Accessorizing

We made it!  We’re at the end.  Accessorizing is the typical last step in decorating.  Although you have been organizing, accessorizing is still part of the equation.  Now that you have a place for everything you may have discovered that you have room for one or two of your favorite objects.   Even if you are using your colorful supplies as the accessory, I’m sure you have something related to your type of art.  Here’s the place.  Display it proudly. 

                        

By the way, I did not forget about lighting and how important lighting is, however, I assume that you are already an established artist and have plenty of good light for your craft. 

Love your space.  If your studio is part of the interior of your home and you are enhancing your décor (October 21, 2010), select items that will beckon you in.  Bright cafeteria lighting might be good for working but a subdued lighted corner with a beautiful lamp and a basket for your current magazines right next to your comfy chair draped with a wrap inviting you to come in with a nice warm cup of tea or coffee and read your magazine and get inspired might be just what it takes to get you in there. 

Housing books can be a challenge in itself.  If space is limited, consider a rotating bookcase unit that swivels to display books all around. 

As you work around your studio, putting all the pretty things back, leave some space between items.  Like items together make a powerful statement.  It is much more dramatic than spreading everything around the room.  The eye needs a chance to rest as it moves around the room.  If you have chosen an open shelving system for your supplies, categorize.  You may want to keep like colors together or perhaps size works better for you.   If you have more than one hobby, consider keeping supplies either separated or sectioned, i.e., one shelf for watercolor books, one shelf for literature, one shelf for manuals, etc.  You may want them in the same unit and you will instinctively know where to go when you need something. 



Karen V.H. colorful shelving with all her treasures



Label, label, label.  Once I think I have an appropriate spot for something, I place it there, and when I find a more appropriate place for it, I move it.  Sounds logical!  But then here comes my left brain taking over.  I instinctively go to the first place I had decided to put it and I can’t remember where the other more appropriate place is.  Then I spend the next 15 minutes like Winnie the Pooh – “think, think, think.”  But, if you label as soon as you move things, you may go to the first place, but with everything labeled you will quickly retrain yourself.

Labels can be an accessory.  You can use colored self-adhesive labels, fancy letters of the alphabet, luggage tags, photographs, scrapbook tags, etc.    

When all of our supplies are put away in their place, it seems like we have plenty of room.  Then we start pulling everything out and there goes our space.  Sound familiar?  Here are a few odds and ends that might help.  Lazy susans are a great option for supplies.  You can use more than one.  It is the same principle as the swiveling bookcase.  Saves space because you have access to everything. 

Don't forget to look at unconventional items for your needs.  How about spice racks for bottles of inks or paints.  Spice racks come linear or stacked; they do not take up much room depth wise.  It is a great solution for shallow shelving.  Shoe and sweater racks are good space savers as well.  Hang them behind doors if you don't have room in the studio.  Behind or inside of doors is also a great solution for shallow storage.

.   

Now that you have gone through all the trouble of taking things out, sorting, discarding, regrouping, and putting things back, make a conscience effort that whatever you bring in to your studio, you must love.  I’m not talking supplies, I’m talking accessories.  There shouldn’t be “for the meantime.”  If you’re buying it, you need it and it goes with the big picture (part of the picture should not be a garage sale). Have a plan.  Your plan may not come to fruition immediately but may be a work in progress so work your plan.  Hope is not a plan. 

This is the end of the tips.  I will continue to post pictures as they come in so continue to check in.  And, if you so get inspired to send in a picture, of before and after, just before or during, or a tip or two, I’d still love to hear from you.  Thanks to all of you faithful readers.  I was truly humbled by so many people that told me they were following. 

I leave you with your beautiful workspace.  I’ve enjoyed my time with you and I hope you have taken some inspiration from  the artists from coast to coast that graciously let us into their space and have so willingly and unconditionally shared their tips with us.  To all of them, my sincere appreciation and thank you.  Big group hug. 

Quote:

                  “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

                                                                -Anne Frank-

Woodcarving

From the delicate work from beading to grinders and sanders, it all requires organization and a woodshop is no different.  Tools and supplies need to be organized, handy and within reach, and safely stored.  Keeping track of your supply of wood and the type of wood for your project requires just as much organization as it does in an indoor studio.    

