Reorganization (Re)Discovery - Part I

Back in August, I rearranged my studio.  I hoped to add some new life to my workspace and I still love how I moved things around.  However, it wasn't enough.  I've been bitten by the spring cleaning bug and nothing is sacred.  A complete studio purge and reorganization is now in full-swing.

First I assembled a set of drawers I had purchased a while back and filled it with my paint supplies. I rolled the drawers over to my painting table (the table that used to have the girls' doll house atop it) and now all my painting supplies are close together and in easy reach.  For years I've either had to clear my sewing table of my machine and accoutrements to make room for painting or I used a counter top.  Neither option was great because I couldn't let things sit; I had to clean things up before I moved on to the next step.  That can really affect your mojo.  But I'm positively thrilled to have a table that's now dedicated to messy work. I'll have to be careful -- the table is just outside my studio and sits on carpeting so I cannot spill nor can I have children (or dogs) knock things over -- but that's a small price to pay to have a second work table.

My painting station,  with a table and drawers filled with supplies.  Here's hoping no one wants to access the toy chest beneath the table too often. 

The top of the drawers keeps everything in easy reach.

I don't know why, but I love the can that I use to hold my paint brushes.

Next, I started to clean out my shelves and drawers.  It quickly became clear that I've accumulated reams of papers over the years: articles, instructions, inspirations, and so on.  What also became clear is that I used to sketch.

Wait -- what?

In recent years, I've held firmly to the notion that I can't and, therefore, don't sketch out my ideas.  I've resorted to jotting down thoughts and questions to help clarify what I want to do.  But as I cleaned, I (re)discovered some of my sketches from years ago.  I'd completely forgotten that I used to take the time to draw things out before I started.  The sketches stopped me in my tracks because it ruffled my image of myself.

I've tossed most of the pages because the ideas they represent no longer interest me, but I've also kept a few of them to remind myself of what I once could do and might be able to do again if I wanted to.  I've also placed my sketchbook close to my sewing table as a reminder of the possibility.  

I remember sketching this pine cone for a tree series I was making for my first art quilt class. 

I drew this eight years ago based on a photograph I took on vacation of a Native American mother and child.  I remember that I hoped to create shapes I could use as a pattern for fusing.  With modifications, I may return to this; it might be interesting to work on this kind of abstraction with my photos.  

This purge is getting fun.