Creative mess equals creative thought.
Whenever I need a special treat, I go to Barnes and Noble, order a big frappucino, and sit with a bunch of magazines. This is my happy place.
I have a rather large magazine addiction, and I don't really need to go to Barnes and Noble to feed it. I have ALWAYS loved magazines. I guess they can be filed under my love of paper.
(I need to mention here that I have subscriptions to 22 -- yes, 22-- magazines delivered right to my door each month. Here I digress... my magazine addiction is an inherited one. I've had magazine subscriptions since I was a child and as a teen my Mom finally ordered me to get rid of the stacks as she was afraid they might start a fire. My grandmother, at age 94, would steal magazines from the lobby of her nursing home, to cut up and paste pictures in her journal; moreover, my mother has a lot of subscriptions as well, and whenever a visitor comes she has to explain her magazine "system", which I share: in order that a fresh issue doesn't get in the wrong hands without our having read it, we put the ones we've gone through already -- often with only a few forlorn pages left in them -- in a special designated place. Pity the person who bucks the system!!)
So I'm pretty up-to-date and in the know about current
magazines. There are so many devoted to art projects and handmade items, using paper, wood, metal, textiles,
paint....Since 9-11 when people started staying home and nesting, the handmade movement has really taken off. And for the last few years there have been a LOT (5 or 6 different brands) of magazines devoted completely to artists' studios. Whole magazines that are filled only with pictures of where artists work. And the studios!!! They are incredible!! Fancy desks and cabinets, neat storage jars and bins (that in themselves cost a fortune), perfectly ordered spaces. Oh that we could all have such beautiful places to work! (No offense to the publishers of these magazines. I buy them often.)
But actually, these rooms are too pretty -- does anyone actually WORK in them??? Where are the paint spills? What did they do with the week old cups of coffee? I don't see any candy wrappers, sketches, used brushes, piles of papers with ideas. What about the half finished pieces? And the completed projects--where are they?? There aren't even any stains on the floors. WHERE IS THE CLUTTER??!! Is there any time left to actually make anything after spending so much time perfecting the look of the workplace? These spaces are really beautiful but not at all practical. Here are a few samples of what I mean.
And me, I like to tell it like it is. I would like to have a neat studio but my priorities are elsewhere. As a friend's mother said to me years and years ago, "I prefer flower arranging to cleaning,". Why spend time making it pretty when I could be painting? I have to say, as chaotic as my place looks, it is actually very organized. Ask me where something is and I can probably tell you if I have it AND where to find it. The photos below are a slightly exaggerated version because this was during the holiday rush.
I doubt I will be giving any studio tours anytime soon. So here it is. Does anyone want to put my (beloved) place on the cover? Feel free to visit. Just, please, don't make a mess.
this is actually my desk
