Discoveries

I've been on a massive purge of my studio...and it's amazing what I have unearthed...

For those of you familiar with me and my home, you know I have a massive stack of suitcases...
I discovered that I have a fetish for metal boxes since I've gathered together quite a collection while cleaning up...

They certainly take up less room than suitcases...

my word for the year

Throughout the holiday season, I was constantly at work on projects...on my dining room table.  Whenever we wanted to eat at the table (thanksgiving dinner for example) I needed to clear everything off...only to resume my work a day or so later...thank god the Southern Man is understanding...

For those of you who have no other area for creativity, this is likely a common scenario...but for me...I have three other areas designated as work areas...my office with a small table, my workshop studio where I hold classes and my basement studio space.  Other than the fact that my workshop studio has no heat (and thus a little chilly during the winter) I really have no excuse to be commandeering the dining room table for my projects.

I seem to be in a perpetual state of cleaning up my spaces...but never seem to make much progress...this time I decided to dig in deep and vowed that I will get my basement studio space into a manageable condition...

I've started with the west wall of the studio, lined with shelves...I pulled out everything and cast a critical eye...

I'm assuming that I had some project in mind...but really...this many vintage graters...

You know I have a soft spot for well loved metal...but its time to let it go...the flat graters have been slated for a future art party project (and put into a bin designated appropriately), the others into the box for giveaway.

More scrounging abounds...I find a horde of drawing circle compasses...yes, one is insignificant, more than one makes a statement...but this many is overkill...and this doesn't include the three I found after I took this photo...

True, one of these would be a lovely addition to a future mixed media collage...a couple of them are rather unique...but its exactly that kind of rationalization that has led to this overpopulation.

Which leads me to my word for the year...rather than a list of resolutions, I have found it helpful to have a word on which to focus...to guide my actions throughout the year...some years, its been difficult for me to pinpoint the exact word to describe what I want to achieve...this year, it hit me square in the face about a month ago...

I am overwhelmed...not just with a physical amount of extraneous stuff...but also with overly involved art techniques...and for that matter, complicated procedures in many areas of my life...

I want to take this tangled mess of materials, methods and madness and pare it down...

Now, believe me, this doesn't mean that I'll be living in a naked house with white walls decorated with one single feather...but I'm hoping...no, I am confident...that by the end of the year (if not sooner) I'll be able to work peacefully on my art...and eat at my dining room table any time I want...

Do you have a word for the year? I'd love to hear what it is...
and if you have a compelling story behind your word, maybe I'll send you one of my compasses...

the details of design

First of all - thanks for all the great feedback I've received on my workshop studio!  It has been quite the labor of love and I'm thrilled with how it turned out...and can't wait for the art parties to begin (mmm...have you signed up yet...what are you waiting for?!  details HERE)

The best part of this project was using materials I had at hand or if needed, able purchase economically...my largest expense were the IKEA tables and chairs (2 tables and 8 chairs for less than $200...the chairs stack and the legs twist off from the table tops so both can moved when needed)

Many of the ideas in my workshop space are easy to replicate and I wanted to share the details with you...adapt as you want for your own use...if you can't make it to a workshop, I hope I can inspire you from afar...




Overall, two of my favorite words for this undertaking - conduit pipe!  

I knew that I would need to partition a section on each end of the room to have an area for storage...I have no garage so this basement has to store the lawnmower and garden tools as well as the Southern Man's bicycle.  I figured that I would hang a partition made from canvas drop cloths across the width of each end.  A curtain rod to cover this distance would easily cost $60... using two pieces of half-inch conduit pipe with a connector cost me a total of $3.75. Since the 9' x 12' drop cloths were already finished on all four sides, all I had to do was hem them to the length I needed; metal curtain rings clipped to the top required no sewing...slipped the rings onto the conduit pipe, secured the pipe to the ceiling at 4 locations using galvanized pipe brackets and it was done...

With the pipe I had leftover, I cut individual pieces to fit (with a pipe cutter - simple tool that is easy to use in cutting lightweight pipe) between two of the studs on the supply wall...each piece of pipe is held up by a large nail on each end that runs through the stud and into the pipe...

On one of the pipes I have rolls of tape and admission tickets; on the rest of the pipes I have tin cans hanging from S-hooks to organize supplies.  I love tin cans for organizing art supplies and tools - great patina, variety of sizes, and free - what's not to love!  A hole punched at the top (using a metal hole punch leaves a clean edge) enabled me to either hang from a hook or, in the case of the large cans, attach directly to the wall with a large nail.

With my power drill, I made two holes at each end of 5 vintage bread pans (picked up for 50 cents at an estate sale, grand total of $2.50) and then screwed each pan onto the wall for additional supply storage...

















Right next to the bread pans are my paint can covers, which are now mini-message boards...and then the door stops that are now coat hooks...and three well-loved paint brushes that I thought were a fun accent to complement the can covers...

Along the other wall of the studio, there's a couple of unique display ideas...using a combination of quality wood frames I already owned paired with a few quirky metal accents make up this gallery display...a vintage skirt hanger makes changing out the art print a snap while a single rusty nail and a length of jute twine lets the wishbone show off its simple elegance...

