Monday Morning Studio Pics~

I give up. Actually I gave up years ago...

It's impossible to have the studio clean and tidy... there is always something dug out and spewn all over.

And I LOVE IT. 

It means that creative energy is alive and active and zippity-zapping all over.

So here are shots of my studio this lovely morning in November... in all it's cluttery glory! 

 The light is a bit dim. We are having a typical PNW overcast sky...

  New Japanese tapes and paper, dizzying fabric and new yarns...

 Henrietta is our escape-artist chicken. (see her outside the window?) 

She has mastered jumping out over the fence. She is one wiley girl.

and a total pain... bad chicken!

  Flannels all washed and ready to be sewn into new jammie pants~!

  Paintings in progress waiting their turn...

  Book shelves crammed with yarn and fabric...

  Journal supply shelves...

  Great- Grandma Hanlin's quilt (that she made) awaiting repairs...

 Painting/sewing end of the studio... see my new inspiration board on the easel?

  Felted sweater bin spewed about... who did this?!

 My mom is here visiting from PA... here she is with the girls in my messy, messy kitchen.

New Studio! Before and After~

FINALLY! 

My studio is up and running... I love it so much!

Please remember we bought our farm from a very elderly couple, who last remodeled in the 70s...

I decided to put my workspace in the front room, off the living room. 

This room was originally a front porch, which at some point was enclosed and make into and extra room. I considered using the extra bedroom, but the light in this room is fantastic all day long, even during our grey and rainy winters!

Here is the shot to the west right taken after we got the keys...

The wall to the left was a giant bulletin board, the end wall diagonal cedar veneer strips and the outside wall had green carpet that went up the wall halfway. (desk went straight to Goodwill)

This shot is of the same spot with the drop ceiling removed... notice we attempted to just paint the walls, but it still looked a mess... 

 So we hired a drywaller to make everything smooth and pretty...

 Completed!

Here is the shot to the east, taken right after we got our keys...

This end has the same cedar veneer strips, with a long shelf.

After the drywallers were finished...

  and AFTER.

 I kept the long shelf, we just bought new brackets and moved it up higher.

It's PERFECT for drying and storing paintings in progess.

Here is a shot of the wall that joins the living room, note the cedar veneer strips and the MIRROR tiles.

 Mirror tiles and drop ceiling removed...

 and NOW... with a very functional book/ yarn shelf!

and... a shot of the front door, see the carpet up the walls and the cork board wall?

and NOW... my dream door and a funky new ceiling light!

Here is a slide show of more detailed images of the space~

LOVE my new space, now just try to get me to leave it!
Wanna come over and play?

Still on Hiatus~ Remodeling~

So we are still at it. 9 weeks in!
The remodel of our new(to us) house has taken on a life of it's own, as I am sure every remodel does.

Today I saw some light at the end of the tunnel!
Actual BOXES got unpacked!
So exciting.
Here are some quick shots of the office, it is coming together!
The office/lair is really bedroom #4 all lined with shelves and houses the computer and printers...

This is a view from the back corner, looking out the door to the LR.
See the new trim and door??? I am in love.
Shelves to the left of the door house Paul's work papers and parts of the household library.

Shelves to the right of the door house art books and supplies.

Most of this will get shuffled and dispersed between here and the studio (which is almost ready!)

And here is the woman. The computer.

She lives in the lair now, not in my studio space.

Too much distraction. 

Stay tuned for more pics as I plug along... SO MANY more things to unpack and fit in!

Farm "Before" Pictures~

Pictures taken the first time we walked in the house as owners!

Changes happen so fast and I wanted to capture it all in it's true 'before' state.

Click the link at the top of the slideshow above to go to the actual Flickr album...
Or go here to view full sized slide show~

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35532796@N00/sets/72157625126324478/show/
If you want to view descriptions click the "Show Info" link at the top right.

pack pack pack

HellO.
I am still here, just pack pack packing my world into tidy moving boxes.
Closing is to be sometime this week! Moving in a few weeks...

skippity skip!

Here are some before and after shots of my studio chill-out space.... I have LOVED this space.

Goodbye sweet space.

After

This last pic? My art supplies.

Hilarious. LOT of boxes there.

So.. onward!

Been a weird week or so... packed all I can for now and just waiting for closing so I can get at the farm house with some paint! Not used to being stuck in a place with no specific plans or list. 

Cannot spin or knit due to tendonitis in my elbow. 

Cannot hike or walk in shoes since I broke my poor toe!

Been sewing some and taking it chill because once those sweet keys are in hand it will go FAST.

Free Range Supply List~

The Free Range Art Journal

 Tues, July 13th at 6:30 pm pst

Paperclipping Live~! (click for link to the show)

The show will be filmed here in the Material Whirled studio!

AND... if you cannot make show time, the show will be archived at the same link!

I wanted to talk just a bit about tomorrow's Free Range Journal class....
I have been getting requests for a material list, which I will type out in a minute...

The class will be a tutorial, but very non-linear. Which in reenie speak means...
There is a process to building the book, one that will take more than a one hour class.
It is built in layers over time, and roamed through freely (hence the name- har har).
Very open-ended, NO RULES, no templates, therapeutic and freeing!
Free Range-- get it?
Like girl-friend therapy in book form.

