One of January's Goals was Organizing my Work Space! - image 1 - student project

Yikes, I cringe but this was taken right after Brooke invited us to post a picture of our space...My work had outgrown my surface area, I had just searched for a missing paper, and my son was doing remote school on the computer desk which was also crowded with art supplies that had no other home. The chaos which can energize me had gotten to the point where it was stifling.

One of January's Goals was Organizing my Work Space! - image 2 - student project Same view/new view! Just finished yesterday. The biggest change is that I swapped my huge old walnut desk (which was just a magnet for random clutter) with my daughter for her tiny desk and little white cube storage shelf. Adjacent to my art table, it holds some of the supplies that were sitting on the desk surface, where they are still accessible but much more efficiently stowed. This also expands my work surface so I can reach my brushes without them occupying the same space as my painting. On the other side of my art desk, I added an open storage shelf which I found at a local store that was closing; it keeps some of my seldom-used supplies within reach, but arranged in a colorful, organized way that works for me. I will always be more of a messy creator but it helps so much to have a place for everything so I can bring it back to center every once in awhile! One of January's Goals was Organizing my Work Space! - image 3 - student project This class has been a big help, just giving me some focus and direction that I needed and some new tools for wrangling long-term projects. This month I finished a major family project for my grandma, which is super satisfying. I'm making progress toward a more balanced life-work dynamic that will make it possible to take my artwork out of the realm of "enthusiastic amateur" and help me earn the title of "professional illustrator." Thanks, Brooke! One of January's Goals was Organizing my Work Space! - image 4 - student project I love the view out the front of our house, where I get plenty of morning light and can watch the kids if they're out playing on the hill. I like my space to feel lived-in, with little notes from them, things I've collected, snacks of course, and random items that make me smile. My daughter made me the brush drying rack out of duct tape and wooden skewers...I can't not use stuff like that! Hence, happy clutter. *sigh*

Mel L

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