19 March 2010

Get In Where You Fit In

Crafters are really crafty. (Ya think, Lisa?) This goes beyond the art or craft itself. We have to be innovative in all areas. Over the past month Etsy Artists of Color street team members have been featured on the EAOC team blog. One of the questions asked is "Where do you create?" The answers varied but one thing is true: not everyone has the option of working in a studio so we must work with what we have. As I was reading today's post about Robyn, of SydneyAustinDesigns, I had to laugh at her response to the above question.

"Where do you create? In a corner, on a little black table."

I hadn't given it much thought before. Usually I pull out my supplies and just get to work. My "blending room" is wherever I take my Ikea 5 drawer storage unit. Soapers may know exactly the one I'm talking about because the smaller drawers are the perfect size to be used as 2 lb molds (I hear Alton Brown repeating "Multi-task, multi-task."). I keep all my small bottles of essential oils, tinctures and chunks of resins in there along with my notebooks, pens, highlighters, scent strips, pipettes, vials, labels, scissors and tape. When it's time to start blending I pick the whole thing up and move to where there is a quiet and unoccupied area. The same goes for soaping or making other B&B products. I have one large storage unit that I keep my supplies locked away in. When it's time to get crafting I take out what I need and drop it into a Rubbermaid bin (except for the lye, of course lol) and carry it to where I'll be working.

It would be nice to have a place where I could just walk in, have a seat and start working. But for now I'll keep carrying around my Ikea shelf and Rubbermaid bin, like Linus and his blanket.

3 comments:

Sabbio said...

I totally understand what you mean though I don't carry everything with all the time ^^

It's just that I'm working on the family desk (where the computer is) in a corner of the living room ^^'

But I'm not complaing, there's a good light there :) It's just that I cannot do mvery much during week-ends with everyone at home lol

Unknown said...

This resonates with me so much! When I work on faux sample boards I have a card table that folds up into a bag under the sofa that I pull out and tape newsprint down on top of. That usually ends up over 2 drop cloths in the living room. Sometimes furniture pieces I'm finishing get their treatments in the middle of the kitchen floor. When I sew though, all bets are off. The machine plugs in wherever there is an open outlet (I just had it going on top of Matt's nightstand the other day actually lol).

Unknown said...

Lol! It is so true Lisa. I love my little corner. It's my own personal crafting space.