Set your drink down anywhere on this coaster.

I did try to clean my studio a few weeks ago, I swear. I managed to widen the path a little bit! And I threw out three--count 'em, 3!--small bags of garbage. It's just that, well, I think it multiplies and I end up with more of what I thought I had less of.

Take, for instance, ceramic tiles. I have two boxes of them. At least they are painted and sealed ceramic tiles. Last summer, I dyed them for an outdoor project. I didn't use them all, and now they've migrated back upstairs. There's about 80 tiles lurking in boxes on the floor, underneath a bag of empty plastic milk containers (don't ask), tissue paper, and what I think might be a cutting mat. Or cardboard. It could be cardboard. It's probably foam board.

Anyway, tiles. Tiles make good coasters. Sturdy, pretty, kinda fragile. I dyed a bunch yellow, mod podged some red starbursts, added dabs of hot glue for feet, and voila! Coasters!

The down side? 80 is A LOT. Nobody needs that many coasters. I stopped at 14. So, the remaining tiles were shuffled off to a new spot underneath the easel that is holding 4 paintings in progress.  Another time, tiles. Another time.

Twisted Trees

An artist usually has a favorite subject and I am no different. Trees, female nudes, and most recently, music, are my go to topics when I'm in the studio. These subjects feel like they relate to each other and I've been known to combine them from time to time. 

Wire hangers have become one of my favorite mediums to work with. I like the versatility--they can be twisted into just about anything or used as a frame or support. This is also a material that is easily found and free. I get boxes of wire hangers from neighbors and friends who find dry cleaning a necessity. And the only tools needed are a pair of needle nose pliers and wire cutters. 

My favorite part about working with wire hangers? I love the physicality of it. It's hard work to bend wire into shapes. There are a lot of differences in wire hangers; they are not cheap white ones from the dry cleaner. Some of them are made of pretty thick metal. 

The first wire trees I made were over two feet tall and used to display necklaces at a craft fair. I've used them to display ornaments at Christmas. I've made smaller trees, about eight inches tall. I've given them to my daughter and her friends to display their jewelry.

I also made a tree for a friend who harbored a strong dislike for a particular ornament....

.....she now fosters an intense feeling of happiness regarding said ornament, and keeps this tree in her yoga studio to inspire her and her clients. 

"A guitar is meant to be played!"

.....said my daughter's guitar teacher in a hollow voice. He followed that up with, "it's pretty," but I understood he did not approve of my mosaic/mixed media piece. Oh, well. Can't please everybody.

My daughter has been playing guitar for two years now. I bought her a 3/4 guitar when she started, which turned out to be damaged, and would cost me more to fix than I paid for it. The recommendation was to buy a full size guitar, as she would grow into it. So I did. But what to do with a pink, damaged, 3/4 guitar with a fairy on it? Turn it into a fairy house, of course! Since my goal in life is to use up all the stuff in my studio, this is a perfect way to do that. Perfect and painstaking.

Here's a list of materials used, because I know you're dying for a list: tiles, buttons, beads, brads without the pointy parts, the pointy parts of the brads (waste not, want not, et al.), fabric, wooden beads, glass beads, glue, and grout. I'm sure I'm missing some stuff, I went through several boxes of materials here.

 The best part? Cutting out the hole in the front and removing the strings. I've always like breaking stuff. Don't judge.

A little sawing, a little sanding,and there's a whole new space!

I eventually did make this into a fairy house. I added a ladder on the inside, and a wool floor where the wooden braces are.

I agree, guitars are meant to be played--unless they are broken, then they are meant to be turned into works of art.

The Studio: A Love/Hate Relationship

I am fortunate enough to have enough space to convert one of the bedrooms to a working studio. It's an artist's dream! This is the love part. 

This is the hate part:

I am a very messy artist. I jump from project to project, leaving destruction in my wake. No matter how many times I "clean up" in here, within 10 minutes, it looks like this again. I'm like a gaggle of unsupervised toddlers in toy store. As a result, most of what I start rarely gets finished.

Recently, life has changed dramatically for me. There may come a point when I am no longer as fortunate as I have been, and looking at this room only contributes to the clutter in my mind. The stress has been overwhelming at times. I have been trying to line up my ducks, but they are disobedient little fuckers, and refuse to snap to. I am forced to start shooting them.

Duck #1: Clear out the studio. This has been my goal all along, but it needs to move faster. I have given myself until 5pm today (it is 12:33pm EST right now) to make it happen.

Challenge accepted.