Exciting times!

I’ve not much to talk about jewellery wise this week, but that’s not to say I’ve not been busy! After many years of not so quietly complaining about my lack of space, I’ve spent the last fortnight building a new studio in the garden. 

We’re really lucky to have lots of space out the back and up until now we had a chicken shed and my husband’s shed in a space near the fence line. As they were both getting really old and close to falling down we rehoused the chickens in to a great new coop round the side and cleared up ready for my new studio.

First up was paving slabs, all 90 of them. I was a little ambitious thinking I could have this done in a day, but 4 days later, they were all down and ready for building. The studio I decided on is a log cabin, or posh shed. It was delivered in a million pieces all cut and ready for assembly.

Once we’d found the starting pieces (at the bottom of the pile!) They were laid out and squared up. The rest of the pieces then slotted in on top of each other until we reached just above window height.

Superman/Husband!

The windows were added in as one unit and we kept on going up to the roof. 

The roof beams slotted in to tie everything together. It was hard work, but made easier by there not being any screws or fixings to the main building. The wood is cut so that each piece slots in to the next (with a bit of persuasion from a mallet!) 

The roof took a while. Each slat had to be screwed in to the main beams, but once that was finished we added felt and shingles and it was on to the inside. 

The flooring was pre cut, so each plank just had to be screwed down on to the bearers. There were a few finishing touches like beading around the edges, and the building was complete. 

 Monster Assistant

I sat for a couple of days planning out how I would like the inside and I’m still not completely decided. I’m sure it will change and evolve as I start working in there, but for now, I have a table, some worktops, my precious books, my Grandad’s workbench (hopefully moving in tomorrow) and my Grandma’s chair.

A spot to sit and read

And I have room to display the wonderful artwork I’ve collected from friends.

Reasons Mountain by Cosmic Images

Glass & Driftwood Sculpture by Tan Grey Glass

Lino Cut Hare print by CarrollBooks

And finally, I have room to get out my pottery wheel! I’ve had it for a couple of years, but there was no space to use it, so it turned into a storage table in the garage. I can’t wait to get on it and have a play!

It really is a dream come true to have such an amazing space to work in, but the best part for me is to have room to create with my kids!

Biggest Cheesy Grins ever!!!

To give you an idea of how excited I am... here's a look at my workspace for the last couple of years... you might be able to see the 4 square foot of space I had just to the left!

I think it will be a couple more weeks until it’s ready to get in there properly, there is no electric or water yet, but while I have daylight, I can go in for a play!

Caroline

http://www.blueberribeads.co.uk

Dysfunctional Studio Tour

I've been "living" in my new Roadhouse Arts studio space for almost four months now, and while there's a lot that I really love about it, there are also some things that aren't working for me.

My little admin area needs to be reworked. I spent a huge chunk of the day yesterday working through the paperwork that had accumulated, both for my own business and the Roadhouse side of things, and everything is caught up. While that makes me happy, I think the backlog started because the workflow wasn't well-organized to begin with.

I have two file boxes now, and the segregation of things will help. The smaller one contains the stuff I get into more frequently; the larger one is longer-term. But I still don't have the right space to stash either of them - my camera bag and equipment is taking up two entire cubbies in my wall unit. And I don't like the nest of cables and power strips on top of the desk. I just ordered this remote switch and I'm hoping it will solve the problem while still allowing me to turn lights on and off without having to crawl under my desk.

My metals and fabrication area would benefit from a little tweaking. I have an Ikea kitchen island set up for sawing and soldering, so I can see things close up without having to bend over or wear my magnifiers.  The problem is that most of the great storage the unit includes (two metal shelves) is pushed up against the wall so I can't get to it.

I also have two old science tables pushed back-to-back that are supposed to be for layout, design and fabrication work, but as you can see from the photo, they wind up being a collection area for all manner of flotsam and jetsam that have little to do with current projects.

I had convinced myself that rolling my chair between the two stations would be fine, but the truth is that the floors in this old building are so unlevel that "rolling" is an exercise in frustration. This also makes pulling the island unit out to get at the long-term storage a serious pain in the neck, because everything (and I mean every.single.thing) has to be shimmed to within an inch of its life in order to avoid punches, beads, wire and any other curved or roll-ey thing from just making a run for it the moment it gets set down.

And then there's my kiln and glass area, which just sort of squat in the corner taking up a bunch of room. I don't think it's an efficient use of space, but I'm kind of stuck because that's where I had the dedicated plug installed for the kiln. And I don't think I'm making the best use of the space along the one main wall.

I'm considering a pretty significant reorganization that includes separating the two science tables and using one to create an "L" shape with the island sticking out into the space. This would put the storage shelves on the island facing my admin area, where I could use the extra storage. The other science table would go where the island was and be primarily for mixed media work. (That's a subject for another post. "Living" with mixed media artists is starting to mess with my head, I tell you!!) I could also use it for larger project layouts, when I have multiple or complex pieces going.

So... any suggestions? I'm really open to any and everything - the space just isn't working well, and it's not because I don't have enough to work with. Let me know what you think and I'll update you in a future post.

