The Birth of a Studio, Part 3

May8

I worked most of the day yesterday organizing and finding a place for everything in my new studio space. I am feasting my eyes on this new creation as often as I can because a) I can’t believe that one of my dreams has finally come true and b) I don’t think it’s ever going to be this clean again. There’s even vacuum marks on the rug! The rug…..which is probably the one thing about the space I don’t like. I have visions of spilling a tray of beads and……..oh dear…….well, you can imagine the rest. Maybe someday we can install a ceramic floor or even a hardwood floor down here.

The space in front of the heater on the far wall is where I want to put my metalworking table. I have a few options I’m looking at, including an offer to have a table made for me!

Here is the beadworking area. I was able to fit all of my beads on the shelves and portable storage units for easy access.

My good friend Amy, who has a fabulous studio BTW, told me about this nifty cube storage unit that’s perfect for organizing polymer clay. I just loved sorting the little squares by color and lining them all up in neat rows. Thank you, Amy!

My light tent has found its home on a drafting desk in the corner. The box under the table contains the lights, waiting to be set up. The pegboard leaning against the left side of the table will eventually be screwed into the wall above the heater, I think. So, my tools will be hanging behind me. I’m not sure how that will work out but I’m going to try it out because I can’t place the table against the heater. My sewing machine is also waiting for a home somewhere in my studio. I have been very drawn to quilting books lately so it might come in handy for some future pieces.

Here is the beading command center. My mosaicon hangs in a place of honor above my table. I enjoyed creating that piece so much! Resting on the portable storage units are a couple of beautiful Native American design needlepoint pieces created by my Mom.

I store most of my seed beads in the Tic Tac style storage containers. They’re sorted by color and placed into clear rectangular storage units, fitting quite nicely together. I also have a lot of tubes that I store in a pen caddy. Each 3-sided unit is standing up on the table next to the wall.

This weekend I will be looking for a task chair and some lights! Stay tuned for more studio stories…

The Birth of a Studio, Part 1

Apr30

Where shall I begin?

I started bringing my art supplies over to my new home a couple of weeks ago. I was very lucky that I had time to do that instead of having to get it accomplished all in one weekend. However, now that I look back, it might have been a good idea to set up the structure – shelves, tables, portable storage – first before I dumped everything in the room. Now it looks like this.

The room is actually a downstairs family room in a split level house. There’s even a brick fireplace on the left hand wall behind where I was standing when I took the photo. I can have some nice cozy fires in the wintertime while I work. A couple of months ago this room was walled with dark wood paneling. I think the “slipper shell” color we painted it really brightens the room. My studio space is approximately 11′ x 12′. I’d like to have 3 work areas for beading, polymer clay and metalwork. This weekend I’m going to take a ride over to BJs to check out their portable tables. I’d like to purchase two 6 foot tables, one for beadwork and one for polymer clay. I’d love to find a jeweler’s bench for the metalworking area. A good friend suggested that I make paper cutouts of the components for my studio area and play around with placement. I love that idea and will probably play around with that this week before I get my tables. So, step one is to make paper cutouts to determine how the structure of my studio area will be setup.

Libby Mills has been interviewing artists and their studios in her blog posts, Studio Snapshot. You can read the latest one here. Knowing that I was setting up a new studio area, I’ve been avidly reading every interview. Two important considerations that have been consistent in each interview is lighting and the ability to face outside (if you can) while working. As you can see from my photos, I do have a sliding glass door leading out into the backyard. There’s a wooden deck over it so that does limit the light. Right now I just have one portable OTT lite so I’ll have to invest in more lighting.

Does anyone know where I can purchase a wooden jeweler’s bench?

You Make My Day

Apr5

Within the last month, I was honored to be mentioned on 2 of my favorite blogs, Simple Studio Journal and Polka Dot Creations. So, inspired by these 2 wonderful ladies, I present to you my “You Make My Day” list.

Lynn at Simple Studio Journal writes about so many things that interest me: tea, journal writing, walking in nature, experimenting and playing with various art medium. We have so much in common that I feel like I’m having a chat with a long-time friend whenever I visit her blog. Lately, she has been experimenting with wire wrapping and creating the most gorgeous pendants.

On her blog, Lisa Clarke at Polka Dot Creations shares her life as a businesswoman, artist and mother of 2 small boys. The joys, the challenges, the delicious recipes, the beautiful art are all a delight to see and read about. I especially enjoy Lisa’s color challenges and seeing how she creates a color palette in polymer clay from inspiring photos. I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa at the Synergy conference.

One of my fellow Bead Journal Project members, Morwyn over at AnotherCountry Beadworks, creates the most fabulous beaded pieces and shares her creative process, most recently with a video. Her writing about the symbolism in her journal pages resonates deeply with me.

Susan Lomuto’s Polymer Clay Notes has been inspiring me (and many others!) ever since I found her blog a little over a year ago. She devotes an amazing amount of time and energy in sharing and writing about the most awe-inspiring artists and photos. Most recently, she has been sharing her own beautiful creations. I hope she continues to do that! I had the pleasure of meeting Susan when I took Dayle Doroshow’s workshop last April and, most recently, at the Synergy conference.

I recently took a class at Joggles called Mixed Media portraits by Alma Stoller. A thoughtful and inspiring teacher, she encourages her students to use materials found at home to create the most beautiful mixed media creations. A visit to her blog is a colorful delight!

Ever since I was a little girl, I have deeply loved color so when I discovered polymer clay and the ability to mix colors with it, I had such an epiphany. One of my color heroes is Lindly Haunani who I had the pleasure to meet and take a class with at Synergy. Lindly has such a deep connection with color and shares her delight with the subject on her blog. I hope to take a color workshop with Lindly someday.

My webmaster, Dave at Clear Path Studios, has been such an inspiration to me in so many ways. In creating a website for me, he carefully explored with me what I wanted to say and do with my site. He blends the artistic with the technical in a wonderfully magical way.

Judy Dunn at Artrepreneur generously shares her experiences and knowledge as a working polymer clay artist. Filled with interesting stories and tips, Judy’s posts resonate with her enthusiasm and wisdom. Her Flickr photo albums are filled with her gorgeous polymer clay artwork. Most recently, she has created a video about how to make a polymer clay origami crane, one of her signature pieces. I had the pleasure of having a nice chat with Judy over lunch at the Synergy conference.

One of my fellow RIPCG members, Dora, creates the most amazingly intricate and beautiful polymer clay canework. She recently posted some of her artwork in her Flickr album.

Last but certainly not least, my Rhode Island Polymer Clay Guild, has been an integral part of my life for the last 6 1/2 years. We get together on the 4th Saturday of the month and share stories, laughs, good food and, oh yes, making stuff with polymer clay. They are like my family and I’m so blessed to have them all in my life.

Thanks to all of you for your inspiration!

Soul Collage Cards

Mar24

On one of our artist dates, I made some Soul Collage cards with my friends Amy and Judy. We each brought a stack of magazines, a sharp pair of scissors and some glue. Ripping out images that appealed to me brought back memories of doing this exact same activity when I was very young. I found out that day that glue sticks work the best for this kind of work. White glue will create wrinkles as the collage dries.

After all of the images and words were cut out, I started picking and choosing to arrange them on a piece of 4 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ matboard. This is a very intuitive process and it helps to listen carefully to that quiet wise place inside of you. You’ll be amazed at what emerges.

I was fascinated to see that the 3 cards I created that day symbolized my past, present and future. My favorite is my present card entitled “Fabulously 50”.

If you’d like to read more about Soul Collage cards and how to create them there is a book called SoulCollage: An Intuitive Collage Process for Individuals and Groups by Seena B. Frost.

Laurie Mika Workshop

Mar19

I had the honor and pleasure of taking a workshop last weekend with the Mosaicon Goddess, Laurie Mika. I’m so glad that it was a 2-day workshop because it was chock full of learning and creating. Using polymer clay, paints, powders, beads and various ephemera, we each created a mosaicon on a piece of wood. There were 12 of us in the class and everyone created a piece both wonderful and unique.

Laurie has a great informal right brain way of teaching which I warmed up to immediately. She’s patient and sharing and was a great help to me as I tried to manifest what was in my head into a mosaic piece of art. It was a fabulous group of ladies who were encouraging and quick to share stories and art materials.

The first day we concentrated on making our center piece and various sizes of tiles that reflected our chosen theme. The second day we created painted tiles and then put it all together.

I love how each piece draws you in with its story.

The powders and paints lend a very rich look to the polymer clay.

I didn’t get a chance to finish my mosaicon in class. My idea was to create a temple called “The Way of Tea”. As I laid the tiles out, it just didn’t look finished to me. Then Laurie came up with the great idea to give my temple “wings”, turning it into a pagoda. Here’s the almost finished piece.

I still have some small areas to fill in with beads (oh joy!) and skinny tiles. If you don’t already have it, I highly recommend Laurie’s book, Mixed Media Mosaics.

I’m already happily planning my next piece!