A woman who works with her hands is a laborer;

A woman who works with her hands and her head is a craftsperson;

A woman who works with her hands, her head and her heart is an....

Artist.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

It Looks like Summer Sales Season Has Started!!

Would you like a tour of my art studio?
I always read those magazines that feature beautiful art studios.
They have these large tall work surfaces.
Beautiful coordinated baskets and storage cabinets.
Antiques and art work on the walls.
And they are CLEAN!
Picture perfect.
And I get depressed and think . . .why can't i have something like that?

UMMM . . .because it's not reality!
No artists studio looks like that unless it is for a photo shoot or the artist is not creating any art.
If an artist is creating . . .there is chaos.
And chaos is what we are living in right now.

And to add to the chaos, we are coming up on show season when every available surface in my home seems to be covered with pieces in various stages of completion . . .

So how about that tour?

This is our back room. It used to be my son's bedroom.
When he moved out - my husband grabbed it to create a music studio.
It is doing the work of a 1,000+ sq ft. work space - but it is actually crammed into a couple of hundred square feet.
You are NOT going to see the rest of the room.
If you did, you would question if we were hoarders.
But on this table - and some on the desk, and some on the computer table and some on the floor are pieces all waiting to be sealed, to have a business card placed on the back and to get their hardware.
Mini's and photo frames
This is our main living area.
It is a "great room" layout -
kitchen, dining and living area all open.
This is my dining table where I am working on some banners (more on these later).
They are over 5 ft tall - therefore, they don't fit on the my table in my studio.
For the last week,
we have not had a table to eat at because it has been covered with my art supplies and banners.

This is my living room and couch and coffee table.
My coffee table is a repurposed 6 1/2 foot long bench,
which became a great drying space for one of the 5 ft tall banners.
This banner is pretty much finished.

This banner is still a work in progress.

This is my studio -
where I have been working on stools, lazy susans, and whatever else needs attention
while I wait for the paint on the banners to dry.
I did a bit of cleaning on Saturday -
and haven't worked in here a lot since then
(because I have been working in the main living area)
so it's actually "neater" than usual.

See my pristine work table . . .shiny and new?  LOL
This is another view of my studio . . .
See the paint rags on the floor under the table?
That's a pretty common occurence - all over the room!
See how the curtain is pulled back on one side and hanging loose on the other.
That's because I was trying to get something back there, it came undone, and I didn't have time to worry about it.
What you can't see is the paint smears on the curtains.
On the drying rack in the corner are several paintings waiting for frames and finishing details, as well as mini-garden stakes that are primed and ready to be painted to fill an order.
The paintings have been waiting since March.
There is a card table set up next to my work table.
It usually isn't there.
Right now it is giving us an extra surface to store items that are drying.
It makes the space a bit . . .cozy and also blocks access to my storage closet.
So there you go.
A tour of my home/work areas.
I am guessing you aren't going to see any of these in a magazine spread.
But . . . they are real.

And this is our reality when we are gearing up for show season.
So it's time to fasten my seatbelt, cause we are on our way . . .

1 comment:

  1. Laurie still looks pretty darn neat to me!!! Funny how the music and art thing seem to go together!! I have the exact same oak table and chairs as you! Not sure if yours has feet though! I painted my big table black and the chairs, well you can see they are on my header and full of whimsy!! lol I look at that cute stool, and I have one painted very similar in my on-suite. That banner over the coffee table, I have an old trunk type box that a violin maker built which I painted with colorful hearts! I cover a couch in towels and sit on it and paint!! When I am on a roll it's a disaster!! lol Thanks for sharing a very human you! Trust me I have seen quite a few artists dens....none are perfect except one!! To be honest yours looks pretty amazing! You should be in the magazine...where women create!!

    Happy creating!
    Hugs Giggles

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