We'll I couldn't take it anymore. My tiny studio was looking and feeling like a bomb went off. It was time to do something about it!
Not only is my space so limited that I have to store overflow materials in the garage, (more notably in an unplugged freezer), but I had very little surface area on which to create. I typically am working on several projects at a time. YOu can imagine how cluttered this can get in a 10' x 10' room.
Also, I was getting Art Clay Silver remnants mixed together with my polymer clay work. It brought to mind the old (I'm dating myself here) Reese's Peanut Butter Cup campaign of the two people who bump into each other on the street and exclaim, "You got chocolate in my peanut butter...You got peanut butter on my chocolate!" In this case, the mixing of these two clays is not at all desirable.
The best thing about this project was the eking out of another tight area for a third workspace for metal clay. Unfortunately the only place left was against the bathroom door. A second entrance is less than five steps away, so I'm amazed the builder even considered adding this second entrance.
I worked hard to cull out items for donation, but working with mixed media means keeping lots of different categories of materials. The result is that I'm more consolidated than I have been for some time, but I also can't find a freaking thing! It will probably take me a few months to remember where I put many things in my new and improved (Ha!) organization system. It's occurred to me that if I stuck with production art in a single medium, life would be much easier. Having a low threshold of boredom, it's amazing I can limit myself to the mediums I currently work in.
It has become one of those be careful what you wished for scenarios, but in the long run, I know I'll be glad I did. If only I could knock out that wall where the window is to expand the extra 5 feet before hitting the pool heater. It doesn't sound like much, but 50% more room in this space would be heaven. See more pix in the Studio album.
