Art Camp for Women

Organizing Space and Supplies

No point in having it if you can't find it!

While I was expanding and organizing my art studio last week I realized that many of the things I was incorporating would work in any space. Whether your studio subs as the dining room table or your walk-in closet, many of these items would work for your space too.

Crock and Basket. Good for all types of paper rolls, material bolts, long tools and rulers. I got the crock at an auction years ago and have the heavy container on a plant stand with wheels. The heaviness makes it good for my bigger rolls of paper i.e. newsprint ends. The orange wastebasket was a thrift store find. Lorri Flint, our fiber artist, keeps her long rolls of cloth in a 32-gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck trash barrel, which also has wheels. She tried a galvanized trash can, but while it looked really cool, it was awkward to move. We have found that a straight-sided container is the most stable and space efficient.

Flexible bag holder. Another Rubbermaid oldie, often found in thrift stores. This can hang on your wall or on the inside of a door or cupboard door. As a mixed media artist I save interesting bags, foreign newsprint and plain brown packing paper for use in my hand made journals. This is the most compact and efficient method I've found so far. I don't know if the company still carries them, but I keep an eye out for the unassuming beige piece of plastic at garage sales and thrift stores.

Tape or ribbon holder. This is a favorite for me. I found these paper towel holders at Home Depot. So you should be able to find them
easily too. They are short so that you can spot your favorite spool easily and then get to it without unloading your entire col-
lection. Used this way your goodies are kept relatively dust free and undamaged by stacking. Also your bright colored items contribute to the 'art' of your room.

Folding Print Holder. Light weight and convenient, this folding print rack is a favorite for Carol Tuttle, our water color artist.  The stand is easy to set up and also easy to stash in the closet or under a table when she is working away from her studio.
This one anyone, anywhere can manage.
A Clothesline. Yes an ordinary old clothesline, strung along one side of a room can be wonderful for your large or funny-shaped art pieces and materials. You can use it for display or storage or both. Hanging can also help keep your items clean. With care this could also be used to hang large pieces as they dry.

Using Up the Odd Bits-Fiber Art by Lorri Flint

Whenever I finish up an art piece, I always have bits and pieces leftover.  After all the time I've put into creating the piece, the leftover scraps seem so precious...I can't throw them away and yet, I'm usually low on creative ideas at this point.  The juicy little bits get put in a plastic bag and tossed into a box with other leftover bits...never to be seen again.

I'm trying to declutter and use up some of my older fabrics and leftover pieces.  My posts will feature the projects I have made with my little bits and pieces.  Hopefully, you will be inspired to use up your bits and I hope you will share your results with the rest of us so we get inspired too!

My first project is a fabric Journal Cover using leftover pieces from the making of "Wired for Sound".

This art quilt is 41" wide x 62" high, the light background is composed of many black and white fabrics which were quilted and then painted with a thick layer of white acrylic paint and topped with glitter spray.  The guitar pieces are made from my hand-dyed fabric and are machine appliqued and embellished with real guitar strings.  The black you see is the photographer's backdrop - the guitar pieces extend beyond the edge creating a unique and varied border.

I took leftover pieces from "Wired for Sound" and used them to create a journal cover. 

I started with a piece of teal and fushia hand-dyed fabric that never seems to fit in anything I'm working on.

I pulled interesting pieces out of the big bag of scraps and collaged a composition.  The pieces were free motion machine quilted or satin stitched in place and the edge was finished with a zigzag stitch.

 

I put a Moleskine brand lined journal inside (purchased in a three pack at Borders)and held it in place by a pocket on each side and a piece of elastic cord down the middle.

 

It was fun and very satisfying to complete a project in just a few hours,  plus I used up a funky piece of fabric and a few bits.  The bummer is that I still have a big bag of scraps...

Photos at left, top to bottom:

Front view of journal cover 5.5" wide x 9.5" high

Inside view of cover

Back view of cover

  

What chases me?

When in a mode of procrastination my creativity declines, slumps, goes stagnant I don't care how you say it. On days where I am more behind than usual I get less productive.

With the days getting shorter and the morning sun coming through my window later and later, I can easily get side-tracked into a 'normal' pace.

My morning practices (and my morning) go better when done before other folk are moving around the house. They are quiet practices. Meditation, writing, and a quick walk around the hood. If I am up very long before I begin my practices my mind gets the upper hand telling me about chilliness, darkness and just this once.

If I get to the meditation before I can really think (but after I brush my teeth) I know my day will be more productive, which means I'll be itching to paint, glue and write by the time I get a chance to do it. Then procrastination and putting off aren't even an issue.

Well I think I got sidetracked right there - I notice that the more I put things off the harder it is to get up in the morning. If I don't get up EARLY in the morning I miss my daily set up. When I miss my set up I don't have the energy to tackle the icky stuff and then it builds up in my mind, gains weight so to say. Then the next obvious step is to the 'put it off' mode...it's a vicious circle is all I'm saying.

Unfinished Project #1 - 1940's Flour Sack Dish Towel

Post from Lorri Flint, Fiber Artist

I have a number of unfinished projects lurking around my house.  I know I'm not alone, right???  When my fiber art group, Uncommon Cloth, met for our annual retreat in Frasier, Colorado, we identified "completing unfinished projects" as one of our goals for the coming year.

Before we get too crazy with this it's important to realize that some projects are not worth completing.  You might have learned what you're going to learn from it, the fabrics might be ugly, or the design uninspired.  It might not be worth the time and effort to complete the project and it's OK to throw it away - just close your eyes and do it quickly!

A few months ago, Lori came over and spent a day with me de-cluttering and clearing out my studio.  (A day was NOT enough, but it was a great kick start.)  I have continued on my own and have uncovered my box of unfinished projects plus items I have kept over the years because I can see their potential...I just haven't gotten around to doing something with them.

In the year ahead, as I complete one of these projects, I will post my progress.  My hope is to inspire you to do the same. Let us know what projects you finish so we can keep the inspiration flowing.

My first project is a 1940's flour sack.  My husband's grandmother worked at the now defunct Golden West Flour Mill in Longmont, Colorado in the 1930's and 40's and she saved flour sacks to make "tea towels".  As my Father-in-Law, Van, say's "We weren't so flush in those days and we used what we had."   Good advice for today too.

My In-Laws hung on to those flour sacks and now they belong to me.  I can see the potential, so I dyed several during my last fabric (and art camp apron) dyeing session.  I then trimmed up the edges and hemmed my new dish towel.  It's a beautiful hand-dyed mottled gold and no one else in the world has one like it!  The joy of completing it and seeing it hang in my kitchen is inspiring me to keep chipping away on these unfinished projects.

Yours in inspiration,

Lorri Flint