Space Planning

Look up and down and all around.  Have you found space for all of your needs?  If you are going to purchase any shelving or desks or containers for your studio, consider items that have multiple function or additional storage.   But where are you going to put all this stuff?   Don’t have room?  Space too small?  Of course you have already decided what it is that you need to have close by at arms length for you to function efficiently.  Now you are going to look at unlikely spaces. 

   


 

Landings on stairs and between hallways usually have enough room for a small or narrow, tall bookcase or side table.  All kinds of cabinets, from armoires to custom built designs that make good use of any odd corners are perfect for supplies that you will not need today.   Consider this area for your treasured coffee table books.  It’s safe, out of the way, and you can rotate the books you want on display.  I know what you have is really cool stuff and we like to see it all the time, but if we don’t have that luxury, rotating is a good thing.   Store extras in attractive baskets or boxes. 

The space above a doorway is available for a shelf and books or items that are in attractive containers.  Also frame the doorway from floor to ceiling with books for a mini-library and save your floor space for your desk.

If you have some room but not enough for a large desk and shelving and you’d rather have the larger desk, consider the large desk with narrow tables.  They provide ideal storage underneath as well.  

  

Large desk with storage underneath

Small, bright, airy, contemporary

  





 

The creative use of boxes for shelves is an

effective way to personalize and create your own shelves and configuration to suit your own needs.














Are you excited about your new space with all these choices?  Get it set up over the weekend because next week we will be talking about setting up a quick search system for your filing, we'll move to my favorite - books, and then we will finish off with accessorizing in a few  weeks.  We're almost there.  I hope you have been taken photos of your progress and will be willing to share.

Quote:

            "The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work."
                                                            -Emile Zola-

Meet me here Monday.

The Art Barn

I’m not really a country girl.  Actually, my husband prides himself and takes credit for me knowing the difference between a chicken and a rooster.  I was quite content with my own ill-fitting thoughts about foul.   If it squawked, it was a chicken.  But no, my husband stood his ground and corrected me every time I tried to get away with the “chicken” until I knew the difference.

Unlike me, Ron and Jay knew the difference between a goat and a dog.  They just preferred the pet goat, Lucille.  They loaded up Lucille in Jay’s convertible and drove her up and down the Las Vegas Strip with her ears flopping in the hot wind bahaha-ing at the tourists as they starred back in awe as if they had just witnessed an Elvis sighting.

I think I must have known way back then, that a barn wasn’t just a home for animals that I couldn’t properly identify.  I just had no clue what a wonderful space a barn could be, but Kitty did.  This is what she envisioned for her studio.

It's time for more eye candy. 

Art Barn





" I am blessed to have been able to churn part of my IRA/retirement money back into a free standing studio where I can paint alone or with friends and occasionally host workshops. The site is a former barn--hence the name "art barn" but it was purposefully re-sited so it now has large North Facing windows for that unwavering light. The ceilings are @ 15 feet high and my first inclination was to go wild with color on the walls. After consulting with artists in the family I went with a warm but bland vanilla that wouldn't alter the color on the canvas or paper. It was a choice also to put up paintings and drawings on the walls but to mainly let the color in the room come from the inspiration of the artists in the room--their vision, their canvas, their words. It was a good decision. Kitty"

 



Vertical files





Inside the Art Barn, Kitty stores

her files, pads of paper, canvases

vertically and open.

  

 



Vertical slots for storage

Open storage, pull out drawers for paints and flat papers.  Kitty stores her paints by color.


Part of the beauty of the Art Barn is found in the pure essence of the peacefulness and serenity of its' surroundings.  Where nothing but the whisper of the trees or the brightness of the rising sun or the familiar smell of moisture and dew should dare interupt the deepest urge to create.

Tip for the day:

 Keep doors off the fronts of shelves to see what is in your cabinets.  Install pull out drawers to have full access to supplies without having to get on your hands and knees.  Store what you can vertically.  Keep your paints sorted by color. 


Quote:

"What was any art but a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining, elusive element which is life itself."

-Willa Cather-

Meet me here Thursday, we'll talk about space planning. 

