focus on life–week 32- from where I stand

This week Sally Russick of the Studio Sublime is standing in some no fun computer headaches, so I’ll start by wishing a nice tech cleansing for her. ugh. But the party goes on! We are focusing on where we stand this week, quite a big question, really.



My studio. You can see the floor!

I’ve been cleaning slowly but surely and it’s falling into place. This little spot is the tightest, I have to turn sideways to squeak through to my chair at the top of the frame.  I wrote about the ridiculousness of this oval table back in week 12.  I have taken those last twenty weeks to “organize”.  Seriously, it seems like I just take things out, look at them, and re-sort them into different containers in slightly different locations.  Or I decide if I move it I will never be able to find it again.

I shot a quick spin around the room with my iPhone, but honestly, I think that just showed me I should use a tripod to make sure I don’t actually make you sick with a spin around my room.  Instead, here are a few stills looking ahead from this spot.  Someday I will get to a proper studio tour.



The curtain on the far right is covering the closet that is, would you believe, even more full. It’s madness, but it’s all mine.  While it can be a little visually overwhelming to stand in this spot, it is the passageway to all kinds of great things, I’m one lucky girl!

Let’s see where everyone else is

Focus on life–week 12–observe the curve

This week Sally directed us: “take a moment to focus on all the different kinds of curves that surround you everyday”.  Curves, wonderful!  I was raised in a house full of paisley – curves are my briar patch. 



Looking at this photo now I’m also seeing a bit of yin and yang going on, although that casts the table as the good and the mug as the evil and that is ass backwards. Ok, getting ahead of myself, let me explain.  I’ve sat down several times at my worktable to get moving on a variety of projects.  There’s usually at least a handful of different ideas going on in my workspace, I like to flit from one to the next as down time arrives.  Well lately, whenever I’ve sat down, I’ve turned around some ideas mixed a few colours, done a little obligatory experimenting (not the fun kind) and things haven’t been clicking.

Hubby walked in at one such moment of frustration and casting his eyes about me, about my space, and said, “how do you work like that?” I shook it off not wanting to really hear that thought, but by the time it was lying in bed that night I was already rearranging the room in my head.  Naturally, the next day I was pulling all sorts of stuff out with a rough idea how it would all go back together again.  Well it’s far from done and I’ll save all the nitty gritty for another day, but the part that makes it hard to arrange is this table. 

I did not by this table on purpose.  I was at the Salvation Army thrift store just before we moved into our house.  I was looking for a pair of chairs for our kitchen, having already chosen a small square table.  I found one that I loved the lines on, the wood (teak?) was in ok shape and the seat was an easy single screw to pop out and recover.  Perfect! There were three sitting there so I grabbed two and headed for the cash to see how much.  I was informed they were part of a set.  I argued that three chairs would not be a set.  She reassured me it was part of a set that included an oval table (missing a leaf) that was up against the wall legs removed.  As she gathered the legs I tried to negotiate just the two chairs.  She wouldn’t budge there was one price and there was no way she was letting me leave without this table.  Of course I was alone, and this was solid wood but I hauled that sucker and three chairs somehow into the car and through our apartment parking lot, up the stairs and into our storage locker.  All that to say an oval table would have never been my choice to fit in a studio workspace, but it’s hard to pass up free.
 
Silver lining moment though finding my favourite handmade mug that I had bought for my day job specifically.  When I moved form a work office to a home one I knew it made the trip but somehow I misplaced it.  That was about five years ago.  The best part is the handle, it fits my two fingers so perfectly, a very good curve indeed. the glaze is very pretty too although the shadows here hide all that.

Those are the curves on my mind at the moment.

Thanks for all your sweet comments about my little dancer, I fought the urge to show you the curve of her eyelashes… mustn’t make it all about her.

Now off to see the twist, turns and curves every has come up with this week, linking up on Sally’s beautiful blog

Dear Spring,

Seriously, what gives?



Why are my bare feet stuck in boots, stuck in snow?



I see a little melting.



But look at this mess!



I see you sun, but you need to TRY HARDER!

I wondered do people in warm climates know what the yellow stick is? Does everywhere with snow use yellow?

I felt a little self conscious carrying my camera to the mail box with me taking these.  So I decided to go all in with a couple cliché type shots. ie my feet above, and below back on my door mat.



This one was from the other day, mid complete studio overhaul – more on that later.  But I looked up while taking a picture at a different angle, decided I just had to take one of “those” pictures I hadn’t taken yet.



See that spring – I have to settle for FAKE flowers. [ In defense of the filthy mirror it was found buried a few hours before and stuck on the nearest available screw.]



By the way, some are smart enough to dig out the hydrant denoted by the yellow stick.  I hope the others will all be sprouting soon as the snow melts – faster, faster!