Lighting for the space was a challenge...in terms of need and expense...while I primarily concentrated on lighting for the work tables, I found that there were dark spaces that prevailed even after I hung three 200 watt warehouse pendants.  I love the look of the current trend of bare edison bulbs hanging haphazardly in a space...but the initial lights I found were $40 (and others I found were more expensive...)  My solution...I removed the metal shade and clamp mechanism from an $8 work lamp...added an vintage-style bulb ($7 - when you get a real "edison" bulb, the price goes up) and draped the fixture over one of the ceiling rafters...a metal cage picked up for $3 at an antique show is the extra bling...

And lastly...a few ideas from my welcome table...the wire stand from a metal cone food mill is the perfect pedestal for a stack of dessert plates...while an old metal brush holds an art photo...

Other ideas that you might have gleaned from the overall photos in my Reveal post...baby crib mattress springs offer visual interest behind hanging artwork...old metal waste paper baskets hold wallpaper rolls, galvanized metal panels covered with vintage book pages disguise the opening for the furnace...and oh yes, those polka dotted boxes...that's my IKEA hack...details in my next post...

joining the Junk Party over at Funky Junk Interiors where there's a theme of salvaged workshop spaces...

The Reveal

Since the end of January, I've been busy...absorbed...almost consumed...with turning my dark and dreary daylight basement into a new workshop studio...a separate space from my personal home studio...where I"ll be hosting art parties...creative classes open to the public...

If you've been following, you know that there have been glimpses and sneak peeks as I made my progress...with an armload of leftover lumber and a couple of cans of white paint...mixed with a little ingenuity and inspired recycling, 
I was determined to change the space from frump to fab...finally...the reveal...

As you enter the studio, there's a spot to greet you...and offer you food and drink...

Shelves are stacked with old books, atlases, almanacs, musical scores, encyclopedias as well as art papers organized by color...all of it, collage fodder...

Supplies and tools line this wall...with a smattering of personal artwork...and a large size chalkboard...
ready for instantaneous exclamations...

My old worktable, refreshed with a coat of white paint, is now a work station...

Next up...some of the details and upcycling tips...which you could easily use in your own space...

Excited now about my Art Parties...get all the info HERE...


sharing the junk love over at Knick of Time Vintage Inspiration party...and Funky Junk Interiors Party Junk...
what's not to love about vintage...and junk!
and finally...with Knick of Time Vintage Inspiration Party.and Funky Junk Interiors Party..where you share your best project of 2014...this is definitely it!

From my studio to yours...

The start of a new year is always filled with the best of intentions...and organizing seems to top the list...

I think every year that I'm going to do a better job on organizing my studio space...
well, I actually made some progress and its not even the end of January!

Being a collage artist means that I collect a little bit of a lot of different things...and I have come to the realization that there is more here than I will ever need...so why not share the wealth...

I decided that I would create packets of all this flotsam and jetsam...and offer Multi Media Medley Boxes (or 3M Boxes for short) for sale at my etsy shop, fourcornersdesign

























The sorting begins...I decided that organizing by color would be most effective...


The set-up...

The first steps...

After compiling quite a mountain of supplies, it occurred to me that this would never fit in an envelope or cellophane sleeve...boxes would be needed...several boxes in fact...I'm so happy that there's a restaurant supply store in my town...kraft cardboard take-out boxes were the ideal solution...










I began packing...a little fabric, some twine, vintage buttons, pages from old books, snips of old wallpaper, ticket stubs, game pieces...whatever caught my eye...each box weighing at least 8 ounces (that's half a pound of stuff!) 

sealed up in colored tissue...with a label providing the incentive..."begin"

wrapped up in decorative ribbon with a signature tag...

you'll find 18 individual boxes for sale over at my etsy shop...

from my studio to yours...sent with creative mojo!

Garden delight

Last week I went on a cleaning rampage...in preparation for my weekend yard sale, I was busy pulling out everything that was old/tired/no longer used...and that extended to the outside as well as the inside...

The cobalt blue metal industrial cart that I had been using as a garden gathering spot had rusted through...and the top shelf was no longer strong enough to hold any thing of substantive weight...so out it went...but what to put in its place...

As you well know, I wasn't going to purchase anything...instead I looked around the yard, the basement, the studio...

and success!

 

The foundation of the display is a heavy industrial steel frame on huge metal casters...picked up for free...its going to be a future coffee table/ottoman...
on top are some whitewashed boards...with my 75cent schoolroom chair, keeping my watering can close at hand...a metal grid container laid on its side corrals a couple of pots down below and my bucket of garden tools on top...
I found these charming plastic birds at an estate sale years ago...they might have been in the free pile since they have their share of nicks and breaks...but I love their expressions...

As I was gathering up materials, I realized that I had quite the collection of rake heads...an "art installation" seemed appropriate...

The June weather here in the Northwest has been phenomenal...June is usually so cold and wet...this year there's been plenty of sun...the flowers are going crazy...

and now I have a new spot in the garden...that gives me such delight...

edited with three layers of kk texture 1402

linking up to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday...
always a delight to see what others have to share...