Peek into my Studio

I thought I would share a few photos of my studio. I am enjoying the space I have now even though it is a smaller space than I had in Tulsa. The nine foot ceilings with the large windows are very nice and I have lots of natural light. The color of the room with the white trim is such a nice color for my collection of calligraphy brushes.  I used the existing small nail holes on the window trim to hang small canvas collages that I made.  I enjoy music when creating art and the only place for my boom box was on the top of the drawers.

The tag book is my "sample" of the techniques from taking the online Tim Holtz's Chemistry 101 class.  The "dream" tag was one I had made a few years ago and it continues to inspire me.  And all the beads came from an event that my husband and I attended in Shreveport, LA a few years ago....bet you can guess the party theme!

I use an ornate Christmas wreath hanger for over the door to hang the jewelry bag on.  Both the hanger and jewelry bag are from Tuesday Morning.  It serves a useful purpose for my embellishments with an  "easy to see" which translates to "easy to remember" to use. 

Both sets of drawers were purchased from Ikea.  I purchased the last set of black drawers from the Ikea stock pile and wasn't willing to wait for another shipment.  I originally wanted both sets of drawers to be like a checker board....an Alice in Wonderland kind of thing.  The drawers are perfect for my rubber stamp collection.

Judi's mail art piece was promptly hung on studio wall...it's so very cool.  I have a thing for antique jars, boxes and tins to store all the "necessary" things one needs.

The orange table was a dumpster dive find a few years ago.  It came from a church preschool room with short legs...perfect for my upholstery work....not so much for my art table.  So I cut the legs off and replaced them with red metal legs from the Ikea store for a total of $12!  The table has lots of layers of paint so it looks very distressed.....love it.  This is the first studio space I have had where I have hung artwork on the wall from friends and a few pieces of my own work.  It has made an immense difference for me to have pieces that I enjoy in full view as it gives me lots of joy.

Behind the door is a great built in.  The storage is perfect for me.

As you can see, I have use of every square inch!

The bookcases are on loan to me from my daughter Kimberly who purchased from a bookstore going out of business.  I especially like them because the wood is a hard maple with adjustable shelves and open at the top.  That allows me to place my suitcases and other artwork on the very top shelves. 

I did not have room for all of my art books.....so I went through my collection and only kept the ones that I just couldn't part with.  I sold about 80 art books to the local Half Price Book store.  I was able to negotiate a better price than usual because they were in pristine condition and easy for them to sell.  So a bit of cash in my pocket and lots more room made me happy.  You can only store books in an attic for so long before they are no good....better to go to someone who can use them now.

If you are reading this Chris....your postcard is displayed in front of the antique train case.....and thank you again!