Saturday, October 3, 2009

Open Studios virtual tour










So here's my space. As you can see, it's not very fancy. I share the room with the furnace, the hot water tank, the built-in vacuum, and our freezer. In an ideal world, I'd have painted the walls a soft turquoise, and there would be built-in cabinets instead of the random shelving that I've got. There would also be big windows - not one tiny little north-facing one that's half covered by the porch stairs outside... Ah, well. 

I do a lot of sewing, as well as knitting and paper art, so I've tried to divide the room up accordingly, but there is some overlap.

On the left-hand side of the room (facing in from the hallway) I have a small desk that I use for painting and mixed media art. I keep my paints and assorted goodies in the rolling stacked bins under the desk, and there are more paints and brushes and stamps and things in the shelves above it. As you can see, a lot of my fabric has migrated across to that side of the room as well... there's just not room for it on the other side! Also, I keep bins of fabric scraps and works-in-progress in the little closet-y area that also holds the vacuum canister. As you can imagine, it's a real pain to empty out that space when it comes time to dump out the vacuum! 

The other side of the room is where I do my sewing. My cutting table is tucked into the IKEA shelving unit, but can be pulled out if I need to use the entire space. The bins above the table hold my cutting tools (out of reach of the 4-yr-old), buttons, zippers, purse hardware, and other necessities. My larger pieces of fabric are kept in the big shelf unit beside the sewing machine. I like having them where I can see them - I tend to forget about things that are put away! Above the sewing machine are my boxes of yarn, sorted by weight. You can catch a glimpse, behind the sewing machine area, of my pride and joy of the summer... my pantry. It's tucked away under the stairs, along with all of our christmas things.

Signing up for this virtual tour was a real kick in the pants for me - getting the room organized and cleaned. I'm a messy worker, and I don't really like putting things away. One benefit, though, was finding out that I have two copies of the book Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin. If you'd like to have a copy, leave a comment saying so, and I'll draw a name in a few days.


30 comments:

  1. Wendy, enjoyed your studio tour because it is a real persons studio. Mine was remade out of a basement room but I did manage to have the walls done BEFORE I got the idea to move the studio there...otherwise I would have plasterboard with primer!
    Your space is used well, and I enjoyed peering about at the pictures, seeing what litle treasures were stored!
    thanks for putting the pics up!

    Anne

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  2. I appreciate so much your willingness to share your studio, Wendy. My own was once in the basement laundry room -- it was the only available spot in the entire house! I am enjoying the Studio magazine Open Studio Tour today -- and I'm participating too. I noticed your bio where you comment on living on the "wet coast" of Canada. For a number of years, my DH and I lived on the Wet Coast of Oregon. Have a great day with lots of visitors!

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  3. I'm so glad you're participating in the tour.... I've enjoyed viewing your work space as well as your recent blog posts. The school messenger bag for sure caught my attention ~ how creative is that?! Well done!

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  4. I am jealous of your SPACE! My room is just tiny and overflowing. I'm thinking of moving to the basement as well - as soon as WWIII doesn't break out just cause I'm not in sight!

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  5. Oh good -- I'm not the only one who doesn't have coordinating stuff or a theme. :-)

    You've used your space well, and I like how you've carved out different stations for different kinds of work.

    Thanks for sharing your space.

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  6. i so loved the tour of your creative space...please come see mine when you have a chance...i am having a giveaway..great works spring forth from here...i don't have that book so cunt me in...hugs, rebecca

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  7. Hi Wendy. I really like that your studio has so much space. I wouldn't have figured out from the pictures that it is a basement without you saying so. It seems to be so open. I already have the book - so don't put me in the drawing. I just wanted to leave a comment letting you know I like your space and appreciate you sharing it!

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  8. I am jealous of your space also! I didn't include on my tour that my sewing space is in my bedroom, all my yarn is in boxes in the garage and my fabric stash is in my bedroom closet!

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  9. I think your space is wonderful. So well organized and roomy - you can add more stuff!!

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  10. Thanks for your comment and popping into my blog. I'm so with you there... I too like to have things out and tend to forget about them when put away.. At some stage when fabric takes over and there is no space to sleep (my corner is in the bedroom) I have to have a clearup lol! That book looks like a very interesting one. I have never dared doing trading cards but always wanted to..

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  11. Thanks for sharing your wonderful, spacious studio! I already have a copy of the book, but got a kick out of your finding two. When we were moving into my studio area, I found two copies of a couple of books also, and beyond that, two copies of another book, both checked out from different libraries (but thankfully, not lost or overdue!)

