This past weekend I had dozens of friends and strangers walking through my studio to see my art work as part of the Oak Bay Studio Tour. It was fun, it was affirming and it was exhausting! I was in bed by 8:30 last night....
Of course when you embark on having the studio open, it needs to be spiffy and neat, so everyone is impressed with my work space. I'd love to say that its like that all the time but sadly, thats not the case....
So before it goes back into its normal state, I thought you might like a tour.
Here's the entrance area into the studio, there are stairs from the upper level to the right:
Then a look into the studio, it's in the basement without much natural light but lots of good fixtures for a bright and cheerful work environment:
To the left, there are two bookcases, filled with books, reference material, small bits of things...I can see some tidying is needed...
To the right of the bookcases is my cutting table and my design wall. Where the yellow art quilt is (my #2 favourite) usually has a bulletin board: the art on the right is in progress, visitors enjoyed seeing the way I work and considerations for my design decisions.
Here's another view of my cutting table, I love the drawers and shelves....its an Ikea kitchen island! Another spot to tidy underneath...
The right side of my design wall, the wall is about 6' x6', I'd love it to be larger but that's all the space I could manage. My work "Appia" is on the wall, but usually theres another bulletin board.
My sewing machine is underneath the table, I love the mechanized lift for it. I often put it down and use the space as a light table.... You can also see a wall shelf that's handy for putting bits and pieces and more art above it.
The one window in the room looks out onto grass and the neighbour, not the best view but it is south-facing so there's good light. You can see the "office" too. The open area to the left was meant to be an "art" area but thats not too practical, I might try again, not that its tidy....
Here's more of the "office" with "Lupine" in the background, thats usually another bulletin board space :) My Thermofax machine is below.
Here's my fashionable fake fireplace, just an electric one but it does have nice fake flames too! The fabric on the left covers my printer that usually sits on the table. More art on the right!
Here are the Ikea wire baskets that store my fabrics and projects. In front is another Ikea kitchen island that is my pressing surface and it usually lives somewhere else. I had my ice dyed scarves set up on the island with a mirror for the Studio Tour.
Then finally, we have gone full circle with another set of bookcases that store books, beads, boxes and more.... the door out of the studio is on the right.
Thanks for stopping by, if you're ever in the neighbourhood, let me know and you can see it for real! But I can't promise it'll be this tidy. Now I have to get the bulletin boards back up!
