The Entire Studio Tour...sort of.

April on my facebook page asked me about the rest of my studio space..so here goes. I've never set out to join the "loveliest space to create" circuit, but rather a fully functional space of about 300 square feet in my house. We live in San Diego, CA. IN it. (That is a major metropolitan area, Seth.) So there is no champagne real-estate to be had on my beer budget.

Starting by standing in the doorway here, from the left is where I keep my rubber stamps (rapidly growing dust). Small canvases are in the corner on the floor. Travel across the photo and see my studio partner's area, my paints up on the wall (more paint on the floor) and my laser printer. My mediums are stuffed in between the paint and the printer. My husband graciously built me the desk to suit and we had glass cut to size for the top. What's missing from this image is the wall...it is completely covered with paintings on canvas which I can't show. (That's getting old...I know.)

To save space, we built a small table out of scrap wood to hold my large-format printer, it slides under the desk when not in use. My trusty mac is on the desk, with my inspiration images on the wall above it. We took the rod out of the closet and installed more shelving to hold various buckets of shit that are left over from my card-making days (Kate has fun in there), an IKEA chest of drawers holds more stuff, including my papers. (This was not a good purchase as the chest is cheap and the drawers all sag under the weight of my treasures.) Finally, my convertible easel is where I spend more of my painting time- it turns into a table if I need to work flat...now THAT was a smart purchase.

My papers? Nothing fancy. They are cut to fit (stuff) into ziploc bags. When I need paper, I grab a bag and see what I get. I've got one drawer of paper.. The happiest time of my life was when I stopped buying every new product and using every coupon... I've found my art passion and can survive on a few basics now instead of needing a second house. Hope you had a nice tour...don't slam the non-door on your way out. xx

PS- writing on images inspired by Garance Dore. I have a total crush on her and will be working with my wacom tablet more. I hope