Tuesday, February 26, 2013

You're Crowding Me!

Things are feeling rather crowded at Nestle and Soar today. A huge mess is developing!



When large shipments of raw materials arrive, I always have the need to spread it all out and survey the bounty! It's supposed to snow here in Colorado again today, so staying in and sorting piles of wool and refurbished vintage frames is my plan for the morning.


It may be gray outside, but it is bright and cheery inside the studio. I suppose working with lots of red and orange helps!


I guess no one likes feeling crowded. These sweet birds are making me think spring...stay warm where you are!

Thanks for stopping by, Georgianne


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Storage, Organization and Color in my Fiber Art Studio

I had a big decision to make. I could embrace the chaos in my fiber art studio or I could tear it apart -- I could not see any middle ground. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all of the parts and pieces, tools and raw materials of your creative pursuits? When I am "in the zone" of fiber art design, the wool flies, let me tell you! Every horizontal surface is fair game and teetering piles of in-progress work abounds. This kind of chaos is very exciting! And then it happens. Usually about two weeks later, I enter the studio with my head filled with productive plans for the day, and I realize that the mess of that past creative session is now just an obstacle. Where are my scissors? Do I even have any oatmeal linen today? When are those orders due? Chaos is not always exciting.

The loving embrace of that post-design mess is over and I begin to dig out from under all of the colorful mess I've created. Today is redemption day! I can report that my organization skills, while not always on display, have served me well in the past week. Would any of these horizontal storage tricks help you with your creative space? My new creation, my work table skirt, has 24 pockets, perfect for keeping my colorful wool within easy view and reach, without using any horizontal work surface. My pillow trims are no longer thrown together in a spider-web like pile, with unknown lengths in jumbled colors. I can easily pull out the length I need of the just-right color. That's more satisfying that I should probably admit. And if you have already discovered how great it feels to have your shoes neatly contained in one of these lovely hanging closet organizers, feast your eyes on what they do for a rainbow of fiber. Having all my materials on organized display like this has sparked design ideas already.

So now I have another big decision to make. Do I enter my sparkling clean studio today and make another mess or do I just stand around and enjoy the view? I will go with the mess...right?

Thanks for stopping by, Georgianne