Ten for Creativity Day. 20 Must Make Space

 

{source}

As we continue to become more intentional about creativity, it’s important to find a space that can be completely dedicated to your art.  Don’t you wish you had a room like the one pictured above… one entire room full of your supplies, inspiration, and a door to shut out the rest of the world.

Perhaps one day, I will again, but right now, we’re temporarily living with family and the three of us, share a large open basement. 

In the mean time, I have two little areas just for me.  It’s important to work with what you have.  Instead of purchasing brand new, matching organizers, I collected glass jars, formula tins, and oatmeal tubs, that I covered with brown butcher’s paper.  Then I wrote in English & French what each container held.

This is the view from my desk.  I filled the deep nook of the basement window with journals, files, and containers holding important things like scissors, pencils, buttons, and ribbons.  Even bills look better in my Liberty of London file folders.     There is one frame of four black and white photos of my son when he was two weeks old and my favorite picture of my very handsome husband.  A tall Paris mug, a goodbye gift from a dear friend is filled with random feathers next to the lamp on my beautiful, $10  (garage sale find) secretary-style, wooden desk. 

Here’s the other space,  on a table in our small kitchen.  It’s not the table where we eat, but a table that didn’t really have any other place to go.  So, we took advantage of the space.  The set of three drawers holds most of my supplies. One drawer is dedicated to paints, gesso, brushes, and such. The second is stuffed full of fabric, ribbons, and all things sewing related.  The third holds my postcards, business cards, and other paper products that I use. All of my recent paintings are stacked up against the drawers.

It’s not my dream set up.  It’s no art studio in an old converted warehouse, with exposed brick walls and paint covered floors,  but it’s my space and I need to create whether it’s in my kitchen or my dream studio.

Today, look around your home.  Is there a small space that you can convert to your creativity corner?  Do you have a shelf in your closet or a desk to fill with supplies?  Maybe you only a tiny corner in your room.   Whatever you have, begin to think of ways to use that space for your creativity. 

Here are some ideas:

• Use a cute hat box to hold ribbons, fabric, and embellishments.
• Find an old wine crate for sketchbooks and journals.
• Collect glass jars to hold beads.
• Use your favorite coffee mugs to hold pens, markers, and crayons.
• Use a small wooden dowel to hold your spools of ribbons and thread.
• Discover a cute vintage suitcase perfect for holding fabric.
• Collect gift boxes to hold papers.
• String up a piece of twine on the wall (between two nails) and use clothespins to hang inspiring pictures.

Do you have any great ideas for making the most out of our your workspace?  What has worked best for you?  I’d love to hear what you are doing to turn  small areas into the working creative spaces.

Just a thought…

If we don’t create because we say we don’t have space, then perhaps we don’t want to create badly enough.

-Olivia