Part 2 OUR CREATIVE HOME Where I am Now....Seriously, I am LOST in the Space!!

Welcome back!

In Part 1 of my series, "OUR CREATIVE HOME", I talked about the process of finding the right spot in ones home to do your creative work, and stake claim to it. For me, the best of my choices was the spare bedroom, which I then moved into, and set up as best I could. So, to continue on from my last post.....flash ahead to now.

I moved into the spare bedroom. I bought 2 tables, a HUMONGOUS storage cabinet called the Scrapbox, and tons of those plastic stacking drawers. GUESS WHAT??? I have stuff all over the floor!!!!!!! I packed all my storage containers to the hilt, and the tables I thought I would be using for work space...lol......are filled with supplies as well. See, I am a multi medium artist. I never considered this when planning out my studio space, my Creative Home. Each medium we work with obviously has all these little "sub" supplies that are also necessary. In other words, my clay work also needs storage for all my molds, tools, pans, oven, coloring agents, etc etc etc. And since I am not willing to give up any of the many things I work with, I just am going to have to find a way, and places, that make it all fit and work for me AND the rest of the family. So... the process went something like this:

First, I sat down with pen and paper, and wrote down all my different art mediums. Clay, jewelry making, Needle Felting, Paper Crafts, Gourds, Painting, Glass/Mosaics, Kiln Pottery and glass fusing, etc.

Second, I decided which are the mediums I work with the most, and thereby, which items NEEDED to be in my actual studio space, and which things HAD to be there. The ScrapBox had to remain, since it is wayyyyy too big to even think of moving. So, all paper craft related items would stay in my studio.

Third, I scoped out my house for any possible storage/work areas. An unused corner, an extra dresser storing unused items, anyplace that can be repurposed will work. I found 3 such areas, one upstairs where my studio is, and 2 downstairs.

The next step began my BIG CLEAN...the actual process...the going thru all my "stuff", reorganizing it into more appropriate storage (plastic shopping bags really do not work well!!), and tossing anything that really was just plain old junk.

Enough of my rambling for this post. In my next entry, I hope to tell you how it all turned out, and summarize all the actual tips, plus throw in a few others to help anyone else out there who finds themselves LOST in their Creative Home.

As always, thanks for reading!!!

Our Creative Home - Segment 1- Finding Your Space

Where we do our creating and expressing of ourselves is almost as important as the creative process itself. It can essentially be a part of the process.

Originally, I was going to just do one long post on this topic. I decided against that, however. I myself am in the process of re-creating my CREATIVE HOME", which I think is going to be a long process for me. So....I decided to make this into a series of posts, each one including a little about my own progress, along with tips and hints I am picking up from the magazines and online research I am actually doing about Artists Studios. In this first segment, I will start with where I started.

My current studio is in a spare bedroom of the house. Like so many of you out there, I had been working off the dining room table back a few years. When I decided I was going to open a shop, it became a mandate for me to have a specific space, someplace I could leave my work when I chose to, and come back to work on it later. At that time I had three places in our home to choose from...the unused den, the unused family room, or the "guest room". I actually chose the smallest of the three, the guest room. I had hopes for the den to become a place for the kids to hang out with their friends, do their homework, etc when they were a bit older (remember, this was in 2004). That would actually have made the best studio space, but kids come first. The den, where my husband wanted me to set up shop, is right off the garage, and one of the 2 main entries into the house. Talk about no privacy!!!!! It is also very dark, despite the 2 windows, is used for a good deal of storage, and houses the 2 litter boxes. To me, that was a no brainer to say no to.

So, the spare room won out. Altho it is the smallest space, it has a large closet, which I had envisioned turning into shelving and a work area. It also is on the main floor, so I could keep an eye on the kids. It has two windows with good light, and a door that I can close off from everyone.

So I guess the first tip in finding ones "Creative Home" is to look around your house, and decide which area makes the most sense for your needs, and stake your claim on it.

That was what I did......then. Next time I will talk about what it all looks like now, 6 years later, and how I have decided to deal with it.

Ok...This is a Good Thing

Been thinking about my blog here for some time. I have never been quite sure how to utilize it, and I must say that I still am not sure. But I think there must be some reason out there why so many people have them, and some people even seem to profit from them. I started this blog because it was a suggested addition to opening my shop on Etsy....an online "Mall" if you will, of all things handmade, with supplies and vintage items thrown in. The blog was supposed to be a way to help promote my work and my art. But I hated the way it looked, so I pretty much did little to use it.

After seeing how others were using their blogs, I decided that maybe it was time to revisit the whole concept. SO, I played around a bit.....changed the name.....and decided on a new start. Now that I am getting the hang of how to make the page actually look better, I will next decide how best to use it so that you, the followers/readers, actually want to come back and read more. I am open to suggestions and tips, and will be back real soon .....as soon as I figure out my next step!!!!

Thanks to all for hanging in there while I tried to figure out this whole blogging thing!!!

Cat

ARTISTS BLOCK

It has been awhile since I have added a new post to my blog, so what better way to get back into the swing of things (if I was ever "in" to begin with ) than to write about what I am currently going through.

