Cleaning Up

I just finished a book project and my studio is a disaster. It's particularly bad this time because I created the book using a new medium: collage (usually I just use ink and watercolor). And I don't have that much experience with it so I kind of made a mess. There's glue, itsy-bitsy scraps of paper and fabric, paint splatter—to name just a few—everywhere! I find that I like work best in a tidy space. It's about 16x12 and I have lots packed in so it helps to be organized. I bet it doesn't look like a typical artist studio - too clean and orderly, but that's the way I like it.

I cleaned for two full days. I took out everything I could lift out of the room. I dusted, vacuumed, and scrubbed every inch of the studio and every single item in it...from the cubbies to every paint brushes. This is what it looked like in the middle of my cleaning:


As you can probably guess, I work in a sun room that's located on the side of my home. So I get tons of light - too much in fact. Here's what my studio looks like from the outside:



The shades are usually down on the windows facing the street so it feels private and no one can see the mess. I'm still putting things back in place, so I'll wait to post a picture of it all done.