How the Studio's Coming Along...

Slow.

It's been quite hot and humid.  And raining like we're in a rain forest.  I've never seen rain come down so thick. I only have a very small air conditioner and a fan in my studio.  I get too hot and sweaty if I stay out there long. (I know, hot and sweaty seem to be a warm or hot glass artist's mantra.)

In fact, I've felt the driving need to avoid making more art so that I could get class proposals and marketing materials in place, update that pesky website, take pictures of my art and jewelry and get it on Etsy, Ebay, Bonanza, Facebook, and Tophatter--all of which takes an enormous amount of time, not to mention trying to blog every day (business day).

Man am I organized or what???

So, the progress on the studio has sort of ground to a halt.  I was doing pretty good during July even though I could only spend a couple hours out there...I have a table set up up, my kilns are in place, the shelves are up and stuff is on them, the cabinets are mostly organized.  And I've even made some enamel jewelry that I was preparing for an upcoming magazine article (in September).

Still have small glass to unpack and "file" in the cabinets.

Part of the concern is that...I have a lot of artwork.  And I have a lot of art supplies.  Since I work in many mediums, depending on what strikes my imagination, I have different areas set up to house different types of artwork supplies. I admit.  I'm a little overwhelmed since my studio space is quite a bit smaller than what I had for the past year and it isn't "finished" in terms of walls, insulation and flooring--so I hesitate to get everything in place when I know I'll eventually be moving it to finish the space out.

Is that a clear counter I see down there?

And clean floor...mostly.

And shelves with lots of stuff and a table...

Did I mention how loud it gets when it rains?  Or the enormous spiders?  or the regular visits from frogs??  As if I don't have enough distractions as it is.

Ginormous spiders that hide in boxes.

Frogs that fall on my head when I open the door.

I have classes I'm scheduling starting in October which will be meeting in the studio, so "finished" or not, I have to finish organizing and setting it up so that it is usable art space.  September is my month to get back in there and get it straightened up the rest of the way.  It will start to be cooler, and I've got that goal of October in the back of my head.

"Mostly" unpacked.  Still a ways to go.  And MUST do
something about that awful bare and glaring light bulb.

Soooo, that's the status update.  May you have a happy weekend and not have any frogs or spiders fall on your head.  See you next week.  P.S.  If you're bored or have money burning a hole in your pocket, stop and shop.

(c) SZing, 2012 all photos and text..  All rights reserved.  

What to do when the heat hits?

It's not as hot here in Florida as it is in say, Phoenix, Arizona, but it's hot and humid, my studio has no insulation and only a small A/C and fan.  It's too hot to run a kiln (I ran the enameling kiln at 1500 degrees Fahrenheit last week and it was no fun!)  Though I will be getting additional AC and insulating...

IN THE MEANTIME, what to do when the heat hits?  As a believer in the idea that a messy mind = a messy workspace and vice versa (notice I didn't say dirty mind), I decided to beat the heat this week by getting my desk organized.  It was heaped at least two feet high with magazine clippings, file folders, jewelry and art items that need photographing and posting on Etsy, proposals for classes and calendars.  And sometimes one or more cat. I had lots of plans I wanted to work on but it was impossible to get started, much less begin to focus.  Messy desk = messy mind.

I discovered yesterday that the majority of the mess on my desk was paper that fell into these categories:

1.  To Put on PC Calendar/Tasks and To Do list

2.  Possibilities for my Art--this is an all encompassing idea, some of which of course could be put on the To Do list but which is meant to be a "tickler" file--places I want to investigate as a co-op member, locations to propose a show, places where I want to teach classes, etc.
3.  Classes--this is a file just of already prepared proposals that I need to be certain that I have electronic copies, as well as to write notes about how I need to adjust the proposals for new locations
4.  For Pinteresting--websites I want to spend some time exploring or things I've culled from magazines to explore
5.  Scan--immediate documents I need to scan so I can shred and NOT FILE.
6.  Magazines--the writer's guidelines for each magazine I want to query.
7.  Will/Funeral--okay, morbid and not necessarily work related but it is something I know I need to take care of...cuz you never know.
8.  Put on TO BUY list on my PC.  Through Post-It (TM) Digital Notes, which I love--a software program I got last year, ironically, to keep my desktop clearer.  It helped with the sea of tiny post-its I used to have every where. I have a running bulletin board list of things I want/need to buy--this can be specifically for the house, personal purchases, gifts, and art/business related.

(c) SZing The desk, post cleaning.

Once I got things filed into a vertical filing system with these folders, my desk was almost cleared up--just my address book and Rolodex that need to be culled/updated and updated to my PC for mailing lists, a couple of pieces of paper that I MUST file (unfortunately there are just some papers that I feel need to remain papered and not electronic) and a small pile related to a very important project I need to work on today.  It's amazing to be able to see desk in more than a small 4" x 4" area, and to feel like I'm actually organized.  And I'm actually not sweating it.

Next step?  Put up some artwork.  Then go through each file and do what it says to do in it, i.e., put on to do list, etc.,--I'm gonna do that today.  Get my calendar updated.  It'll be a relief to know what I need to do.  And a relief to be able to stay out of the heat.

The cats and I are in negotiations.