Until next time -

A typical day in my studio

I normally get 3 to 5 hours max to spend in my studio per day. It's gotten to the point where I now consider it job 2 (yay! I love the extra moolah, but along with all that it's a lot of extra work)… I still love the time I spend creating, but it has grown to so much more than just a hobby and requires more of a schedule of when I do things.

Last year I did mostly made-to-order beads, but this year I decided it was time to change that: instead of creating a few of this and few of that when someone asked for it, I needed to be able to create in larger quantities, stock up, and then hopefully have time to design some new things.

I say hopefully, because I haven't yet made it there yet… every time I think I've got a surplus of something… an order or two comes in and there they go! But I'm getting a little closer! Yes, it's my second job and I truly love it!

So for today's post I wanted to take you on a mini tour of my typical work day:

Every day starts with critters. Today it was bunnies and fawns——these guys are getting their glaze—— it takes five coats to get them finished.

In between the glaze coats drying, I'm priming the next critters for painting. I'm a nut for multi-tasking and efficiency! I hate sitting still waiting for paint to dry, beads to bake, etc, so I always have more than one or two (or four!) different projects running at the same time.

Here are some more critters and focals waiting their turn for priming and antiquing. These are from about a day and a half of shaping and sculpting.

The primer is drying, so now I'm blending polymer colors for another day. I don't like to mix colors on the same day I'm going to use them because all the mixing makes the polymer too soft for handling and sculpting fine details.

And finally, more casting. These guys will be ready for detail sculpting tomorrow… or later tonight if I can squeeze in some extra time…


So, how does a typical day in your studio go for you? Are you just scrapping by with a couple hours a day, or are you lucky enough to create for a living? Are you a multi-tasker or do you like to complete one project before starting something new? Do you keep to a schedule? Or is it whenever the muse strikes?

Do share! :-)

On the Workbench: Still Lifes

Like many of you, I headed into the holidays at full speed. There's always so much going on - gifts to finish, shopping to do, items to ship - and no matter how much advance planning goes into the preparations, there are always two or three or seventeen things that come up at the last minute. Usually the two weeks right after Christmas would be when the studio would get cleaned and inventory would be done in preparation for getting our taxes finished. But this year, a little monkey wrench called "The Flu" got thrown into the works - and let me tell you, the capital F Flu is nothing to fool around with.

The result is that three weeks after Christmas, instead of having accomplished our year end tasks and new year's goal setting, our household is slowly climbing out of that haze that comes with having been really sick and reacquainting ourselves with the real world. In my case, that includes my studio, which I haven't seen in nearly a month. So here's an impromptu look at the condition of my studio, in the form of a few still lifes of my workbenches, untouched since the Christmas rush.

Metal Workbench

Glass and Enamel Workstation

Fabrication Table

How is your workspace faring in the New Year? If you've got photos, use the linky tool below to share them - we'd love to see!

Until next time -

POST YOUR STUDIO PHOTOS HERE!

Where the magic happens...

Ever wonder what artists' studios look like? I do - studio tours are one of those things I really love. So here's a peak into some of the studios of our AJE team members.

Here's one side of my space (recently rearranged and not yet finished):

I'm really fortunate that I have a lot of natural light. Under the windows is a two-level metal working set up. The higher table is where I do soldering and sawing; waiting to be set up is a Dremel drill press and a grinding/polishing machine my best friend got me for my birthday. Underneath is an old TV stand which holds boxes of focal beads, metal sheet, and wire. The next level down is where I do my metal working, pounding, polishing and form-folding. (You can't see my vise, which is bolted to the table and is hidden by the chair.) I have a second bench pin there to brace things against when I'm using my flex shaft, placed right between the two levels so I can use it in both places. The wheelie chair lets me roll from station to station.

To the right of the metal station is a small table which holds the TV, modem, and wireless network stuff. In front of that is a rolling cart that holds a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. Behind the metal station is another table that I use for layouts and final fabrication. Right now it's covered with bags of wire that I'm sorting through. The whole thing needs a thorough cleaning - and there's more to show, but I'll hold off on a complete studio reveal until the reorganization is complete.

Jo Tinley works in this beautiful space, an 8 x 12 workshed in her garden:

She has a whole blog post up about it, which you can check out here if you want to see more.

Linda Landig works in this pretty space, complete with a gorgeous old printers cabinet. It was a gift from her wonderful husband, and she's mighty partial to it - and the entire AJE team covets it in the nicest possible way. (In fact, I suggested I might swing by her place next time she goes out of town and she suggested she might sic zombies on me!)

Jenny Davies-Reazor loves her glazing fort - in fact, her whole studio is her sanctuary. She's able to work in it for three seasons out of the year, but in the coldest months, she moves into her dining room. 

So there's a little glimpse into where some of us spend our time creating - hope you enjoyed it! From our studios to your hearts, happy holidays!

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This post is part of the Art Jewelry Elements 2012 Holiday Open House. 

Art Jewelry Elements team members are offering special deals in their online shops to AJE readers starting today and going through Cyber Monday (November 26). You can see the complete list of participating members and details about the discounts here.

Please help support the artist community by buying handmade for your gift-giving this year.

I'm also hosting a special giveaway over on my blog, here: www.francescawatson.com

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