Dear Artisan,
HAPPY SPRING!
The birds know it, the daffodils are aware, and even the pond frogs are singing again. So, why hasn’t the weather gotten the message? If you’re sitting under a cloudy sky, and have the mood to match it, here’s a project to get you started on making those changes you resolved to do on New Year’s Day.
Perhaps you’ve wanted to figure out how to carve out a spot in which to do your heart’s work, and there is a loud voice in your head that intones:
“My home doesn’t have a spare room, and building an outside studio is out of the question.”
- Does it seem like everyone else’s stuff takes precedence over yours?
- Are most or all of the rooms of your house “community space”?
- Is your kids’ ‘time-out’ corner a fairly unused spot?
- Does even the household pet get more space for its stuff than does your creative gear?
Creative people need their own patch of floor where they can retreat and immerse themselves in pursuits that feed their souls. It can be a bit of a shock to other family members when you declare a particular spot yours and yours only. This is an important stance to take along with insisting that it be respected. Shove the toys to one side, turn furniture at different angles, and put …
… on the household map.
Creative Space Idea Seed #2: Cornering an Art Studio
» Set up a small work table or fold-up drafting table in the corner of the living room or a bedroom, and put a room screen around it. I did this for a few years and it worked surprisingly well.
- Put a hook in the ceiling and hang a swag lamp over the center of the table. Be sure to install a full-spectrum bulb.
- Get some long armed, clamp-on lamps, a book shelf that sits on the floor, (the good old ‘bricks and boards’ solution still works well.) and/or drawers.
- Make or buy a “Do Not Disturb” sign to hang on the outside of the room screen. I found a wooden room screen in which there were ‘windows’ for inserting either photographs or art work. This was useful for displaying my latest brainstorms as well as for reminding people that this was actually my work space and that it was not open for trespass unless I gave permission.
» If yours is a busy household, a small music device with earphones will be essential for keeping the space in your head separate as well!
» If the art medium you work in is messy and your space is on carpet, here’s a possible protective solution:
Cut 2 or 3 pieces of heavy, plastic sheeting to fit your space exactly and stack them on top of each other. Line up the edges of one corner and use four 3″ strips of duct tape, two on the underside meeting at the corner and extending beyond the edge of the plastic 1″, and two on the top side, extending partway beyond the plastic and adhering to the bottom strips of tape. Do this at each corner so that the plastic layers can’t shift. Now bind all the sides with the tape in the same manner.
*NOTE: If your mat ends up being overly large, there’s a possibility that the plastic layers will slip when walked upon. Before taping the edges, place some rolled tape in a number of places between layers, thus sticking them together more securely.
This will give you a sturdy floor mat that, while not elegant, is inexpensive and will be quite washable and easy to roll up out of the way. It’s great for kids’ projects too. In your ‘spare’ time, you (or your enthusiastic young household artists) can put colorful designs on this mat with permanent markers. When’s the last time you allowed yourself or anyone else to color on the floor?
» Now, settle in and create! (And remember to set a timer for the anxious ones in your household who need to know when you’ll be back….this will give them visual reassurance.) Even if you just sit and stare at the wall for an hour, think of it as ‘getting acquainted’ with this new aspect of your world … and be sure to keep a pencil and paper handy to jot down ideas as they surface.
Imogen Cunningham was one of the most renowned photographers of the 20th century, as well as a mother. She managed to capture 50,000 images during the seven decades that she insisted on going nowhere without her camera. Her success she attributed to keeping “one hand in the dishpan, the other in the darkroom.” A very determined artist.
I hope these basic ideas have stimulated some of your own. What else or other would you do? If you’d like to share your suggestions with me and others of my readers, please email them to me and I’ll include them in a future post.
Yours in new beginnings,
Terrea
“Do not be an art critic, but paint; therein lies salvation.” ~ Paul Cezanne
“It is always the simple that produces the marvelous.” ~ Amelia Barr
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Hey, if you’d like to receive my quarterly newsletter, “Creative Ravin’”, just click here. It puts you in touch with my monthly blog posts for artisans who want ideas, encouragement and tips on how to open space and time for the creativity that is bubbling up inside. It also offers links to my new work, art shows at which I’ll be presenting, and other items that you may find informative.
Other links of interest:
April 5th was Arts Advocacy Day….please read and sign petition
Funding for the arts in the US faces a dramatic reduction in funding. The National Endowment for the Arts is currently operating under a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR); last year, $43 million was slashed from the NEA’s budget. Funds for arts education have also been significantly cut, with the funding for one program, the Arts in Education Programs (AIE) at the US Department of Education, completely terminated. The arts are essential to all of us; they are an essential part of every child’s education and have been shown to have significant benefits in reducing pain and anxiety in the elderly and others. We can’t do without the arts!
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For women:
17th annual full moon retreat in British Columbia, offered by Pacific Women’s Circle Association
For six inspiring days, women join together—new friends, old friends, newcomers—to play and learn and share food. We create a community, tell our stories, and discover new aspects of ourselves and our spirits. We sing and dance and drum. We create and do rituals to honor, heal and celebrate ourselves and our precious planet. All of this empowers us to make changes in our lives.
Our retreat is unique because it is designed to organically adapt to the women and their needs and interests during camp itself. For many of us, coming to camp is coming home, each summer.
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