I will not be daunted.

I will not be daunted.  That is the quote of the day and here's why...You won't believe it.  I can hardly believe it.

<BIG SIGH>  Some of you might remember what my studio looked like when I had it at the Pendleton Art Center in Ohio (featured in the Spring issue of Studios Magazine in 2012--just before we moved away!)

My lovely studio, Bohemian Art Cafe, as it once was in Ohio. *sniff sniff*  I miss it terribly!

I'm moving my art studio...AGAIN.  After struggling for the past year to get my studio set up out in the handi-house, I've realized that it just isn't working out.

Spider of enormous size!

Only one of many many froggies that
visited my studio this year!

The shed itself is great.  But, the frogs, the lizards, the spiders, the enormous cockroaches (okay, they call them Palmetto Bugs here, but to me they are still cockroaches!), the mice and yes, even a small snake have all stopped for visits.  About the only thing that hasn't made it inside is an alligator. This plethora of unwanted visitors, along with the stifling heat--since a frog or two mucked up the works of the A/C unit--have made this a most inhospitable location for my art. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm working on,  one or more of these critters jumps, skitters, or falls on me as I'm reaching for tools or supplies.

I figure I have caused more than one golfer on the 4th hole of the course where we live to completely flub there shot as I scream (I can't help it...1) I'm a girl and 2) I hate when these creepy crawly things land on me--hard to believe this is the girl who used to pet fuzzy caterpillars!

Currently used as storage, this will be my painting,
jewelry and collage space

Future home of my glass studio

So, we are planning to move my studio indoors.  My glass and enameling will go in one extra bedroom and my jewelry, painting and collage/assemblage will go in another.  My sweetie will be moving his tools and wood working studio out to the handi-house--he says that bugs and frogs and lizards, etc. won't bother him and he'll turn on fans when he is working.  We might even be able to get his stuff organized with all the shelving that will be available.

Since the two rooms are even smaller than the outside studio, I have a lot of organizing and some "getting rid" of to do.  The great thing is that I'll be able to put up more shelves and cabinets and that should make up for most of the additional space needed since I'm not using several walls (doors) in the shed.  And I'll be able to use a walk in closet for some storage--I'm thinking that for now, until I figure out a different solution, the items that I take to markets and crafts fairs can be stored in the closet and the door shut so I'm not tripping over everything as I do now.  I have a LOT of items for displaying from my Ohio studio and some of those are going into storage.

The current studio.  A lovely space, if only I could seal it from
the critters aka insects etc.  Future home of sweetie's studio.

I think it will work well.  I'll have temperature and bug control, be able to work in the evenings after sweetie goes to sleep much more comfortably than I ever felt going out to the studio outside, and will be able to enjoy time with the cats and dog.  I'll have instant access to the Internet and my PC/printer.  I'll even be able to have a TV for background.

Biggest drawbacks:  1) moving everything out of the rooms to storage and his studio 2) prepping the rooms with cabinets and shelves, 3) moving everything from the outside studio indoors and 4) it will be even more challenging for me to find reasons to leave the house.

I can clearly see that there is room for
additional organization in my studio life.

I do think it will benefit my creativity but I am worried about the space for working on larger projects and how/whether I will be able to ever teach any classes--even itty bitty ones--in these rooms.  I'll be able to let go of more stuff that I've not been using or thought I'd use and never did and be able to clear out mediums that I no longer want to use.  I'll be able to get an even greater level of organization done and really have specific areas for specific mediums and tools.  It's exciting. And daunting.  I will not be daunted.

I believe we are shooting for an April time frame to commit to this project.  I have a lot of preparation work that needs to occur before that time.  Wish me luck.

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.