Studio Tour: A Play-Room of My Own

I was reading a book on creativity the other day and it mentioned Virginia Wolfe's A Room of Her Own and it struck me how often that is quoted to justify a studio space. As an artist we do a lot of things for other people. Often when we begin to create it's for others, and when we try to justify a play space we justify it by all kinds of reasons. Mine was-"I just need a place for everything to be together so the paintbrushes quit ending up in the silverware drawer and my watersoluble crayons quit landing in the bathroom". My canvases were hung up down in the laundry room next to the laundry stuff and my acrylics were in the with the dishes(which was the logical place it being next to the silverware drawer and all). My art was hung up in a completely haphazard way wherever I had wall space and my pastels were in my son's art room. The fabric and wire I kept in big plastic storage bins under the dining room table so that they were somewhat accessible and portable. It felt chaotic. I was always rummaging around trying to locate things. So when my son grew old enough for his big boy bed we moved him into a larger room and I have reclaimed my old art room.

The funny part is that now that I'm back I appreciate that I needed the room. Not because I needed a centralized place for everything but because I needed a place for my thoughts to flit and rest. A room I can enter and know it is the place for me to create, to be adventurous, and to play. Yes, it has all the supplies I need. It also has a place for me to work. But the thing I like best is that it inspires me. I've re-hung my old corkboard and filled it with eye candy-the pieces of paper, or fabric, or photos that I collect that inspire me. Over my desk are more of these postcards, and photos. My sketchbooks have found a home on the bookshelf. Pulling them out of the storage boxes and shelving them was a wonderful homing experience. I have a spot for my rock collection as well. The art hung haphazardly throughout the house is now finding a home in this room and I love being surrounded by it all. This I think, is what a "room of her own" was for. It is a place to inspire us to be the best, most creative us. To nurture our fledgling ideas. To display new visual treats and to help us discover new loves.

Could I create without this room? YES! Do I love having it now? YES! It feels wonderful. The part I love best is how the sun streams into it each morning. The part my husband loves best is that my "stuff" has now been contained and is off the countertops, his desk, the drawers, the closets, the living room floor, the kitchen wall.... You get the idea!