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  12. even though not minimalist, your studio space looks like there's a home for everything, and very effective work space. I really like the stools you use for sitting on rather than a big clunk office chair... may need to explore switching that feature of my space...

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  13. See Wendy I think of all the lovely space that you have with a basement studio. That's excellent! Plus you have room to leave your ironing board out all the time.

    Oh, if you're jonesing for another window I saw an idea that another basement studio artist had. She got a large picture frame of her favorite outdoor scene and put a light behind it - turning it into a light box. I thought it was a pretty cool ting to do.

    Thanks so much for inviting us into your space and thanks for visiting mine. I already have a copy of the ATC Workshop book but I too have "discovered" duplicate art books and magazines. At least I know that my tastes are consistent. LOL Cheers!

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  14. Thanks for the tour! You're very well organized! Isn't IKEA shelving great? I'm glad I dragged mine around with every move as it has been so flexible.

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  15. I love your studio... I can tell you get lots accomplished. I too am a messy person... yay for messy people!
    Please drop my name in for the book draw... I'm in the middle of making art cards for a quilt retreat I am attending at the end of October. Thanks for sharing your studio

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  16. This is pretty much exactly what my workspace looked like a couple of years ago,,,thank you so much for sharing it. I love all your matching boxes on the upper shelf...it's given me an idea for storage in our furnace room (where I also have some crafting 'stuff' stored). Thanks!
    Oh, and I'd love to be entered for the draw. I have tons of books, but don't happen to have that one (and I'm awfully glad I'm not the only one that buys two copies of things!!).
    Cheers
    Mary Anne

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  17. Thank for visitng my studio Wendy, and for your comment. I loved your 'proper, working' studio - where WOULD we be without Ikea, eh? It's good to know that other people do that "doubling up of books" thing - I have two copies of Cover to Cover by Shereen La Plantz. If you haven't got it - maybe we could swap! Thanks for inviting me over to yours x

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  18. Your space might not be as ideal as you would like but to me it looks like heaven. I would love a room that is my own where I could spread out and create. My workspace is the dining room and if I get messy then the mess is smack dab in the middle of the house. Thanks for sharing your space. It looks wonderful!

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  19. But...you've got so much room to move, and a lot of storage area and sooooo much potential Wendy. :) I've enjoyed the tour of your great studio. Thanks for visiting mine. :)

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  20. Wendy, I think you've made great use of the space you have! And please put my name in the draw for the book

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  21. Thanks for visiting my studio, wendy...I envy you all the space you have and I'd love to be part of the draw for the book...

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  22. I am also envious of all the space! I love the messenger bag you made. It looks like one you'd buy in the store. Hope the sun peaks out for you tomorrow and of course, I'd love to be in the drawing for the book. Cheers.

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  23. Wendy,
    Thanks for sharing your space! It was fun to look at the way you organized it.
    Shulamit (Quilts from Canaan)

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  24. Your space looks wonderfully utilized with lots of upwards stacking. I'm glad I'm not the only one who was motivated to clean because of the virtual tour! happy creations from tj in germany

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  25. Nice space Wendy, some sort of organization is almost a must these days because we all seem to crossover to other mediums in our work.

    BTW, love your "about me" bio and your blog...I just HAD to add it to my already bulging blog feed. Oh well.

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  26. Hi Wendy! Thanks for sharing your Studio...even you have to share it with the water tank and other stuff....at least you have a space for a Studio, which is already a great thing....so enjoy it creating in your Studio!
    Smiles, Anke ;)

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  27. Your studio reminds me of when mine was out in the garage. Eventually I was able to move into the house proper, and my studio walls are painted a very pale turquoise. And hey, I live on the wet coast of the US! Nice to meet you :- )

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  28. You create space in a similar manner as I do. I would feel quite at home in your space. It is well organized and ready for a creative hurricane. I would love a copy of that books and invite you to participate in my give away too, check out my blog.

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  29. Wendy - Thanks so much for posting the photos of your studio - I too work in a basement studio in need of windows and a good coat of paint, and I really liked the idea of the file boxes up high on the shelves -- I'm going to have to look into adding that! I don't have a copy of the ATC workshop book, so please include me in the drawing for your book giveaway. Thanks again for your post! -- Michelle

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  30. A great studio...working studio... and I enjoyed my visit. My studio isn't nice and neat but I know where everything is and can put my hands on it...in a while -smile-.

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