Your space

There’s always a lot of interest in studios.  How do artists organize their spaces? store their supplies? make sure their materials are accessible?  and most importantly – how to keep it from becoming a total clutter.

Organizing can get out of control until you’re afraid to touch anything for fear of messing up the system. Or (more usually), organizing can just never quite happen and you’re never able to find what you want.

But, hey… don’t stress it!  Here’s my motto:

Because, really, as long as  you have a place to play, whatever else happens in there is fine.

But, here’s a few thoughts about organizing your space, especially for those of you who use polymer clay like I do.

I have glass casserole dishes all around me with the clays that I’m using in them – very loosely sorted by color families – blues and greens all in a jumble; purples and pinks together; reds, oranges and yellows all snuggly – you get the idea.  i just toss a piece of bubble wrap over the mess when I’m done for the day to keep the dust off. (Yeah, I don’t dust). Any scraps get clumped in with whatever color is predominant in the mix.

Packages of unopened clay are stored in some cheap plastic shelves that I got at Kmart or Wallmart… some kind of Mart…

(pssst, just a hint – don’t go crazy buying tons of clay and storing it!  because of the changes in clay formulas these days, unopened clays get harder faster – so buy less and use it, and then buy more!)

When it comes to all those tools you use for claying – mugs or small glass jars hold them near your fingertips, on your work surface.  And if you use a lot of other materials in your clay (beads, stones, fibers), like I do, try those drawer units that are designed to hold hardware (nails and screws and suchlike) – they’re at your neighborhood “mart” store too, and they’re really cheap. Just use a Sharpie pen to label the drawers (and if you change your mind, nail polish remover will take the old marker label off, lickitysplit!…ready for the new!).

But really, the important thing is to just have a space to make art in that you don’t have to clean up after yourself, (unless you want to).  Taking things out and putting them back will take up all your creative time and energy.  To organization I say… whatever.

Just make.  Get things more straightened/contained as you go along, one little bit at a time – don’t let your lack of organization slow you down.

This is a part of Calder’s studio (famous sculptor and kinetic artist). If he managed to get stuff done, so can we!