Today we are visiting the shop of an Atlanta woodcarver to the finished work of an Oregon woodcarver. 

 “. . . he has everything organized exactly where he needs and can reach them. . .  all of his power sanders and grinders all on one bench.”



Assortment of hand tools



Assortment of wood

 

grinders and sanders on one bench



Let's move on to Oregon and check out the finished product.

Quote:  "The journey is the reward."

Chinese Proverb

Meet me here Thursday.  Let's talk about accessorizing





Books and Magazines

We have reached my favorite topic, books.   I am a confessed bibliophile.  I love them.  Reading them is not enough.  I love to look at them, hold them, carry them around, and not part with them just like a cat that carries her kitten around does.    I envy the authors that sit behind their desk whipping out poetic prose for us bibliophiles.

But when is enough, enough?  For me, it is when my husband insisted that I part with some of them.  I started slow, I started small, and I was brave (Sept. 27, 2010).  Don’t get me wrong, it still hurts, but through the years I have learned more self-control and have learned to be more discerning.  My ah-ha moment was when I bought the same book three times.  Those marketing gurus wreck havoc with my pocket book!

I found two ways that helped me develop more self control.   

• One, I keep a list of books that I’m interested in purchasing in my purse and when I’ve purchased it, I mark it off the list.  It keeps me from being so spontaneous.  Just like a grocery list. 
• Two, if I’m unsure, I tell myself I’ll check out my books first and if I don’t have it, I’ll add it to my list.  Usually by the time I get home I have found that I didn’t want it all that much after all.   I also use the public library as often as I can.  My last trip cost me $12 (overdue fees). 

Fran J. has found a way to deal with her abundance of books.

Fran’s tip:   When her bookshelf is filled, she does not allow a book on its side.  One in, one out, like your closet. 

But books really don’t seem to be the culprit that jumps up to bites us. They are a little easier to control and they are a little more costly.  The hidden danger is magazines.  They come in on a regular basis, we pay a pretty penny for them, and once we’ve paid for them they keep coming – all year!   There may be an article or two in them that we would like to keep.  It doesn’t take long for magazines to take control of our space.  If you are a crafter, artist, and/or cook, etc. you have your favorite magazine or two you look forward to every month.  We love those glossy covers with the pretty pictures.  Some of us don’t want to cut up our magazines and file those articles we want to keep so we keep the entire magazine.  How successful have you been finding that article?   

Here’s my tip:  Sort your magazines by name and year (if you go back that far).  Label your magazine file box.  Keep them separate.  All Martha Stewarts together, Cloth and Paper together, Cooking Light together, etc. 



Separate Magazines

Here’s my big tip for a Quick File Method:  Photo copy the Table of Contents of the magazine, highlight the year, make notes on the articles of interest (to remind yourself later why you wanted to keep this magazine).  This way, you need only search your Table of Contents file to look for your article.  This keeps you from getting distracted and reviewing something that takes you off course of the task at hand.

Table of Contents



Table of Contents

If you are a technopile, scan and make a folder for the Table of Content pages or if you’d rather keep the Table of Contents handy by your cookbooks, keep the Table of Contents in a three ring binder for a hard accessible reference. 

Highlight Year

Several ways you can handle this method.  One notebook for all Table of Contents (you can separate them with tab dividers or keep the individual Table of Contents with it’s appropriate magazines.



Magazines in File Box

 Quote for the Lazy Days of Summer in Serenity Now:

Change

The summer

still hangs

heavy and sweet

with sunlight

as it did last year.

The autumn

still comes

showering gold and crimson

as it did last year. 

The spring

still comes

like a whisper

in the dark night.

It is only I

who have changed."

-Charlotte Zolotow-

Meet me here Monday.  We're visiting Georgia and Oregon.

Beads

Sometimes words aren't necessary. 

Have you ever wondered just how organized you would have to be to keep track of which bead you wanted to use?  Merle B. shares her storage solutions for her collection of beautiful beads.



Pull out drawers with beads arranged by color




Bead Drawers




Shallow Flat Pull Out Drawers

 You can follow this amazing New York Bead Artist at http://www.msmaddiesbeads.com/.

Quote:

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.  They must be felt with the heart."                                                              -Helen Keller-



Meet me here Thursday.  We'll be talking about books and magazines.