Bonus Post - Studio shots from Janna and GraceH

Janna sent photos of her studio. Lots of nice light. She has a new light pad that she is enjoying. That looks like a serious magnifying glass headset.

Below is Grace's photo of her studio. It looks like it's closed for the season. Maybe we will get a peek inside when the snow melts.

Bonus Post - Alyce's Studio

Whaaaaa?

Alyce sent 3 photos and I had to decide what order to post them. This is her new space in her new house and clearly she has not moved in.

I read her message before I looked at her photos and she explained that because she feels she is more of a craftsman than an artist she does not refer to her space as a studio - rather she calls it her playroom and even has a sign that someone made for her. I'm pretty sure that craftsmen still call their workspaces studios - but I can also see how studio does sound a little more artsy. Workshop is probably more crafty - but workshop doesn't sound right for paper/pen/marker work.

I never quibble with people over which label they prefer. Artist, player, maker, craftsman, putterer, whatever. The important part is to boldly take up as much room as you like and spend time doing things that you enjoy.

Here is Alyce's current space in all its glory. Yowza.

Really well organized. Thanks for sending -- hoping more readers send photos.

Daily post is right below. Right after her door sign.

Bonus Post Smash-girl's Studio

Sue Mashman, AKA Smash-girl, sent photos of her work space. Neatly organized and the view out the window is very nice.

Don't miss the gian nib that is hanging on the wall between the two windows. The high ceiling is nice, too. I'm guessing she has a mini step ladder somewhere to reach the top shelves.

Thanks for sending.

I have another set of photos to share - still hoping that
 *everyone* sends a photo of their workspace.

Today's regular post is right below.

From Joy in July + CarrollD's Desk

I examined this one carefully and deduced that she had printed off a template for an envelope so the black lines are not hand done but the color is and then she layered some sheer white over the area where the address is written. It coordinates nicely with the stamp - both color and style. The added color looks a bit like watercolor but it also looks like colored pencil or crayon, so it might be something like watercolor pencils. Nice effects.



So far - just one more photo of a desk. This is CarrollD's - and I suspect this is just a portion of her studio space. There is no chair. She probably just pulled it out of the way. Everything is neatly organized. I hope we get a few more people sending in photos of their work spaces.

Jan PTEX from Maggie (Bonus post)

I just finished posting all the mail I received in January. They will appear in April. I needed to group nearly 30 envelopes into 15 days. Being compulsive, it bothered me that the last two did not have anything in common, so Maggie gets bumped forward.

I love this little drawing and the script and the way Kate is gazing at the moon. The only thing that would have made it better was for the PO to skip the cancel. I had so many that arrived cancel-free in January.

The regular post below is a hodge podge of images I discovered and I can't figure out if they are repeats or not. So by posting this, I know there is at least one new envelope today.

Here is a picture of Maggie's desk. I think everyone should send me a picture of their work space. She says there is a big mess to the left. I think people should include pictures of the messes, too.

Studio Tour - Bonus post - Regular post below

Because more than 2 people sent emails commenting on how my marker storage post gives the impression that I am sooo tidy, I am going to share a real world peek into the stuio. This is the mess I left last night after a day of working on a total of three wildly different jobs -plus- I rewarded myself by taking time to get back into shooting videos which may lead to tutorials. Wow. I have my own YouTube channel.

Plus, if I ever have to move - I will be happy to have a visual reminder of this faux-studio. I'm sad that I have only a couple photos of my actual dream studio from the good old days.

Overview - and shout out to the person who suggested that I commandeer a spare bedroom. This is it. A whopping 10 ft x 8 ft. 80 square feet. the dream studio was 1500 square feet. What is that - 5% of what I used to have.

That is a twin bed to the right. There is a three foot space down the middle. and a three foot space along the wall (to the left) with the tabouret just barely peeking in behind the doorway. I am my 6-drawer unit of markers and pens a tabouret. And now I am crazy-disturbed. Whatever happened to my official tabouret. I had a really nice one. Dang. This is going to really bother me.

The tabouret in the middle of the 3 foot path to the closet.

It's handy to roll the tabouret over to the desk.

The tabouret will fit in the closet if I need space for visitors. I can fit chairs for one or two people in that space.  More people could join us if they want to pile on the bed, but that has never happened and the thought alarms me.

To the right of the desk are two filing cabinets, a printer/scanner and the official tub of files that are current jobs. Right now, there is a stack of envelopes waiting for the list to arrive. All of my stamps are in the smaller top drawer on the left cabinet.