For the last two weeks or so, I have been experiencing ARTISTS BLOCK. I have not been able to get any viable work accomplished. I sit in my studio, and my mind is blank. I tried to make some greeting cards, which I would usually consider a more simple task than some of my other creations...again, nothing.

This is something we all experience from time to time. It can be scary for those who are not used to going thru it, wondering if all the creativity has been used up or drained from your body. Some people get so nervous and frustrated that they will put their art away...sometimes for years.

Quite often, we experience the block because of other things going on in our lives. Stress at other jobs, family matters, or issues with our health can all have an effect on our creativity. Before jumping to the conclusion that all artistic abilities have been expired, first take a look at what extraneous things might be interfering. With me...it has been my health.

I made an appointment with my doctor, so I could get my current medical issues resolved. I also did one other thing, which might prove helpful to those experiencing artistic blocks as well.

I took a step back....

I work with almost every medium under the sun. My art studio looks like an artist supply shop, where one can find almost anything related to the world of art. But the one thing that I finally realized, something I had been saying for awhile that I wanted to find the time to do (and is not something I sell in my shop), is my painting. Painting is where I started. It is the first art I ever did, way back when I was a kid...all through school and college. I love to paint.....pictures...landscapes...flowers...on canvas. But I have not painted for quite awhile, since those items I sell in my shop have taken precedence. So that piece of me had been put on the back burner.

So...I took out my paints, and a small canvas. I did not want to get myself too involved in a painting. I just wanted to feel my paint brushes in my hands again.

And you know what????

IT WORKED!!!!!

It felt wonderful. I felt creative, enlightened, and could not wait to get into my studio to work on my painting.

Then I realized I was mentally designing new jewelry pieces, and had some ideas on other items. I don't feel like I am quite as hyped as I usually am, as my health piece is not quite taken care of......but I feel like I can at least get some work accomplished, and enjoy myself a lot more than I have the last few weeks!!!!

So, I would like to offer this advice to those of you experiencing artistic block. Take a look at what is going on in the rest of your life, and see what might be interfering...

And while you are trying to take care of all of that.....take a step back. Back to where you started...to your original passion. And do it.

So...what ways have the rest of you dealt with blocks???? What has worked, and what has not??

Just a Quikkie!!!!

Hello to all my followers!!!

This is just a quik note....with the holiday season sneaking up so quickly, I am busy...so busy...trying get some new items finished for the shop. My MICA jewelry seems to be gaining popularity, so be sure to check it all out. I am also now offering Squirrel Proofing on my birdhouses, which customers seem to like!

So, give me a few days, then please check out my shop to see what might be there that is on your Christmas shopping list!!!!

Happy Hunting!!!!

Keep creating,

cat

My Time has Come

Well, they told me it would happen..eventually. They told me if I was patient, it would come. THEY would come. AND...THEY WERE RIGHT!!! My shop has FINALLY started to take off!!! Sales are coming in at a nice, even pace. I am pleased. Better...I am validated! EAT MY DIRT, HUBBY....

And now that the summer is over and the Holidays are creeping up, I am hopeful that I will continue to make some sales. I am expanding my selection, and there will be Autumn and Christmas items in the shop over the next month or so. I will be trying to get some new and different birdhouses made, new gourds, and, of course, my increasingly popular MICA jewelry, some of which has been selling even before I can get it in the shop!!

So...to any of you new ETSY sellers out there who are discouraged, and wonder where the sales are...it has been almost a year for me, and the sales are just starting to get steady. SO, hang in there, continue to create (because you know you love to anyway). It will happen. If you are patient, it will come. THEY will come.

Till next time,

Cat

WOW...guess I better update!!!!

Hi all!!!

I did not realize I had so many followers now! That means I best get on the ball and blog more frequently!

Let me just update you all to let you know what I have been, and will be, up to. The kids will be going back to school next week, so I will be able to get more work done. I have been working on a gourd vase almost all summer....we seem to have a love/hate relationship. Actually, I am so picky, that once I carved/sanded/painted it, I then found some areas I thought needed more sanding. That led to needing to repaint areas that unintentionally met with the sandpaper. So I needed to repaint. Then found another area I wanted to sand a bit more.....well, you get the picture. I finally decided yesterday that I am calling it good....all of it.....and am going to add the varnish and just hope it looks awesome when all is said and done.

Once that is out of my hair, I want to get more birdhouses made. Even tho they are not selling as much as I had hoped, I think they will at some point, b/c I know my houses are unique. I am going to try something different with my next one. Some clay items, and most likely some cards will be snuck into my shop too. And, of course, jewelry, b/c I have become obsessed with buying beads, and need to do something will all of the thousands of them that I have bought!!!!

Last, but not least, my dear ETSY friend ( her very awesome shop is Not So Shabby Chic- check it out...you will not be disappointed) told me that felted items are currently a big seller. I have been doing felting just for fun, but have some new surprises that I am going to add to my shop......so stay tuned and make sure to keep checking out the shop!

So..I guess that is it for now. Thanks to all of you who are following me. It really does mean a lot to me.

Keep creating!

cat