Monday, June 02, 2003

Nest This morning before I started reorganizing the Nest, I took some "before" photos. The "Nest" is my 8x10' "clean studio" - an insulated, sheetrocked, vinyl floored, heated, air conditioned corner of my 24x32' blacksmithing studio. I use it now for drawing, molding paper, designing, making models for sculptures, painting, and varnishing. It also has files, but last summer I moved the office up to a corner of the cabin, so the only notebooks and files left in the Nest are for artmaking reference. However, it has been gradually getting a bit crowded. Here's one corner of the room. You see that the fliptop boxes do stack nicely:  The white light is aimed at the drawing board, which is also covered with stuff at the moment. Here's the opposite side of the room:  The round plywood will go in the big studio, but I put it in here to paint. It's on a card table along with some shopping bags of small plastic boxes for hardware. You can tell in this photo that the ceiling is quite high, giving me storage high up on each wall. Once I clear some of these things out and make space here again, it will be a very pleasant place to work. Both windows look out into woods - one to the south, one to the west. When I add onto the room, I'll expand through the sliding glass doors to the south. Now, this evening, the stacks are already much smaller. I was surprised at how many boxes were devoted to materials and tools for making models - little maquettes for larger bowl sculptures. I have two sizes of tiny paper bowls, lots of aluminum wire, polymer clay, hot glue, etc. I guess there's no point in asking a collage artist to get rid of very much. Tonight I got some more big boxes so I can clear out some more in the morning. It's getting to be fun. After all, I'm rich in supplies - and I even know where some things are. 10:26:55 PM    comment []

Space and riches Today I started clearing out the storage areas in the blacksmithing studio, so I can move some art supplies out from the Nest (the 8x10 "clean studio.") I made a lot of headway. Discovered some things I thought I'd already given away! Obviously I can get rid of them now. When I reorganize my stuff, I usually discover some things about my current direction. This time, I started out with the idea of putting things within fairly easy reach (even though a ladder might be needed) if I'll use them by the end of this year. I put all the glass fusing and slumping stuff way back in a high out of the way spot, so that tells me I'm not doing anything with glass this year. I do want a glass studio, but this isn't the year for it. Tomorrow I'll be able to start moving some things out of the Nest. Last week I discovered that I can fit six of my favorite flip-top boxes (by Sterilite, #1775, about 8x13x5") into one large Sterilite storage box. The big boxes seem to be on sale right now, too. I have several tall stacks of flip-top boxes that I can pack into the larger boxes and move out to the studio. The large boxes will keep the flip-top boxes relatively clean. If necessary I can add a bag or two of dry silica gel to each big box. Silica gel has worked well for me over the years, enabling me to store papers and other things in humid summer weather without mildew or mold. My idea is to keep in the Nest just the things that would certainly be ruined if stored in the more hot and humid and dirty studio - and the things I'm using during any one week. Right now my impetus is to get a lot of iron painted, so I need drying space in the Nest. Actually, as it is, I don't even have painting space! Maybe I'll take a photo or two of the Nest as it is now, just as a humorous "before" picture. It's great to be so rich in supplies, though. When I first had my blacksmithing studio built, I had almost no tools or supplies - not a single workbench - and lots and lots of empty space! Now the studio has become - ahem - a "mature" space. Crammed! I'd rather have my current problem than go back to the empty space. Photo(s) tomorrow.... 12:04:30 AM    comment []