Saturday 23 January 2016

NEW STUDIO PICTURES ....

 
For a change this week I thought I'd show you my lovely new studio!  It's been a couple of months since we moved, and its taken a while to get it to this point, but its pretty much working as I want it to.  The space is a rectangular room about 16' x 9', overlooking the garden, and I opted for laminate floors as the most practical.

Above you can see my main working area - 3 Ikea tables in a U shape around the window.  I planned the whole room on graph paper, thinking always about wheelchair access.  In the floor space above my electric chair takes me easily to whichever "work" zone I want to be in.  The shallow drawers under the worktop hold my huge collection of wood mounted stamps.  I'd originally imagined that when we retired I'd have my studio all fitted out by a kitchen or bedroom supplier, but decided in the end to just add to what I already had.  That way I can spend the money I saved up for it on stuff to play with instead!!

When I'm making art I spend most of my time here in the window - on the desk is the Christmas memory album I've just finished, and to the left the journal I'm currently working in.  The sock monkey with the sparkly pink tutu was a Christmas present from my daughter, who made it for me (and yes she does take orders).  Lots of people comment on the words on the window and ask where they came from.  The answer is Starbucks!  This was one of their Christmas window stickers a couple of years ago, and I happened to be there when they were taking them down and asked if I could have it.  
Then if you turn to the right you can see all my punches mounted on Ikea Bygel rails, and a pile of magazines I've been given to cut up for collage fodder.  The birdcage is something I made years ago which still gives me pleasure.  I absolutely love the curtains, they're a fabric from Prestigious Textiles and I remade them to fit this space.  They make me smile every time I walk into the room.
Then below you can see why the iron is there, because this right side of the room is my sewing area.   I have a small tabletop ironing board I can use here, though it lives on the back of the door when its not needed.  Its great to have my machine permanently out and ready to go.  Before it had to live underneath the desk, and Himself had to lift it out for me every time I wanted to use it.
On the shelf above are my patterns and sewing bits and pieces,including jars of buttons, plus my (rarely used) Cricut cartridges, SU unmounted stamps and 3 new spiral bound journals just waiting for their turn ...
Moving across a little further right is more storage - not necessarily in the ideal places, but where I could make the units fit.  The trolley of shallow drawers holds my collage scraps, organised by colour or theme such as people or words. Its easy to grab the drawer I want and take it over to my workspace under the window.

Next to that is a re-purposed stereo unit into which my Really Useful 12 x 12 square boxes fit beautifully.  On top I keep my Big Shot, which gets used way more than the Cricut machine I have to haul out from under the desk.  I bought some stick on magnetic sheets for the wall and my small collection of flat dies is visible (or I forget what I have) and ready to hand.  I do have other thicker Sissix dies etc, and they live in the first box underneath.  To the right is a tall chest of drawers which holds all manner of stuff, in particular fabric.

Going back to the workdesk and turning left you get an even better view of Millicent the Monkey, and the fantastic ink pad storage rack my nephew made for me!  We bartered for it - he used his joinery skills to make this, and in return I made him a family history scrapbook album.  You can also just see my terrific anglepoise type lamp, which has a lens for very close work.  I still need to get the lighting right in here - I'll probably get an electrician to fit a strip light,(not beautiful but effective) and in the meantime I use my lamp in the dark afternoons.  The big gold R was found in a junk shop for just £1.
Continuing to move left the third table is my computer station, where I spend way more time than I should on Facebook groups etc.  I often call it "research" but who am I kidding, and it is of course where I am while working on this blog post.  On the shelves above I keep boxes with my most used tools etc, and its also where I display my assortment of signs and postcards.
You might also notice that my completed journals live here too!  These are numbers 1-8, which were all done in an A5 format.  At the other end of the shelf I have the new square format books I now prefer, 9 through to the work in progress 12.  I don't date my pages but I do write the start and finish date of each book inside the front cover.
Then beyond the computer desk at the other end of the room is yet more storage - as many Billy bookcases from Ikea as I could fit in, and the Expedit unit I brought with me from our old home. Here I keep less frequently used materials, and there's a whole shelf full of sermons plus files relating to my (as yet unpublished) writing.  The Expedit holds my slim paper boxes which are a hangover from my scrapbooking days, when I collected pretty paper like it was going out of fashion.  I still do scrapbook occasionally, but not enough to make a significant dent in my paper stash!
You may also notice my ball jointed dolls - these are about 16" tall and I enjoy making costumes for them.  Knitting wool for the current WIP sits underneath, and I also have my various books on journalling and other art forms here.  Some of this stuff may move around as I figure out what I need close to hand and what I don't.
So there you have it - the nerve centre of Rosie's Arty Stuff.  I can spend whole days in here in my wheelchair happily occupied with this or that.  I'm revamping my wardrobe at the moment so I'm doing more sewing than anything else, but that can change ....

Himself's operation is in 9 days time, and he'll be in hospital for 1-3 weeks because its really MAJOR surgery.  However, once he's home and recovering hopefully it will be a 100% cure and we'll have the rest of our lives to enjoy retirement in.  That's the Plan anyway.

11 comments:

Helen said...

what a fabulous room and I loved the tour you've given us! Hope you have many many years of happy crafting. Wishing Hubby all the best for his operation and full recovery.

Giulietta said...

The curtains lifted my spirits too, the minute I saw them ! So glad you have this wonderful room to lose yourself in! Thanks for sharing it and showing us round.

Twiglet said...

What a brilliant craft room you have created - you will love every minute spent there I am sure.

suzi whitaker said...

Perfection!

ireneinhetatelier said...

Thank you so much for the tour of your room: such an organised space. The curtains are wonderful, so bright and colorful.. You've made it into perfect space to make your great journalpages. Love it!

Unknown said...

Your studio space is so cheerful and well designed! I scrolled through your recent blog posts and really enjoyed your step by step posts on how you create your fabulous art journal pages. You go, girl!

Artyjen said...

Adore your new work room. Wishing you many happy hours there.....and all the best for himself too!
xoxo Sioux

alexa said...

What a very lovely space! And fascinating to see all your materials and tools - and I didn't realise you were a scrapbooker and sewer too! Must be lovely to have the sewing machine up all the time - mine is under my desk which is why it probably resent get used much! You have created a beautiful workspace ..

Eip said...

I love the new studio, it looks very pretty indeed! It must be so exciting to have this new place to be creative in!

Anonymous said...

What an amazing room! That it's so bright & well-organized really appeals to me. Also, hot pink is my favorite color. Thanks for letting us visit, Rosie.

lucy said...

Best Tabletop Ironing Board