I recommend watching us misbehave, and prepare to have some fun!
(Us being Liz, Jackie and myself.)
It will all make sense. I promise.
The technical tutorially stuff (such as binding the book) will be addressed tomorrow night, then explained later on in more detail here in the blog.

Material I used for my Free Range Journal~
The point is to use what you already have! None of us need MORE stuff
~ Manilla folders (do not have to be NEW, old, ugly and written on are the best!)
~ Gesso
~ Acrylic paints
~ Water color paints
~ Paint materials (brushes, water, etc.)
~ Collage papers... suggestions...
    - lists and notes from your daily life
    -junk mail that you find pretty
    - scraps from your scrapbook projects
    -mementos, copies or photos that did not make the cut in your albums
    -menus, maps, receipts, shipping labels...
    -book pages, magazine clippings....
    -I could go on and on, the ideas are endless really.
~ Adhesive- your favorite brand or type. I use a tombo tape or acrylic gel medium.
~ Decorative tapes
~ markers, ink and ink pen, pencils, etc.

SO...
Fix yourself your favorite beverage and prepare to have some fun!
Join the LIVE CHAT ... ask questions or share links and resources... heckle us!
I will be posting a show notes this time! Going to attempt to collect links and resources that are shared in the class chat and make a list here.
xo
SEE YOU THERE!
reenie

Links in this post:
Paperclipping.com/Live
Liz Ness Studios
Jackie Wood (aka Jackie Sparkles)

Calming the Hamsters~

It's one of those days.... a good day for sure, but one where I cannot seem to calm those hamsters in my brain.
You know the ones? That are run run running in their wheels so fast they keep spinning all the way around with the momentum?
sigh.

Making lists so the hamsters have relax.

I leave you now with some before and after shots of my studio table workspace.

Before-- complete with piles of creative mess and the kitschy 70s wallpaper covering~

and After, with new white freezer paper. ahhhh some very temporary serenity.

Of course this was about 5 days ago, so the table is now piled up again.

Back to taming those hamsters!

Running Errands~

I am getting ready to hit the road to run errands... but am really excited about one of those stops.
Home Depot!
I am buying paint to put on my new studio hive!
It sits just outside my window so I can see it when I work.
Here are some shots of Paul (aka the Bee Whisperer) adding the bees to the hive...

It's best to add them at night, as they go to bed at sundown. 

Once their queen is in the hive, they will all zip right in with her.

They line up at the opening, put their bee butts in the air, and fan their wings. 

Why? To fan the queen's pheromones (smell) out so any confused bees out of the hive can find home.

All set up!

I am thinking PINK. A pink hive. Why?

Pink makes me happy, plus it has a level of annoyance that makes me smile.
I mean, how many people could stand to look at a pink hive all day?

So... Home Depot... paint, and a few other things I will share LATER (grin).

What are YOU doing today?

Hoarder? Frugal? Thrifty? Green?

Call it whatever... but there are some things I just cannot toss into the landfill.

My biggest thing is yarn, fiber, fabric...

I just know I can reuse these items until the point of practical disintegration.

Please do not call the Hoarders show people on me. (Have you seen that show? sheesh. Poor people. It does put things into perspective though.)

Here are some shots of my insanity...

This is my thread jar. It sits next to wherever the sewing machine is. All thread snips and pieces go in there. They look so pretty all tangled up in there!

I will eventually card these into a batt and spin into a yarn.

The jar itself is made from knotting strips of fabric scraps together.

This is the snibble and foozle bin that lives under my studio table.

 All fiber and yarn pieces go into this bin.

My local yarn shop from PA still saves foozles for me to add to this bin. (love you all at UT).

Snibbles are tiny pieces of yarns... Foozles are a but longer, and can be used for more things... Both phrases were used by my great-grandma. 

Contents of this bin will also eventually be upcycled into handspun yarns. 

There are actually two bins full right now, perhaps its time to start carding?

There are many other things I do to reuse my stuff... stay tuned for more posts about my green/hoarder/frugal tendencies. The madness goes on and on...

Splat and a Valentine~

Last night my new friend Michelle came over for some art time in the studio.

I promptly demonstrated to her how effectively and FAST I can hit a wall.

Not literally, haha. I mean metaphorically.

I was done, fritzed, tired, and could not muster up the energy to even KNIT. (I know- gasp!)

It was really really pitiful and embarrassing.... sigh.

The only thing that seemed to be functioning was my mouth. I have the gift(curse?) of gab and it gets worse when I am tired. My filters seem to go to sleep first.

So I talked to make up for that wall-slam. A lot-- I talked a lot.

Hopefully dear Michelle will come BACK to play again.

TODAY I was all skippy and focused.

Took care of a bite of bookkeeping and tax follies, then made a foam heart plate to print with.

Michelle gave me a piece of this foam (think really thin styrofoam tray) to make a plate from.

This is what I made~

Inspired by the design on this old vintagey table cloth that was my gram's...

I added more hearts to the design.

Here it is printed on white copy paper~

The foam does not lend itself to great detail in your print, but it is fun to play with and good to get you GOING.... see Michelle? I can make stuff.... really. (hyuck)

Here I printed it on a map~

Here I printed it on a scrap of old sheet music~

Here I printed it over the pitiful collagey valentine I tried to make last night.

It helped...

Tomorrow I would like to make the design a bit more knitterly? and maybe carve it into rubber or linoleum.