this is what I was thinking...

So, I lamented my studio mess and confessed to letting years go by with furniture that not only didn't work, it leered at me from the corners and dared me to try to make it work. As my business grew and I added items to my list of goodies, more nooks and crannies needed to be found. Then I added collage which really threw things into the maelstrom. Collage requires bits and pieces of odds and ends to be within grabbing distance. They need to be handy so that as you are looking for just the right bit to finish off a piece it leaps up from the pile and calls to you.  The only thing my supplies were calling was "help" So, after watching years of renovation shows, I realized that what needed to be done was a demolition. I would have to strip the hulk of its stashes of stuff, dismantle it, take all the supplies from their corners and cubbies and toss them into a free for all so they could be seen and stored anew. I gathered bins and boxes and buckets and proceeded to search and destroy. Russ came upstairs, gasped and wondered when I had lost my mind. I told him not to worry, just get the hutch off the top of the hulk. I had a vision.

I surveyed the chaos with grim determination and a sense of certainty. I could see it. Russ came up with a sledge hammer and crowbar (the hulk would not die, it had to be pounded into submission) He had trouble seeing what I saw. I think he was contemplating setting a match to it but we do live there after all.. I had to work that night. Just a few hours, but it was a welcome break from the dust and oppression of what I had created. The sound track from Les Mis was playing in my head... I showed the picture of the demo to a co worker and he paled and gasped. Oh, ye of little faith. While I was at work, Russ scooted off to the home improvement mega store and when I came home he proudly showed me the new counter he built that skimmed over the desk portion of the hulk, a file cabinet and my mat board shelves. A whole wall of counter. With the hulk gone and the desk flush against the wall it was like doubling the room size. I was psyched. The next two days, I organized, labeled, cleaned, swept, tossed, re-imagined. The demo was a good idea. From total chaos comes comes inspiration. Or was it desperation? Anyway, here it is:




                                           

  The rugs are for my dogs to sleep on. They like to keep me company. Oliver's little bed is tucked in the back right hand corner. Jutting out on the right is my mat cutter. If you could see to the far left, there is metro shelving with cut mats and mat boards, organized by size.

That doll on the right side counter? That's Wanda the Walking Doll. My grandparents gave it to me when I was just a few years old and I was never allowed to play with it because it was "special". Mom would bring it out every so often and wind her up and let her skate along the floor and then back in the box she went.  She hangs out with me now as a reminder that you take beauty when it is offered.  Some things are not meant to be saved until later. She winks at me now and then, I swear.