New organizational toy... er, tool

I finished assembling (love that nail gun) and sealing my window seat and now I'm on a hunt for the "perfect" fabric to cover the cushion. It needs to be contemporary, visually quiet but not boring, and dog proof, I'm not asking for much! I still have the doors left to cut, finish and install, so no pictures of the completed unit yet.


I bought a new toy... er, tool for my studio. I don't know how I lived this long without my very own label printer. Here are some of my thread cases with labels. No more searching for the right box, no more guessing. Efficiency thy name is P-Touch. I want to label everything in sight now.



I labeled some other boxes that contain paint, markers and various papers. I was so into it last night that I cleaned out and re-organized the linen closet. And of course, labeled the shelves. That obviously needs to stop, since all of this organizing is about finding more time to make art!

Teeny, tiny art

One of my favorite books by Murakami has a line in it about creating: "The best musicians transpose consciousness into sound; painters do the same for color and shape." I like that image - transposing consciousness into color and shape.

The SAQA group that meets in Somers NY every month set ourselves a small (keyword: small) challenge for June. I handed out some 1.5" chipboard squares to collage on, called bazzill chips. I had a lot of fun in this tiny format. I've decided I've been playing a kind of "visual limbo" lately. How low can you go? My average size of work is in the 9" x 12" and 10" x 13" range. I've been making 8" squares and 6" squares in a new series. I make a lot of fiber postcards that are 4" x 6". I've done atcs. But boy, 1.5" is really small. I know there are a lot of artists out there working on the 1" squares, but 1.5" is maybe as small as I'd want to go.


I experimented with a couple of new materials and plan to use them in some larger pieces. The left side of the chip is wrapped in copper foil tape and the other three sides (and the back) are painted with pearlescent liquid acrylic, which has the consistency of ink, is slightly sheer and is highly metallic. And yes, I have beetles on the brain.

I need to make more of these...

fuera de control

New work from a series about climate change - fuera de control 6" x 6"

Summer of the Studio

I have decided that this is the "Summer of the Studio". I intend to finish creating the space that I need to work efficiently and happily. That I will stay organized, that everything will have a home and that I will have easy access to all of my supplies. I've built most of the furniture in my studio and have made things to fit the way I work, my space and the containers I have. I don't have a closet and have to be creative with storage. Since my studio opens off of the living room it's "public space" and, in an ideal world, should be presentable. I spent part of the recent Memorial Day weekend working on a new piece of furniture for my studio - a window seat. It isn't finished yet and needs a cushion, but you can get an idea of how it will look.

The flat files at either end are from Dick Blick (I *could* have made them, but this was easier!) There is storage for my thread boxes, containers for paint and markers and samples for classes, my back-up sewing machine and the file box with all of my art business records. The flat files hold most of my finished quilts (yes, I work small) and about a third of my paper collection. The openings will have doors over them to cut down on the visual clutter.


These are some of the containers I use to corral paintstiks, brushes and colored pencils. Flower pots are terrific because they're waterproof and portable.