Decision Made

Today is a big day.  Your decision is made on what type of shelving and storage you want in your studio.  It is the biggest decision because it may very well be your biggest investment either creatively or monetarily.  Since I'm assuming that you are working within your home, I've done the shopping for you.



Office wall



If you're not lucky enough to have a successful dumpster diving trip to find your own

oversized magnetic board (Oct 7, 10), you can

use multiples and use three at a time to divide

into months.  Pin your engagements, doctor

appointment reminders, and must do lists in the

appropriate months.  That way you can have a

three month look at a glance. 

Remember we talked about multi-function storage.

In this photo you also have a magazine rack with a slot for pens, pencils, scissors and a place to hang your keys.  This example gets those tiny things off

of your desk to give you room to work. 

We even have a great example of shelving.  Don't

have enough art supplies to fill up an entire shelving unit?  Do you have your fair share of books that

belong close to you in your studio?  Don't forget

to look up for available real estate.  We will talk more about real estate when we get into space planning. 





storage cabinet





  



Maybe your art requires small closed storage as oppossed to an open shelving unit.   This cabinet has lots of drawers to keep all of your supplies tidy and out of sight.  



If your space doesn't allow for a generous projection, this open tapering shelving unit is a good choice.   To keep it open and airy, store supplies in attractive baskets. 

Quote:

        "Only when an artist no longer knows what she is doing does she begin to do good things."

                                                                       -Monet-





Meet here Monday.  It might be time for more eye candy.

To Reveal or Not to Reveal

Remember last week?  I left you off sorting your pens and pencils and all those little bits of paper that we have no clue what to do with.  Did you think I had abandoned you there, just barely getting started?  I didn’t mean to.  The dead mouse (Sept. 15, 2010) should have been my first clue that death was in the air.  But this time it was much more serious.  This time I couldn’t run down to my local computer store and “borrow” a computer with the promise that I would return it the next day.  This time, it was the real deal.  My computer was dead.  My old trusty crusty computer finally bit the last of the dust and I was left with all my organizational skills stuck in a small rectangular box.   I now know the real meaning of chaos.  I had a new computer with nothing in it and an old computer with everything stuck in it and the merging of the two took some time.  I miss the days when all we had to do was sharpen our pencils.   Let’s get back to work in the organization of our studios.

If we have our studios in our homes and have a need for a multi-functional space, we also want our spaces not only to be functional but attractive as well.  So if you remember that form follows function, it will help you arrange your space the way that suits the way you work. 

Let’s talk about shelving today because now that you have sorted all your desk top stuff you need a place to put it.  Now is the time to make the major decision of your individual preference.   How and what to reveal!  If you decided that you are a show all type of artist and like showing your prized possessions of pretty pencils, colored inks, beautiful beads, and textured paper, pick a shelving system that lets you do that. Open storage is great for showing off all your cool stuff and to have easy access, whereas, closed storage is a better solution for keeping supplies out of sight and having a nice clutter free zone.  A word of caution here – be careful with “out of sight” that you don’t end up with over-stuffed cabinets and junk drawers.  Don’t let it become the “I’ll put it away” someday place (Sept. 27, 10).

Think of space planning.  Shelving plays an important role because your space may determine what type, how big, and how deep your shelving can go.   Once you have determined the where, give some thought to the “how.”   Will it be built in, or modular units that give you flexibility?  Will it be part of the overall style of the rest of the home or is strictly a working space?






built in adjustable shelving for a sloped ceiling

Liz' tip:  Keep your shelving items categorized. 

Quote:    

                               "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take."
                                                                   -Wayne Gretzky-
                                                                           

                                                                                  

Meet me here Thursday. 



     





Dumpster Diving

Have you ever been dumpster diving?  I haven't.  Honestly. 

But once upon a time. . .  I was sauntering down the street with my neighbor on our way to lunch.  We were enjoying a rare bright sunshiney day, chatting about how busy we were, my eyes casually window shopping as we passed all the wonderful curio shops when I glanced to the right and back forward again.   Suddenly something caught the corner of my eye.  Then it hit me.  My head snapped back to the right and there it was - behind the trash bin leaning on the fence.  A large cookie sheet.  Too large for an average oven.  I said, "hey, let's go have a look at that."  

