To be completely honest my ability to maintain a tidy workspace has never been a strength of mine. I take a "mad scientist" approach to my creative/artistic part of life. For me this is where I can let all the rules slip away and go crazy. This has been therapeutic but this approach combined with husband and children encroaching on my space has thrown my studio into complete chaos. On top of that is located in the basement not the most cheerful of locations which can get more depressing especially sincea few light bulbs just burnt out down there.
No more procrastinating, it is going to happen! One of the biggest challenges is break the daunting task into parts.
Here is my advice to myself. ( It is yet to be seen whether I am going to take it).
- Make a list and a plan of attack to help you focus. Set small goals so that you can see progress and you don't get discouraged and give up. Good advice for one who often tasks a tornado approach to tidying up.
- Lighting - Make sure your workspace is well light. This is obvious as you need to see your work but bears repeating especially if your studio is in a basement or a dark area without windows. Lighting is key. Also consider things that may make the place seem less like a "dungeon" such as a plant or photos. I better get light bulbs replaced.
- Play some upbeat music. Music heals the sole and can inspire. Sometimes it can get you moving so you clean faster.
- Take breaks. Make sure your break involves leaving your space and doing something completely different. Although I am not always good at this piece of advice in the past, (I often put my head down and try and run a marathon clean up session - which always leads to me crashing). When I "behave", I try and make sure I leave my house and get a complete change of scenery to help recharge my energy..
- Consider getting rid of stuff you are not using. Oh my, did I just say that. I don't think I am the only one who holds on to things just in case it will be useful. I have managed to make significant changes in this area in my day to day life but when it comes to my metal clay and my creative part of my life, I have so many things that I am holding on too. Time to purge and pass on. This one is going to be hard. I will have to start a give away box and pass the on to my Metal Clay Group and friends who may be able repurpose some of these items.
- Don't get mad if it the task is complete as fast as you want it. I liken this to loosing weight - it takes a while to gain weight and it will take a while to take it off. We rarely get to where we want to be as fast as we want. Be patient and keep at it.
- Mixed-Media Jewelry Artists: Sneaking a Peek at their Studio Spaces by Tammy Jones- inspirations abound
- Your Bead Studio and Work Area- not metal clay specific but has useful tips none-the-less
- Jewelry Studio Organization Tips by Tammy Powley - this is quite a detailed About.com article that has some great ideas
- 7 Tips to Clean up Your Art Act by Karen Maraney - this one is not directly about studios but there are good tips too.
No comments:
Post a Comment