In the wintertime, my studio is my very favorite room in our house! The south facing windows allow the warm sun to shine in most of the day, giving the room an extra boost of cheerfulness! Being in my studio feels like a warm hug during the cold weather... It truly is my happy place!
Years ago, this room was a bedroom for our two little boys. After a major attic renovation to "This Old House" back in the 90's, we were able to bump our bedrooms upstairs and give each boy his own room. That left the downstairs front bedroom of our bungalow for my husband to create his own office. And happily, I "inherited"the back bedroom to be my studio. It's in a perfect location, just off our kitchen, so I can work on projects between loads of laundry or while I have a few minutes during dinner prep.
In many ways, my studio tells a story of acquisitions and repurposed pieces along my life's way. For instance, the drafting table was found in a used furniture warehouse near our neighborhood. My sweet husband bought it for me for my birthday one year. The lamps came out of our sons' rooms once they had flown the nest. The standing lamp holds handpainted ornaments I've created. The barrels you see once held candy that my father-in-law had delivered to our family farm. I put them to good use by turning them upside down to hold my paint water and brushes. The green and purple wreath is a Target find that I've had for years. The colorful basket on the desk is handmade from woven magazines and was a treasure I found in a cute little shop on our summer vacation at Ocacroke Island last year.
This is the corner of the room where I doodle and journal. My husband took me out to a consignment furniture store on my birthday one year, and we found the cute white wicker chair and wicker table next to it to hold my sketchbook, Bible, pens and journal. The stand up lamp behind the chair belonged to my grandmother and it holds a paper mache bird that I made (which my granddaughter loves!). On sunny days, our dog Jake (a Great Dane mix) likes to keep me company on the dog bed nearby. The chest was a thrift store find that I purchased just before my first son was born. We used it as a changing table back then, but now it's found a new lease on life holding various art supplies. On top of the chest stands the wooden manekin that my grandfather used in his studio long ago. If you squint really hard,you can see a little basket I made during my basket-making era, as well as a tiny canvas painting of flowers I created.
When I needed a place to store my paints, I searched and searched until I finally found these bamboo cubbies on Amazon. They were intended for kitchen storage, but they've been great for displaying and organizing all my paints in rainbow order. Seeing all those pretty colors everyday just makes me happy! And the top of the cubbies has been the perfect place to display my handpainted rocks. The stamped white clay piece was made by my youngest son when he was in elementary school. I've added a couple of "people" on each side of it that I painted on paper and then cut out. A big treat to myself a few years ago was the PholkartStudio sign that I ordered from Lori McDonough from WhimsyStudios on Etsy. I just love having a piece of her handpainted art in my studio! Last of all, there's a little black and white photo of me at the beach when I was about 4 years old. It helps me remember to let the little girl in me come out to play!
This quirky angel was a roadside find from our neighborhood a few winters ago. When I rescued her, she was covered with snow. I know she's kinda odd looking, but I still like her! I think of her as my studio mascot! I use her as a place to hang my handpainted ornaments after I've created them.
And finally, the newest addition to my studio is this very purple Janome sewing machine! I just love it! I got mine from Joann Fabric, but the link I've left here is from the Janome site. It's a super simple machine to use, very easy on the wallet, without any bells and whistles... and it's exactly what I wanted! I have gotten interested in mixed media art and art journaling (more on that in another post)... and I really wanted to be able to sew on the papers I've been painting. My husband and I once again went hunting for a small used table that I could use to hold the sewing machine, but sadly we weren't able to find a suitable one within our budget. So I opted for this 31 inch wide table from Amazon (you can see it better in the first photo above), and it's working just fine. Now I can enjoy sitting at the window that overlooks my neighbor's garden and sew my little heart out!
I hope you've enjoyed this mini tour of my studio!.. Pulling all the things together to create my studio has been a work-in-progress and a labor of love over the years, and I think it's a very happy place indeed!
I'd love to hear about where you create!... just leave me a comment!
Happy Creating!!
