ART STUDIO ORGANIZATION

Okay, so it was a blog something like this that helped me to design my studio. We live in a small house and don't entertain often, so we decided that the dining room was the perfect space for my studio. My studio is roughly 10 ft x 10 ft. Not much of a space for dining, but adequate for housing a studio/office. There are two doorways, so that takes away from some of the storage space. My previous studio was 13x20 so you can begin to imagine the steps it has taken to downsize to this small space. As well, my previous studio had built in cabinets and a walk in closet. We moved into this studio with no storage except for some plastic Iris brand storage carts and my paper cabinet.

The first thing on the agenda was to visualize what one would see when walking in our front door. I didn't want that to be the mess of making art, so we handily located three bookcases that occupy the view from the door. Then we found two armories to house my pens, brushes, and the things my cats would want to play with. Once we had that down I needed to figure out where to house my laptop for convenience and also how to approach my art table. Initially we used two folding tables, but it made the space clumsy and difficult to manage.

In our eating space in our great room we have a Danish table with leaves that store under both ends. I felt that if I were prudent in scouring Craigslist I just might find a used one for sale. After many months of relentless searching I found my table and for a small price. By the way, the armouries were under $60 a piece. Having this table allows me to change the table space in my studio a great deal. It also allows me to have visitors to this small space and share working on art.

The next goal was to find a table to suit my computer needs. One armoire houses my printer, but I didn't have a table to fit my space. After looking at the Dania website, I found just the ticket: a small table with two leaves that allow the table to become a larger workspace when necessary. I use a wireless Ott light by my station, we put a large fluorescent light in the ceiling and my lamp at my work table is balanced spectrum. My phone has caller ID so I can ignore it if I need to and know who to call back. Currently I have four Iris carts - three for miscellaneous inks, paints, and odd items, one for scrap paper, and one for collage materials. By the way, never throw away any usuable scraps. They can become tiny works of art, or be used to prepare for larger works. Good paper is worth keeping.

I have also made use of wall space for storage. My works in progress are stored in boxes from the local garden store (larger size) and I store things I use frequently on the shelves. My paper cutter stores on my paper cabinet, and above that cabinet is my bead collection and tools - all on shelves.

I'm still searching for a place for my over sized papers, as they don't fit under a queen sized bed. Once I figure that out, I will have successfully downsized my studio.

One last thing. I am still in the process of weeding out the things that I have already learned from books and selling those books off. I'm also looking at all of my paints to make sure they are all usable and in good condition. If I don't think I will use it in two or three years, it goes to the local school for their art program.

I hold sacred some of the inspirational items from my art journey and these things will always be displayed to inspire me. I also have a box of things that inspire me through tactile ability and color. It is good to save the things that might inspire you, but keep it to a minimum so you can browse through it in a short time. Inspiration strikes quickly.

If I were to give advice to someone trying to organize a studio it would be to first assess your needs. Don't buy anything until you are sure it will serve you in more than one way. If your studio will be in view of public coming into your home, find ways to hide the messy parts of it. I'm still thinking of an artsy curtain for a mask to my private space. Most of all, your studio must work for you. Clutter blocks creativity, so always clean up after each work project. Then you are ready for the next. Pictures of my studio will follow, but I've just finished Christmas and haven't yet had time to clean:)