"What do you want that for."  Said my neighbor.  “You’re not planning to use it.”

"I don't know, but I'm sure I can find a use for it."  I said.  And I lugged that thing home.  It was in perfect condition.  No dents and no rust spots.  I dug a place behind the tool cabinet in my husband’s garage for safe keeping like a puppy does with its' bone for a few months while I contemplated a use for it.  One day, he found it.

"What do you want this for?" said my husband.  

"I'm not sure, but I know I'll find a useful home for it."  I said.   

He put it in the “I don’t know what to do with it” pile.  Months later it became my magnetic board.  It fits in perfectly behind my desk in between the shelves.  It's large enough for more than just post it notes, the magnets grab nice and tight and it has a lip around it for clips.  Perfect and free.

Cookie Sheet as Magnetic Board

This should clear up any of those tiny loose ends that seem to scatter everywhere.   And now you have plenty of ideas to get your creative juices flowing to find a suitable home for those pencils and pens and bits of paper, but if it happens not to be a ceative enough solution for you as to what to do with all those extra pencils that seem to accumulate, you can do what Karen (calligrapher) did with her "extra" pencils.

Karen's tip:

My method seems to be dump & run...which works fine at the moment, but not so handy the next time when you need to find something!  . . . I at least keep the piles of junk separate, compartmentalized, and out of sight!  . . . three of them hold clear plastic buckets filled with colorful supplies like ribbon and paint tubes.  I also have one wall lined with those plastic stacks of drawers. There is a small desk to hold my computer and sewing machine.  And of course, I have my pencil, crayon, and calligraphy chairs.

Pencil Chair (front view)

Pencil Chair (back view)

 Quote:

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.

                                                                       -Erich Fromm-

Meet me here Monday, were talking more storage solutions.  

Reorganize, recycle, reuse, reinvent

Did you have time to do any shopping over the weekend?  Did you buy your bins and you stored your papers and pens or are you waiting for a few ideas?

We’re on to the next step.  Simplicity is the key.  Avoid the confusion and chaos of taking everything you have out into the open and storing it there. Although you are keeping essential items (closest) in frequent use close at hand, keep in mind that accessibility is as important as the visual effect.   Don’t limit yourself to conventional solutions.  Today we are talking pens, pencils, desk drawer items, and boxes.

Clear square flower vases

Start small so you can start putting some of your supplies in containers and up and off the floor.  This will also help you visually evaluate the amount of shelving you may need.  Consider your recycling bin.  What cool containers may be in there beckoning for a new home?  Recycle jelly jars and mason jars in different sizes. They are great for multiple uses, i.e. store pencils, pens, letter openers, bone folders, palette knives, droppers, paper clips, rubber bands, beads, etc.   With or without lids.  Screw tops are now available for mason jars.  Square flower vases are also an attractive solution.

Black boxes

Inexpensive terra cotta pots work well with many styles of décor.  They are versatile and are attractive plain or glazed and come in an array of colors.  Simple white china, black boxes, and metal are also great options.

Are you competing with your local UPS store and hoarding favorite boxes?  Put them to good use to house your supplies.  Cover them with fabric or decorative papers.

Fabric covered boxes

boxes for storage

Pastel pencil artist, Fran, shares her tip, not only in how she stores her pencils, but how she organizes them for easy use.  Everything in its' place and a place for everything. 

 Fran J. tip:

Color Sheets

This is one of the pages where I colored 3 segments for every pencil I have-light touch, medium and hard.  The colors are in order that Prismacolor numbers them.  Then I have the picture of the pencil pouch where I keep them. 

 

I have two-one giant one that keeps all my pencils and they're in the same order as my color sheets.  The second is smaller and keeps my pencils for a project.

Pencil Pouch

Quote:

"Arrange whatever comes your way."

                   -Virginia Woolfe-          

Meet me here Thursday.  We're going dumpster diving.