Monday - Buried Alive in My Studio

I'll try again.  I started this blog post hours ago, then our internet modem went out, so we had to go get another.  It's still being very slow, and I lost half of my post that didn't save.  I think I remember what I was carrying on about.

So, November is Art Every Day Month over at Creative Every Day.  I signed up, and then promptly tore my studio apart.  There will be no art-making going on in there for a few days I think!

Every now and then, I find that I have to step back and re-evaluate my life and how things are working out for me.  Recently I feel like I'm operating on a very surface level of rush-rush-rush, get the to-do list done,worrying a lot about what people are expecting me to do, and I'm not experiencing any real moments.  I'm not delving deeper into my art like I want to.  I've been doing a lot of introspection, digging in and examining things.

One thing I've come up with is that I have to start by creating a nurturing, safe, clean, and organized space in which to create.  There is a pervasive message that I have seen popping up on the internet lately, saying that the most important thing is to create and we shouldn't worry about how clean the house is.  Since DH has been down, it's been even harder than usual to get things done; I've found myself having to choose between cleaning and creating, trying very hard to loosen my standards.  And you know what?  I can't operate in a messy environment!  It is making me insane.  I waste so much time looking for things, and I really feel that creative energy isn't able to flow freely in a cluttered environment.

So, we headed to IKEA yesterday.  DH went with me; you should see him getting around on one crutch!  I thought it very brave of him to go to IKEA.   We brought home the makings of a new work table, a cheap utility shelf unit for the closet, some nice shelves for the wall, and a few more fabric baskets for my Expedit bookcase that I already have.

Warning!  The following photograph may be unsuitable for those with delicate sensibilities!!

This is what the other side of the room looks like.  I had a big read sofa in here, but my stepson and a friend came and moved it out on Saturday.  I piled everything on this side of the room to get it out of the way.  It's even worse now, because I built the closet shelf, and pulled everything out of the closet to re-organize.

So I am putting all (almost all) thoughts of getting other things done this week out of my head, and this is my creative project.  I have that other *big exciting project* I mentioned recently.  I think I can tell you about it soon;)  In the meantime, I will keep you updated on my studio progress.  If you hear a wee, muffled voice off in the distance, it's me buried under all of this mess!

Ttfn!