That is one crazy messy desk. I keep the cutting board on the desk and my actual work space is not much larger than a sheet of paper. It's crazy to have such a small work space - but I have adjusted to the situation and it should inspire anyone who thinks they need more space to realize that you can adapt to just about anything. I put that bridge on the desk out of desperation to get the computer up and off the work space. It was a leftover from another desk. Then I added a shelf across the top of the bridge to make room for that large TV that I inherited from my mom. I figured it would be fun to have a TV in my studio. It's pretty luxurious to just flop onto the bed and turn on Netflix when I am too lazy to drag myself to another room. It is sort of a Rube Goldberg desk. Speaking of Rube Goldberg's senile aunt, is anyone wondering why there is a bottle of mustard sitting on top of an iPhone?

This is my setup for making videos. Before I added that shelf, and had just the bridge, I did not have that mini-ledge to contend with. The mini-ledge is now my OCD place for storing only those tools that have earned the privilege of living on the desk full time and are not confined to lids or drawers. Prior to the "pencil tray" I could just place the iPhone on the edge of the bridge - with the lens hanging over the edge -  and it would stay there. Yesterday was my first time making videos since the additions of the pencil tray and I had to find a weight to hold the iPhone on the pencil tray/ledge. Rummage through the kitchen. Find mustard. Note-to-self: we do not eat that much mustard. Replace it with something smaller. Mr. Wilson must have purchased that bottle. All kinds of strange things are showing up now that he is semi-retired and learned where the grocery store is. There will be a new blog with the weekly story of what shows up. BigHelpfulBrother (or any other reader) may offer me other ideas for an aesthetically pleasing weight. A brick would be too heavy. Maybe a can of Spam. It can't be round. Maybe a tin of pennies. There will be a prize for the best idea.  Don't get excited. The prize will be an envelope.

A detail to show what a slob I can be. Those crumbs of dried ink that fell off when I opened the ink should have been cleaned up right away. They were the first job of the day and are right next to the actual writing zone. Only an idiot would leave them there all day. And now it is the next day and they are still there. How many people have spotted the bottle of Windex that is always within reaching distance. Honestly. I am embarrassed.  Embarrassed about the ink flakes. Not embarrassed about the Windex. 

Just more clutter.

Right behind this cup of colored pencils is that pile of ink flakes. The end of the desk has other important stuff that I can reach without getting out of my chair. There is something to be said for this step-saver studio. 

There is my best friend. I must be related to the dad in the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

On days that I actually work, the bed looks like this. Sometimes there are stacks on the floor. The floor is a storage unit - a very short one. Noticing the lids, I looked around to see how many lids were out at one time.

Five or six lids today. That is probably an average amount.

A Taco John bag that I might send to Eric in France. I am so excited about the black item. I've struggled with having a pocket sized purse and finally took a piece of leather and folded it in half and stitched the ends on the machine. It is beyond perfect. I can't begin to tell you how much it has enhanced my life. Previously I used a broccoli band and that was a disaster. All I need are a few cards and some cash.

This is a bit out of order - it's the space where visitors may be seated. I have to bring chairs from other rooms. Those two prints belong to Skip. The white part is a reflection from the window. He bought them in high school and since this was his room, I painted it to match the top print. The name of the color is Saffron. I was never a big fan of orange - but I must say - this room has been one of my favorites and I learned to love orange. It was the only color that was on my don't-care-for list. I feel so much better that I am now fond of all colors. Although - a lot of it depends on what is next to them. You can poison a color by surrounding it with an enemy-color. Although ---you can force them to be friends if you introduce the right third-party. But, that is another topic. I'm curious if there are any two colors that could never, ever, ever, work together - even with a correct third-party. 

At the head of the bed is a drawing done by Hunter in elementary school. I cut it out and put it on the neutral background. It is a favorite because the assignment was to fill the turkey with the letters in your name. I am assuming that was assigned. I should ask him. Maybe it was his own idea. I doubt it. But if it was - he just knocked my socks off.

At the end of the tour, I realized I had not includes a photo of the south wall and it would give another perspective on how tiny my space is. The mirror helps to visually expand the room. It would have been cool to have it cover the entire wall - but not practical or even safe considering I had it installed while the kids were still young enough that they were throwing things from time to time - and one kid had heaved a cast iron gumball machine at the door to that room. Technically, he was heaving it at his sister, but she had the presence of mind to close the door when she saw it coming. And - yes, we took that incident seriously and yes, they do have anger management lessons for little boys. Although they call it poor impulse control. Anyhow, I stayed in the closet while taking the picture because it is still pre-hair combing today. I won't look any different after I comb my hair - but I'm shy today. I'm pretty excited about doing my whole life's story to leave for my kids. It cracks me up that none of them are even aware that I talk about them. It's probably best that they are off doing their own thing.  At some point, there will be another post of the studio when it is tidy. Although, that sounds really boring.