Setting Up My Space

i identify a need to set up a space that would serve as a studio.  a place where i could leave projects unfinished and shut the door on if necessary.  using the kitchen table and the breakfast bar is only good for small quick projects.  the kind of  projects that could be put up so the table and bar could be used for their daily purposes.  also, using the common spaces of  my home proves to be visually "busy" even if the project is stowed, leaving me feeling something akin to claustrophobia.  the extra bedroom seems the best bet, but that requires some letting go of the accumulation there of the objects that no longer fit in the rest of the home. 

it seems important that the space be inviting, well-lit and used to maximum advantage.  how to do that without over-extending the budget?  add to that the part of myself that has trouble finishing or following through on a project to completion (or to success!).   which means i don't want to overwhelm myself with just the planning. one piece involves deciding what furniture could stay and what should go.  just allowing a positive spiritual creative process to work in this situation really helps.  so, synchronistically, the bed went to a friend expecting visitors, which frees up the room.  a fresh coast of paint in a color like fine paper helps spur me forward. 

the old wheeled computer desk does double duty as supply storage.  the mini-drafting table works as a flat work surface for paints, pallets, brushes and water (which when covered by vinyl tablecloth becomes a place for messy projects). The bookcase becomes less about books and more about storage for canvases and source material in binders (photos and drawings).  The bookcase even includes a little cubby set up as an altar to my dad.  He was a creative in a different way.  The kid toys are consolidated, leaving the top shelf of their storage available for a second easel and a display space for works in progress (or on hiatus).

having just the basics set up allows me to start painting and drawing.  this gives me valuable insight into what additional pieces or furniture arrangement will provide better flow.  with pencil, paper and measuring tape i decide on adding a larger drawing/drafting table and a small chair that folds out into a bed.  also some shelving for canvas display and a metal board with magnets to hold source materials.  all this within budget!   all demonstrates a commitment to exploring creativity while incorporating a creative spirit in the process.  committing to supporting myself as i play, learn and unlearn.

A YEAR IN THE MAKING.

at the beginning of this year i began a journey that led me to this point.  the point where i am now posting for the first time on this blog.  all the experiences, stops and starts, personal revelations and research were a necessary preparation.   i could not have arrived at this moment any other way, not for lack of trying.  yet, i am always amazed when i sense the "arrival" has happened one more time and in another facet of my life. the timing that is not mine to manipulate or control but is fully available to savor.  should i have the wits to perceive it.  so for me it always seems that my role is to maintain open-ness.  maintenance through fresh or refreshed input from other sources through visual, aural, spiritual, and any other sense explainable and unexplainable.  maintenance through inner examination and quieting.

i found the willingness at the start of 2010 to try and find that child that loved to draw and paint, explore and learn.  that child before or under all those layers of experience that interpreted creativity as a way to cope with harshness in the world.  coping through an inner life brought into existence by pencil and paper, books and music.    i already work, being many years now, at growing up other aspects of myself that were deemed more "practical".   i am accepting that this journey now is a needed part of the completeness i seek.   the best part is that it does not matter if  i finish if i focus on enjoying the path.