My Studio

This is where I spend a lot of my time. In my studio.

In my studio I can dream, watch movies, listen to radio plays, listen to music, paint, draw, glue, cut wood, cut paper, work with clay, sew, laugh, enjoy life and create!

I work on scale dollhouses and related projects, use watercolours and acrylic paints, Zentangle and draw Zentangle Inspired Art and prepare classes for students of Zentangle. I make cards of thanks, wishes, sympathy and congratulations. I work on making altered books and sewing paper, material and anything else that will fit under a needle.

And what does all this look like? Well, I would need to do some heavy cleaning to make it into a magazine, but then, do those clean organized studios every get used? I mean really used? My studio is my comfort zone. It is my place to make a mess and leave it until the project is finished. Granted I do sweep about 3-4 times a day when really making a mess on the floor and I empty my trash 1-2 times a week depending on the projects.

I usually have a small space that I do the actual work. And I am finding that this is typical of most crafters (except Gina K, whom I adore!).

So here is my studio.

Enter. Back of door is filled with supplies. All paint bottles are on the wall. I try to use my vertical space since the room is only 10x12.

  

I use the Billy Bookshelves from IKEA (I love that store and it's a 4 hr drive to the nearest one) I have sections for scrapbooking and cards, miniatures, Zentangle, painting, and miscellaneous. I had to add a small table to hold overflow and this gives me an easier area to work on things not miniature related (as you will see in the next picture.

This is my 2x8ft long work bench. It is about 3ft up from the floor so I can stand if needed. This is where I work on my dollhouse miniature related projects. I have 2 ott lights and a small work area. I have storage bins below and all the way across the bottom of this bench and hide them with small curtains. It gets filled up so fast with tools as I am working. I always start with a clean work area before beginning a new project and put things away when the project is finished. So there is some organization in my life. I also enjoy looking into the back yard while working. Sure hope it rains soon. Those are my favorite days to work - rainy days!

I have a large cabinet to hold varies projects in boxes, glues and spray cans of paint. My Toy Story dolls stand guard over the studio. Not sure why there is a clock in here except to remind me when it's time to fix supper for my husband. I hang my unfinished artwork as a reminder of what needs to be worked on.

Moving around the room is my trusty computer, printer and die cut area. I store my special papers, 12x12 papers and die cut supplies in the Billy System flat file. More vertical storage and cabinets hang above the desk to hold printer supplies and who knows what else. 

And finally the closet. We installed an adjustable shelving unit in the closet to hold miniature supplies, landscaping materials, fabrics, trimmings, dollhouse furniture and so much more. I can pull the curtains and everything looks lovely again.

 So that ends the tour. I hope you enjoyed seeing where I create. Come back soon.

 If you want to see other great studios please visit Seth's website  The Altered Page:Studio Table Revealed

Terri

New Zentangles to share

Happy Tuesday Evening!
I am a member of a Yahoo Zentangle inspired art group and each month we have swaps. There is a beginner swap for those newbies who are just getting their feet wet. These are usually done on ATC's (Artists Trading Cards). Last month I participated in a psychedelic swap...that was fun! I used some alcohol inks to come up with some really cool designs and tangled all over them.

This month I participated in 2 swaps. One is done in the style of the hollibaugh (a tangle that looks like pick-up-sticks or logs criss-crossed over each other. The other is a paint blob swap. We also send a nice little gift for the hostess of the swap, usually in the same style, as a thank you for hosting.

I only did 1 paint blob swap and am working on my hostess thank you gift so it will be posted later.

These are my 3 hollibaugh style cards. They are each 4"x6" as they were to be done post card size.

I filled the negative space with different designs as opposed to filling in with black.

I filled the negative space with a curvy line all going the same direction.

I left the negative space white here as I wanted to show off the tangles

I cut a piece of overhead transparency slightly larger than 4 x 6, wrapped 3 sides with washi tape, cut a half circle in the open end and placed a postcard tangle inside each one. This should protect the artwork during mailing. The paint blob was placed inside an envelope I cut from decorative scrapbook card-stock.

Now to work on my piece of mail art and send it off to Austrailia! Can't wait to see what I get in return from these swaps and mail art.

Til next time, go out and create something!

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry