Art studio: my reality needs a place to create, dream and live

Art studio: creative sanctuary

Art studio is a place to create, recharge, work, relax, nurture big ideas, turn ideas into reality and dream. I like keeping my art studio well-organized, neat and clean. It is because I’m used to that since early childhood: we had to clean all rooms in the house on Saturday, so that we can take a relaxing break in a dust-free and neat home on Sunday and start fresh on Monday. Early childhood habits stay with us for a long time, and I am grateful to my mom who always showed such a fantastic example of how to decorate with self-made things, how to sew something that really makes us stand out and how to use flowers and outdoor finds to make the space extremely cozy, lovely and welcoming. Thanks, mom!

I was a good student.

Organizing everything decently: first rule of success

Therefore, my desk is always tidy and not overloaded; my painting tables are always organized so that everything I need is within reach. People who paint something more complicated than abstracted washes are aware that sometimes every minute we lose in crucial moments later requires working for hours to bring back the effect we had achieved. Timing is everything with water media, either acrylic or watercolor. That’s why I cannot answer phone, as well, if I’m in the middle of painting. Calling somebody is really bad habit unless there’s real urgency. I rarely use phone for calls, except when contacting doctor’s office or similar places. Phone is always at the wrong time. Always. There might be extremely rare exceptions when we are expecting a call, and even that is disturbing.

This is how you never need major cleaning

So, the studio is organized, tools and materials are in their right places, and cleaning never takes too much time. The golden rule is very simple: if you want to never look for something, find a suitable place for every type of items or every particular frequently used thing and always put it back where you got it from. I have no problem finding everything even when the power goes out: I do place everything back where I take it from and I also have a very good visual memory. Photographic memory, I’d say. Extremely good visual memory is the result of drawing and painting. I do not need any lists or written schedules since my head keeps it in the right order and allows recalling exactly when I need it.

Technology and reality

In my case, more technology has killed everything I was doing, and that has led to not that brilliant sequences. Therefore, I do not use and I am not willing to use any technology in my painting process. That means drawing and painting mostly from either real scenes and subjects, or imagination. That works well.

Changes in artistic preferences

When I was studying at the University and even after that, I was really in portrait and figure drawing. Some people later in my life destroyed any desire to draw portraits. I just started to feel that only nature won’t present itself with lies and in a pretentious manner. I found beauty where I had not noticed it before, like in some simple piece of weathered wood, withered leaf, opening bud or branch of half-dry tree with bird sitting on it. I mean that type of things. Classes require painting more robust scenes because my personal preferences do not necessarily suit the vision of somebody else.

Designate a special space for creativity

It is a huge advantage to have a specifically designed place for arts and crafts. I have a specific sewing place upstairs where fabrics, threads, buttons, zippers and all kinds of additional materials are neatly sorted in boxes and on shelves. I definitely need a place where everything is ready and waiting for creative outburst. I do not understand how difficult it must be doing arts or crafts at kitchen table since that can be used only for limited time. That is a bad situation.

Canadian houses do not support creativity

When we were looking for a place, I noticed that Canadian houses are absolutely not suited for creativity: there is a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, one or more bathrooms, but nothing where to create. Basement doesn’t work, in fact, for art because artificial lighting regardless of how good or white it is will always distort the color. Colors are true only by the real daylight and for somebody like me who is extremely sensitive to shift in a shade of color this is crucial. Being in a basement doesn’t do any good for nobody because we need the daylight and, especially, sunlight.

Art studio

Art studio: inspiration

Art studio, Ajax, Ontario

Art studio: achievements

Art studio: beauty

Art studio: pleasure

Art studio

Art studio: work

Art studio

Art studio:  inviting and rewarding space

If you do not have a place for your art studio but are very much interested in creativity and recycling things, sewing, crafting and similar activities: fight for it. We do not live only to sleep, eat and entertain ourselves at screens. I assume people who do not have any passion boring and just filling in the space where we could allow our creative spirit to lift us in previously unseen heights.

The many advantages of doing art

Art is helpful: it decreases addictions, helps overcome depression and bad mood, makes us more confident and self-aware, allows feeling not lonely, takes away sadness and despair, opens our eyes to new possibilities, fills us with gratefulness and appreciation and, finally: it is the best way of meditation ever because we have created something enjoyable and usable at the end, too.

