Setting up your new studio

So it ‘s one week since I moved. The house looks so much more cluttered than it did a week ago. Last week all the boxes were stacked up 5 high in big bunches against the wall. This week they are all pulled out, the tops are open to see what’s inside. I’ve grouped them according to what is in there, but it doesn’t look like there’s any method to the madness.

I took the time to paint the fronts of all the cupboards. They had been marked up and they were different shades of white. Now they look pretty uniform and clean. Clean. I’m ready to put stuff in cupboards. Because I had things all organized in the studio before I moved, it’s pretty much a matter of putting the things back in the same cupboards, making sure that there is some order. Books grouped by author or by subject matter. All the magazines in order of date published and so on.

Some of the other cupboards aren’t so cut and dried. They had been used to store wood pieces that are unfinished. I left behind the cupboard that stored the finished pieces. I have a large storage area in the basement and I think I’ll try to put shelves in there for all the unfinished pieces to be put up so I can actually see what is there. I don’t know - I haven’t worked that far in my plan. I’m sure it will come clear as I start to see what is left after all the things I can sort and put in cupboards get cleared away.

My desk area is a different story. I want to keep an area for oil painting. An area for watercolour and my work desk will be acrylic. I have the lights up already so I can start doing lives any time I’m motivated. And I have some commissions I need to get working on right away this week.

I used to have a rule to get to the studio by 10 am. But I find I paint better in the afternoon and evening. So I’ll likely spend the morning hours working on my website and writing up pattern packet instructions. There’s a lot of administrative work to make an art business successful.

I have been pouring over magazines. ‘In Her Studio’ and ‘Where Women Create’ and the IKEA website as well as pinterest have been my go to the last 6 months or so. I want my studio to be pretty as well as very very functional and organized. And I have the space to do that here. I am very blessed!!

It will be a while til I get all the functional pieces build and set up, hung on the walls. Right now, it’s get the stuff in a cupboard or drawer and organize it better later. I’m driving myself crazy trying to paint when I’m missing key tools or when I have to search through the whole box to find the thing that should be in there but isn’t. One.step.at.a.time. Just breathe…It doesn’t need to get done this week. I gave myself the whole summer to pull everything together. And then I still will be tweaking.

Have you ever moved your studio? What tips do you have - Leave a comment below. I’d love some more ideas!!

Hugs and happy painting!

Debbie