makes it such a simple vision to hold onto.

I began reading about the emotional aspects of why people hold on to the stuff.  I can relate to many of them.  Our past is often filled with wonderful memories and memorabilia that it is hard to let go of.  Mostly, I go about organizing in a very attention deficit way.  I read one author who described it as the "butterfly" approach.  The butterfly starts out in one spot, then flies to another (perhaps to put something away in another room) and then gets distracted there until the same thing happens again.  The result is I make a mess everywhere I end up and I am totally overwhelmed.

Julie's solution is to begin sorting through the clutter as a first step in the hands on approach.  In sorting, I keep a trash bag at hand to get rid of the all the old papers and junk that has no current or future purpose.  ...As I said, a bag each day is going to the trash!  I am so grateful for this slow but steady progress.  Because I stay in one place, I am not making messes all over the house, and slowly I am clearing both those vertical and horizontal square feet. 

Choices & Facing Demons

I have not been posting for quite a while now.  I have not been creative either.  It seems they go hand in hand.  After the respite, I had to get ready for company.  Now, I hate to admit, but I am a messy artisan.  I get tunnel-vision and tear threw projects like  a tornado and make the biggest messes.  SO, getting ready for company is a "deer-in-the-headlights" moment for me.  Big reality check!!!!  To use another animal phrase, I had the "elephant in the living room" look.  Cleaning up after myself is fraught with decisions and such a bore because there is so much more fun to be had than the drudgery of housework.  However, once I got the living areas of the house looking company ready, I felt so much better about the view, and have determined that I am going to keep them clear and re-organize my everything room into a real studio.  I have been reading a very helpful book by Julie Morgenstern, named Organizing From the Inside Out.  I am such a hopeless case that I have to admit that I started this books years ago and never got beyond the third chapter.  For several years now, I have had a reminder on my bulletin board that "This will be the year that will end my clutter!"  I took it down this January 1 because I didn't want it nagging at me ANY MORE.  Little did I know what was in store for me just a few months ahead.

The thing I like about this author is that her story is just like mine.  She found a way to tackle her problem, and that gives me hope.  I also really really really really really want to have a beautiful clean and ready space to work in and to be able to walk into my studio without twisting and turning around piles and boxes of things that got there from previous quick clears for company visits.

Looking ahead, I have been planning out the new workspace on Pinterest and getting excited about having an optimum place to work with my supplies and tools all at hand with good lighting and and and and and.....

But in the meantime, I am struggling.  I pace the floors because I am not being creative and making jewelry, or sewing items I need, or knitting garments I want , and all those other projects that I have set for myself on Pinterest and that is just a start.  Julie suggests that we start setting up the space as soon as enough clearing will allow because it sets up a feeling of progress and reward.  This would be the solution for me, but I need to clear out the corner of the room, find someplace for all the clutter on the worktable and move a heavy 60" table, that has been used for paperwork, over by the window where it will be a craft table instead.

Anyway, here I am, publicly declaring to be a clutter addict ...resolving to change my ways.  I will post my progress every week until I get there, and be proud to share my new space at that time.  As I go, I will share my plans and dreams with you for my perfect space.