Studio Day

While I've spent a fair bit of time in the studio lately,  it has involved a lot of working to deadlines, and catching up with my "to do" list.  Today I had a FMQ'g project on the machine ready to start stitching, but I didn't sleep well last night, and decided that I wasn't ready for a pains-taking job like that.  So, I decided to paint.  It's been on my "to do" list but not as a priority.  This means completely re-organizing my studio into a "wet" studio, as opposed to the fabric, or "dry" studio it usually is.  Doing something like that means doing a fair bit of production, as it's just too much work for one small piece. (In summer, painting is usually a job done out in the garden, but not in March when it's freezing out there.)

This is my set-up.  I protect my work table with an old tablecloth, and then use a 32" sq. piece of good Plexiglas on top.  Most of us who show and exhibit our art, also have smaller "bread and butter" items, that we use to assure our booth rental, and other expenses.  The items I make start with mono-printed cotton, so a great deal of my basic preparations involve pulling prints.  I do this once or twice a year, and aim for between 20 & 25 prints that I slowly process over the next few months.  

The large piece you see on the table is (I hope) the background for a fibre art piece that I currently only have in my head.  Today I only managed to get 14 prints, and here they are drying, below.

Once, I had got this far, and took a break, I realized that it's been far too long since I sorted out my painting supplies and took inventory. This had to be done before I could do much more, as I had realized that some of my "go to" supplies have been all used up. So that was the next step.

Normally, my painting supplies are organized onto bins in a large book case.  I keep fabric paint, acrylic paint, water colour supplies, alcohol and other inks, and various art mediums, in separate bins,

 The various junk needed to use these things is kept on what was originally a wet bar. All of my metallic paints and Procion dyes are kept under the bar, just around the corner from the laundry room that I use for all of my dyeing, and some of my painting.

Not to worry, both have now been tidied up and a whole bunch of containers etc put out for re-cycling. I learned in university to buy the best tools I could afford, and care for them properly.  This attitude has served me well over the years, especially with my paint brushes.  I made myself a caddy for them, and have used it for many years. It is just a piece of good cotton that I embellished with Shiva Paint sticks.  There is a place for each brush, and the whole affair rolls up in to a neat bundle.

All together a very productive day.

I plan to link this with Nina-Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday, and The Needle and Thread Network.