Definitely, it’s time your family has an art and craft studio, too: to take a break from screens and to realize that genuine happiness means creation, not only consumption.

12 Replies to “Art studio: my reality needs a place to create, dream and live”

  1. A profound message. When we were young we lived in quite a modest house. The kids shared a bedroom, so that the third small bedroom could be a playroom. The playroom was our creative space. So many happy hours were spent there. Before we left the playroom, we put everything back in its place, books on the bookshelf etc. My mother was a kindergarten teacher. I remember at her kindy that before story time, the children had packing up time where all the children tidied up the toys and put everything back in its place ready for tomorrow. Your studio is beautiful.

    1. See, that has been a habit in your family, too! I also believe that everybody who is given a truly creative space (I don’t mean only toys, but rather things which allow creating something) will try to have such a space when they grow up. Every creative person means one total consumer less. Consumerism is the hugest disaster of today because it depletes resources, makes people unhappy when they cannot have everything they deem necessary and eventually unjustified consumption is the cause of climate change. Therefore, I am 100% for creative attitude that is free and available to everybody. Thanks Gallivanta for your nice comment!

  2. Wow, you are very tidy. My mom was a very tidy person. We were very poor and always lived in apartments with no extra space for creating. Our living room always had a bed in it, but once we made the beds we were not allowed to sit on them. So…. that is probably the reason I am not the tidiest person. but I try. I am trying to reorganize my sewing room with a place for everything that I use.💜

    1. Well, it’s never too late to become a great organizing specialist! I had for many years very small apartments, too, therefore, I had to find a place for sewing machine, computer desk, ironing board, painting table, yes, and I also had my bed in the same room. This room was way smaller than the classroom here. You know, when I worked in a grocery store during summer vacation (we all worked in soviet Latvia during summer vacation since some 10 years) I had to place products in a refrigerated shelves. I looked around and I needed space for minimum 20 jars, but the shelf was full! I told the store manager: there is no free space to place anything! She took some things out, moved around some other things and all of a sudden there was enough space for these 20 jars. So she told me a phrase which I am repeating every time when it feels like I am short of space: there is always enough space for everything if you sort out and organize things smartly.
      I am that far that when I am seeing a crowded desk I cannot work at it. I do not understand how other people do. It’s very important for me that I never waste time looking for something, so, I am always trying to have this stuff ready for use. I think, this need to have everything very clean comes from childhood because my sister is even more obsessed with that, my daughter has extremely clean house and workplace. It’s in blood. I love that. It saves time later because I do not need any major cleaning.

  3. I love the brightness of your art studio. It makes the colours of your paintings come alive. And I completely agree with you about the phone. Like you when you’re painting, I won’t answer when I’m writing.

    1. Thanks so much Jo-Anne! I am glad to have some place to display a few pieces. I am hoping to have 10 times larger space to display art by theme and medium. So far, very few watercolors are shown because they need frames. Thankfully, acrylic doesn’t need anything, but definitely looks better in a frame.
      We most often are able to do just one thing decently. If it’s many, focus is lost and obviously some parts will need more work.

  4. It is wonderful to see your organisation skills transferring into your work space Inese.. And so enjoyed seeing your wonderful studio and all the works hung upon the walls.
    Wishing you well my friend, Enjoy your studio, painting and your weekend.. LOVE Sue xx

    1. Thanks, Sue! I really appreciate your nice comment. I love also when I can just look at some work and also when people come in they are really surprised because the place looks quite grey from the outside. It is usually a “Oh, wow! That is fantastic!” since nobody expects all walls covered with art. It is sort of nice.
      I am trying to figure out where else I could work.
      I will try to put together illustration portfolio and add a lot more illustrations which will need organizing the online site.
      I will also try to create some kind of more targeted texts for the lifeschool blog. That will be lots of work.
      I wish you also a great weekend!

    2. Thanks, Sue! Well, the only thing I have to do now is work. I am slow, however, compared to what I was some 30 years ago, probably because I’m very meticulously trying to be good in any area.
      We have dark, dark sky today, and rain. That means not that much of painting or art since I need daylight, maybe some writing then.

    3. It is fall time, we have to get used to dull skies. I am working on updating my many sites, oh my, that takes time!

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