Perhaps you can relate... do you see the art in your mid-creation workspace?

Mid-art project all the bits and bobs, tools and ideas accumulate and form a colour co-ordinated little piece of work desk happiness. The above photo of my desk (exactly as it as I write) may to most people seem like a bit of a shambles but I see creative possibilities, problem solving and ephemera from my day (just waiting to be added into my journal!).


Photos just like these sometimes find their way in my journals. They remind me of the joy in creating rather than just the achievement of result. Plus, as with my other activities they show how I have spent my time.


One of my favourite things to do is let these items to a bit of double duty at the completion of a project by creating a greeting card or an Artist Trading Card from the little bits left over. The colours and elements almost always work together beautifully, all the tools are out already anyway and nothing is wasted.

Labels: Art, Journal-Ideas, Studio-peek

Here I am at page 20 of Where Women Create. Still with almost 140 pages to read yet I can confidently post a rave review!


This is a book to be savoured, poured over, inspired by.
Each page will be turned without peeking ahead... completely taking my time. There is no question I would love this book. I adore looking at artist workspaces. The craftspersons workbench is where the magic begins! Plus don't get me started on my penchant for storage, decorative boxes, indexes, colour, memorabilia, history, stories... Where Women Create has it all. Perhaps if I read it hard enough some of it will spill over into my own work space.



I liked this quote by Rebecca Purcell, artist behind the first featured studio.

Exercise for honing aesthetic skills: Find an object that you are immediately drawn to and decipher why it attracts you. Do NOT settle for "I just like it!" Explore both the physical and psychological affects, as well as every detail. You may be surprised with what you learn.

... back to my coffee and magazine!

Where Women Create is available at NZ Scrapbook

Labels: Book-Reviews, Studio-peek

Weeelllls Happy New Year! Hope yours is starting exactly as you wish. I am so fully confident that 08 is going to be a great year - I have a number of events and personal goals lined up and it is very exciting!

I thought today I would continue with my little studio tour. Yes, if you have read my early posts I usually call it a workroom but since I wish to live the life of my dreams having a studio is such a step up! LOL :)

I SOOOO love colour, I love little boxes, I love collections... so you know then I am bound to have a weakness for stamp pads right? A girl can not have too many little boxes of pure colour pleasure! and yes you have permission to tell your husbands that! This is my stamp pad station. I could say stamping station but since I tend to spread out the actually stamping tends to take place on my work bench. Also my acrylic blocks, unmounted stamps and wood stamps are hiding somewhere else!


This is the top part of that kitchen unit I talked about in my adhesives draw blog entry it is situated basically in the center of my studio. The adhesives draw is immediately under this bench top and then there is another drawer under that which holds ribbon.

The plastic drawers you can see hold my embossing powders and re-inkers with the rest of the space being used by stamp pads. Each stamp pad is stored by brand and type and if you look real close you will probably notice some favorites there: Stampin Up, Colorbox, Chalkink, Versacolor, Tim holtz to name a few.

The plastic storage box on the top holds lesser used stamping tools like stazon cleaners and masking tools. That's my daughter in the photo - shes 6 now!

To lay my hands on just the right pad I will either grab the closest one - ooops! I mean I will refer to my handy dandy stamp pad index. Each page is grouped by colour and then I will look through to find one in the shade and qualities that I need. I find using my index spreads the usage of my pads around more rather than reaching for old favs also sometimes memory and the colours on the top of the pads are not so accurate so by referring to an actual stamped image gives a true result. My stamped index is simply using a shadow stamp to give a solid block of colour.


Now I know I'm not the only one with a weakness for ink! Do tell!
Have a great day :)
Kathleen

Labels: organization, Product-favs, Studio-peek

~This is a repost from my Altered Arts Blog, original date 17 Nov 2007~

I just LOVE peeking in other people's workrooms. I can't QUITE bring myself to call it a studio since to me that just sounds too fancy for what to me fluctuates between wanna-be order to creative chaotic multiple project MADNESS!

Rather than a photography tour I'm going to give it to you in bite size pieces...it'll be more fun that way I promise!

Number One Fav Workroom possie: My adhesives drawer!



This is an adhesives drawer like no other... it is BIG. And I mean BIG. I'm not sure how much a meter is in yards but see the green tray inside it? That is a large tool tote so perhaps that gives you an idea. When I say I like the right glue for the job... I mean business! One of my staff loooves my adhesives drawer a little too much... can you see the fingernail grooves from me prying her away on the edge?? LOL (You know who you are!!).

Anyway, it's a deep drawer in a freestanding kitchen cabinet. Fits in my workroom just dandy, like right in the middle, so I can lay my hands on whatever gluey stuff I need easily.

Adhesives and seal coats are probably the thing I get asked about most so I took a pic of my favs...


From Left to Right:

• Spray Shellac. Yum. Here in NZ the Bulls Eye brand is available but I'm sure there are others around. Gives a very sheer application and gloss finish. Light honey color, no mess, and you can build up coats easily. Did I say Yum already??
• Scotch Quick Dry Tacky adhesive. Tiny tip for easy application, clear drying white glue, dries quick and fav thing - works GREAT as a foiling or leafing adhesive. Draw with the tip!!
• Terrifically Tacky Tape. Clear, strong, no mess, works great with micro beads, ribbons, and embellishments. VERY handy.
• Mod Podge. Here we are with that word again - BIG. I love being able to use a product without skimping because it's too "precious". This is my must-have glue for creating niches and drawers or glue pages together. Says it's a seal coat but honestly, just save it for heavy gluing.
• Perfect Paper Adhesive Matte. SATIN SMOOTH FINISH. So so nice. PERFECT is true when using tissue, serviettes, and other sheer items. Not so good for regular paper gluing but for thin gluing with a divine subtle finish there is no other choice for me.
• E6000 Glue. Super strong glue. This is my heavy embellishment adhesive. See how my tubes are all screwed up like? I shall be crrrrying soon since I will be out and my current supplier no longer stocks it.
• Xryon X2 roller adhesive. FAST no mess!! This gives a bit of a scrapbooky result in that it's just too neat! I just can't beat how quick it is to use though. NO WARPING. I use this to apply flat sheets of paper to smooth surfaces like book board or chip board. There is no drying time - can't complain about that!
• Diamond Glaze or similar. Diamond Glaze just happens to be the one sitting on my bench at the moment but there are lots of variations on this type of clear glaze product. Ranger's Glossy Accents, Crystal Lacquer, Dimensional Magic, Papier Glass Finish all find their way out of my stash to adhere tiny beads, hold embellishment clusters, create glass like seals and so on.

hmmmm... not pictured: Brown paper tape! See I just keep thinking of more. A girl can't have too much glue! :)

Labels: Product-favs, Studio-peek, Workroom