As highlighted in one of my previous posts, I struggle with cyclical creativity. A large part of why I started this blog was to help keep track of my ups and downs, so I can become more aware of my habits and have more productive days/weeks. It allows me to reflect on the hurdles I have when it comes to getting down to work in the studio.
One such hurdle: my studio in the aftermath of my last bout of “productivity”.
Don’t worry, that’s a fresh cup of coffee.
Contents of the ravaged studio include (but are not limited to): half-started paintings, half-finished paintings, containers of mixed paint, freshly built stretchers, cut wood for not-yet-built stretchers, beading projects, scrapbooking supplies, a bag of fabric I bought in case I felt I needed another project (?!), and a box of Christmas presents fresh from the internet.
As you might have gathered, my studio tends to end up as a catch-all for anything creative. You might also guess that I’m not one to clean anything up after I’m finished with it. It’s a habit I’ve had since childhood (much to my mother’s chagrin) and has followed me to this point where it drives my husband nuts. I prefer to think that my clutter-tolerance is just higher than most.
But this particular mess is probably one of my worst – to the point where I found myself bringing paintings upstairs to the kitchen to work on instead of staying in the cluttered studio. I needed to do something about the chaos so I could get back down to business.
So on Thursday, my husband (who is thankfully on holidays this week) packed up our wee one and headed out of the house, giving me a much needed opportunity to blast some music, roll up my sleeves, and get to work getting the studio back into shape.
Well played, iPod… Well played.
It surprisingly didn’t take too long, once I got down to business. I even managed to do some laundry at the same time. I found I had quite the assortment of tape, some half-finished Christmas ornaments, and that I even hadn’t completely unpacked from the Art Walk last summer.
A few hours after I started…
…You can actually walk into the room!
The beading supplies are put away, and so is the scrapbooking stuff. Christmas presents are hidden. The bag of fabric now lives with my sewing machine in another room of the house. I have floorspace to move around on and lay paintings down. I even have some desk space to work/paint/sketch at!
Overall, I feel like I can breathe again. More importantly I no longer have this hurdle preventing my from spending quality time with my paints. Now I can feel better about getting started on my commission.
Isn’t this how the mess starts?