Tidying up my studio (& then recording the results, for the 5 seconds they last) has become something of a tradition, most commonly between Valentine's and Saint Patrick's Day, because my xmas cactus often puts on a show and if there's snow, that means a plain(ish) background.[1]
tidy studio, 2023. Lensbaby sweet 35 on a sony A7c, 10mar23. Lightened, brightened, scaled.
The cactus didn't produce many flowers this year—it seems to prefer hanging to get maximum light,[2] but I did finally swap out the valentine's day fabric that's been on the map case since 2021.[3]
07feb21 tidy studio, lumix LX-100 f/1.7, ev +0.3, 1/200s; scaled. This is also not a “perfect” shot, as Fran and I were making French beaded flowers, as you can see from all the bead spinners atop the apothecary chest.
I know many artists find their creativity sparked by the chaos of detritus from multiple projects piled atop each other—I do too, there can be many random juxtapositions with some real potential—but I absolutely adore a clean surface: it's incredibly inviting. Once the piles of stuff get past a certain point, I simply can't find anything, and I find the mess distracting. Squaring things away serves as a transitional period, giving me time to think about (or get into the groove) the next project.
On a practical note, precariously balanced bowls, trays and piles of beads are a recipe for some falling to the floor, which is annoying.
And here's a shot taken taken 09Jan23, which is relatively typical (excepting, again, the top of apothecary chest, which I've begun to clean up.)
In between wrapping up (heh) some xmas themed earring projects (now nearly 3 months late)I celebrated by dumping all the dirt, dust and beads that have accumulated in the middle desk drawer, actually getting under the desk & sweeping with a tabletop broom, rearranging the various metal-working tools stored there [5] and stringing up, among other things, a slightly broken lentil I found. —I just love clearing off projects. Makes me so happy.
[1]Plus, yanno, I've (to be hoped!) turned in my taxes by then, so I often have a bit more time between the holidays and that, before the garden & other outdoor activities really get going again.
[2]Alas, it finally outgrew the pot/plant-hanger combo.
[3]I was actually busy stringing a big series that still remains to be documented during Feb/Mar of 2022, but I have tidy studio pix from 2021 documenting the hearts; the closest I got to a tidy studio in 2022 was just the stringing desk, done later in the summer.
[4]On the stringing side: now I gotta make beads. Oh, and mebbe do some soldering...
[5]hence the accumulation of so much dust, desiccated pill bug corpses, and, of course, more beads...am I the only person who carefully picks seed beads out from their sweepings...?
Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.
