On the Table

A few shots of my studio table,

with little piles here and there of possible upcoming projects.

The "marinating" stage as things
come together and get acquainted.

Studio Upgrade

I have used these 10 drawer carts in my
 studio for 9 years now. 

 I love the colourful drawers
 and the storage capacity.

But after all this time, sitting in a southwest exposure, 

the plastic has started to crack and break.

 So with a combination of a Michael's Gift card

 (a retirement present), a 50% off sale and

 my Michael's store manager daughter...

I was able to get 2 of these 5 drawer rolling carts

 and 2 12x12" paper cubes.

Everything from the old carts fits,

in fact, I even have a bit more room than before!

I like the sleek clean look and ease of access.

The old ones have migrated to the garage where they 

will provided some much needed storage.

Feels so Good!

After almost a month of feeling like crap,

it's been so wonderful to get back into
the studio the last few days!

A little organizing, cleaning up and beginning a new project -

so much better than being under the weather!

Studio Table

When Seth asked us to post a shot of our studio tables, I thought "uh-oh it won't look messy enough!" I'm one of those odd creatures - a left brained artist.  I adore organization ( have my entire stash detailed on a computer "Master List" telling what cigar box, library cabinet drawer, locker basket, etc each type resides in).  Mixed media requires so many supplies and bits of ephemera that I'm really happy I have the ability to do this.  Anyway, I do tend to clean up my studio table after each project and sometimes, gasp!, even in the midst of a project.  So this maybe as messy as it ever gets - a piece I'm putting the finishing touches on and the supplies I used to get to that point.  Off to the right a small stack I'm amassing to take on my trip to Venice next month.

Artful Feline!

Our cat Mouse loves artistic energy!

It is impossible to keep him off my studio table

 or Margot's Sassy Feet work table.

He's pretty clear about his ownership!

Fun @ Leanne's

 Over my birthday weekend we went up to  Los Gatos and 

spent a fun filled afternoon in our friend Leanne's marvelous studio.

 Isn't this a wonderful statement to read as
 you go into your studio to create?

  I had sent Leanne some Portfolio Water-soluble Oil Pastels a while back and we spent some time experimenting with them. I put one that I did in my journal.

 Leanne was quite impressed with my
recent article in CPS Studios

 and asked me for organizing advice.

 Since this lucky girl is only a few miles
 from The Container Store,

she went right out Saturday afternoon
 and purchased stuff to get started.

Margot worked on a pair of boots -

 glitter toecaps (I mean!)

I'm In CPS Studios!

 Altered by the Sea Studio is in the
Winter Issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios

 magazine that went on sale yesterday at newsstands.

I'm quite pleased with the article, they

 did very little editing to what I sent in.

My younger daughter Jenny did  a 

beautiful job with the photography, 

this is her first photo credit in a national magazine!

At the beginning of January I set myself a goal of submitting my studio (getting the pictures taken, writing the submission paragraphs, etc.) and hopefully seeing it in the magazine by year's end.  It feels quite good to have accomplished this!

Leanne's Studio

Over the weekend Margot and I went up for a quick trip to Los Gatos in the San Jose area to see our good friend Leanne.  She and Margot met several years ago in a wearable art group and though Margot had been a guest at Leanne's place several times this was my first visit.

 I had heard so much about Leanna's fabulous studio
and was not disappointed. 

  Up on the second floor with two walls of windows
that look out on lots of greenery, 

and massive amounts of storage.  

Built-in drawers, full of yarns and fibers, and cabinets, a huge mid-room island and enough supplies to open her own craft shop.

 Leanne is a fearless creator, who will delve into any technique and she loves to experiment.  Her latest love is melting  - Angelina fibers, plastic bits from the Dollar Store and Tyvek; all are combined, shot with a heat gun and turned into beautiful art.

We had a lovely time - dinner on her peaceful deck by a softly flowing creek, getting to see her latest "finds" (to die for!) from a shopping expedition to FABMO  and just talking and laughing and having a wonderful mini-vacation!

 On the way home we dropped by a wonderful paper shop in San Jose and came up with some delightful finds of our own.

Studio Fame!

I've been talking for months about submitting my Altered by the Sea studio to Cloth Paper Scissors Studio magazine and I finally took the plunge.  My daughter Jenny is a wonderful photographer and I asked her to come over and take some shots.  Which she did - 150 of them!  Lots to choose from.  The submission called for three photos and a short paragraph about my studio.  We chose these three shots and here's what I wrote:

I am that rare animal – a left-brained artist.  I’m a mixed media artist – think wild collage, spatters of paint and no-holds-barred rusty assemblage - but I thrive on organization and order.  My creative process requires that I amass and store an incredible amount of  art supplies, tools, ephemera, and found objects.  Half the joy for me is finding new and inventive ways to keep them all under control.  My 15x8 foot studio is the western half of our great room, where I’ve created what my partner calls  my “Art Command Center.”  A  vintage library card catalog, dozens and dozens of colorful cigar boxes, CD cabinet, suitcases, hat boxes and locker baskets are among the many types of storage I’ve employed.  My computer desk looks out to the Pacific Ocean.  Bookcases line one low wall and a 4 tiered wall shelf features many of my altered books and travel journals. My Altered by the Sea Studio is a dream come true for me.

I emailed mid day on Monday and heard back two hours  later!!  They had one slot left in the up-coming Winter issue and Altered by the Sea is in!!  Now I have to get busy, write the article and pick out 10 more photos.  I'll announce the publication here on the blog.  Woo-Hoo!

From Mess to Marvelous!

 I realized a few years ago that there was no way I could keep all the magazines that were accumulating in the studio.  And then there were the stacks of computer printouts, workshop instructions, yada-yada-yada.

 So at first, I put loose items in three ring binders, then I went through many of the magazines and clipped out the articles that I wanted to keep(leftovers went into the collage pile or recycling) and these went into the binders as well.

  But of course,over time, when I would come up with more articles or printouts, they just got shoved into the nearest notebook and you guessed it - pretty soon I had a whole new kind of chaos!

One of my projects this spring was to tame this particular paper tiger. First I amassed all the binders, all the  loose pages and all the magazines that were waiting to be clipped.

Then, duh, I actually came up with all the categories I needed and,"duh 2", made labels for the outsides of the binders so I now know what's in each one.  I know it sounds so simple, you'd think a college graduate, not to mention a librarian, would have done this the first time around.  But better late than never.

Now if I'm looking for that article on "art journaling" I can just go right to the binder that says Art Journaling, if I want info on shops and flea markets - there's a  labeled binder!

Sometimes it's the little simple things that make us so happy!

From the Bookshelf

This is lots of fun - don't we all love to peek into other artists' studios? Well here's your chance. Lots of eye candy, studio dimensions, lighting tips, how to organize just about anything. Every size is covered - from closets to huge attics. Put out by the people that bring you the quarterly Cloth Paper Scissors Studio magazine. If you have followed CPS Studios since its inception you will recognize many of the studios in the book as they are taken from the magazine articles. I still found it valuable as it does present several of my faourites all in one place. If you're not familiar with the magazine this is a great introduction.

Theatre of Dreams

The sparkle,

The vintage feel,

the joy!

What would the holidays be without a trip to
Wendy Addison's Theatre of Dreams?

Stopped by last week on my way
to Sebastopol, to see the magic,

and pick up some lovely letter press
letters on circle cardstock.