Winter Nesting

I am back. It happens every year at this time. I feel like a bulb under the deep snow. I'm not really producing anything but inside I am turning over new ideas. Yet somehow they seem stuck, not fully formed, and so I sit on them... waiting...



I've just been puttering in my studio, trying out a few things. I've been sculpting clay birds and wire branches with flowers made from recycled fabric and adding them to salvaged bottles.

I rearranged and have started to organize things after the crazy holiday blitz. I have made a high island in the center of my studio. Last year, I had folding tables along the windows that I used as work surface. Unfortunately, they were also my show tables so I had to clean them off every time I packed up. I would like to say that this kept things picked up but it only resulted in a shuffling of piles and my center table became a dumping ground. My goal this year is to stay better organized. I also was fortunate to gain a flat file (for free!) so now all my papers can have a nice place to land.



One last improvement is a new encaustic pallet. I have wanted one for 2 years and could finally afford to spoil myself. I can't wait to get started!

Before and After

Usually "Before and Afters" show improvement but improvement can be different things to different people.

My studio was once a lovely sun room.  It was my refuge, a "room of my own", where I could surround myself with my favorite things and indulge my obsession with Tiki.  The Christmas that my husband gave me my encaustic setup, I was so excited and couldn't wait to set it up.  I carved out a small corner by the window so I would have good ventilation and started to play.  
Well, a couple years later, I am completely hooked and my room has been transformed into a full time studio.

Just last week, I finally got around to moving out the remaining furniture and setting up some real work stations using tables that I was hanging onto (our old kitchen table and one from our photo studio).  I have been using folding tables to lay things out and plastic storage bins - not the most attractive, but someday I'll invest in esthetically pleasing cabinets.  The most important thing is that it is now a functioning space.  I no longer have to walk around the house mumbling to myself about where I left my scissors or ruler or...

I loved my old sun room and it was a lovely place to spend time, but I spend even more time in my studio and it's value is immeasurable.