Back to the studio
After a busy month and a half, I'm finally getting back to my studio reno. Starting tomorrow I have four days off from work, a pile of wood and big plans! I'll be finishing my window seat and starting another storage unit. Have you ever noticed that the "law of flat surfaces" has a stronger force in a studio than nearly anywhere else (except maybe the dining table)? That is, if there is a flat surface it will become covered with stuff and rendered unusable in relatively short order, and more flat surfaces doesn't seem to help, the stuff expands to cover those as well. I'm working hard at creating "places for things to live" (appropriately labeled so I can find everything) so that at least one flat surface in my studio can stay free of clutter enough (consistently) to work - without having to de-clutter first. I use one of the large 24" x 36" rotary mats as a cutting surface and invariably I'm reduced to a 10" x 10" square area within the first half hour of working. I guess it's a good thing that I work small - but you'd think in a room almost 16 feet by 16 feet that I'd be able to find a larger (open) flat surface on which to work!
Stay tuned for progress updates. Then it's back to deadlines and commitments.
I don't believe in total freedom for the artist. Left on his own, free to do anything he likes, the artist ends up doing nothing at all. If there's one thing that's dangerous for an artist, it's precisely this question of total freedom, waiting for inspiration and all the rest of it. - Federico Fellini
7 comments:
ha! I feel your pain, I really do. I thought a draftsman's drawing board would be the answer if I left it at an angle ... then I figured out how to clip a design board to it for a project I was working on, and it's been collecting anything that will cling to the board ever since.
Sometimes I believe that the "law of flat surfaces" is stronger and more immutable than say... gravity or celestial rotation, definitely something to be reckoned with!
I tried a drawing table for the same reason and ended up with the same result - another heap 'o stuff on another flat surface.
Just for kicks I went and measured my "flat surface". I'm working in a 15" square space - that's just 8% of what I could have "available". How silly is that?!
You've got me beat by a few inches - but I'm right there with you, sister!
Nature abhors a vacuum.
Flat surfaces are a kind of vacuum.
Therefore Nature abhors flat surfaces.
But all my "ideal space" tearsheets from years of collecting tearsheets show those gorgeous minimalist Japanese interiors. From which I conclude that the Japanese don't have any stuff. (that's meant facetiously, not ethnocentrically...)
I can usually keep the ironing board clear. Well, sort-of clear, but only because I am Very Afraid of fire.
Well, I'm glad to know it is a law--I thought I was just extra bad at putting things away!
I love the Fellini quote. I have always believed that problem solving is the ultimate expression of creativity.
Ah, it's not just a law, but a law of Nature - Melanie proved it scientifically!
If the ultimate answer is less stuff, I don't stand a chance. It is a good practice though and probably works for people who don't collect interesting stuff they might someday use in their art...
Terry, I'm in complete agreement with you on problem solving. And give me a deadline and I can accomplish almost anything - left to my own devices the work expands to fill the time. Hey, that's like another law!
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