Monday, November 17, 2008

Make Something Mondays: Temporary Work Space


In July I complained about how slow my new studio/workshop was coming along. And although there's been a tiny bit of progress since then, it's a really tiny bit, and the area is not at all useable. I've decided that we will not get it done during my lifetime and I'm ready to hire someone to finish it. In the meantime, I've been dragging my glass and tools to a table in the backyard, and then packing it all up and dragging it back inside again a few hours later. Not only is this a pain, but now it's getting too chilly to work outside.

I've appropriated our dining room table and made it a temporary glass work area. I can spread some of my stuff out, at least enough to be able to create some things. And I'm not packing it up and putting it away each time I cut some glass, so I can be a lot more productive.

I use the big plastic box for containing glass while I'm cutting. I discovered during my very first class that after about an hour I have enough tiny chunks of glass scattered all over that I have a mess equivalent to that of a toddler eating corn. Corn doesn't usually draw blood if you step on it, so the box is my solution to a never-ending band-aid shortage.

I've placed a small folding table and uncomfortable metal folding chairs in our kitchen so we have a place to eat. It's sort of like dining in a travel trailer: one of us can take things out of the refrigerator and another can load the dishwasher--all while seated at the table! Not ideal for family meals, but a girl's gotta make stuff, right?

This post was inspired by Jolly Mom and Go Graham Go!, the ingenious moms behind Make Something Monday. We'd love for you to join us next Monday!

Make Something Monday

7 comments:

Felicia said...

I know you will be excited to have your space all completed! It feels good to get organized!

Unknown said...

will you come organize my craft room? LOL. I'm a disorganized mess : )

Kristin said...

It does look like it is organized well! And who cares where you eat..as long as you eat, right? lol. I didn't realize you live in Durham...I used to work there...for Durham County Social Services. We live near Cary now, but will be moving to Texas in 2 weeks.. (Can you tell I like to talk?) I meant to just leave you a comment about adding the glitter to the sand sculptures, I think that is a great idea, now I want to try it! Anyway...I got sidetracked, have a great night!

CoconutPalmDesigns said...

Last year I was visiting a friend in the USA for a month and had the same problem. Put everything out, put it all away, etc. What a pain! I hope you get your studio finished soon for your own piece of mind!

angelinabeadalina said...

Oh, that dragging out and putting up stuff every time you want to work on something is a tough one. I took a break from glass in October and tried to learn some simple woodworking...well, let's just say that I spent more time moving the car out of the garage for the day, setting up wooden deck chairs for makeshift sawhorses/worktables, and then putting it all up again before hubby got home at night than I spent actually learning to do stuff with wood. I hope your permanent workspace gets done sooner than you're expecting, and I think the plastic container catching stray glass is a terrific idea for anyone who cuts glass.

Unknown said...

Hey there!

I'm kinda dropping by randomly (& kinda dropping by to hit you with my EC) to tell you about this new selling site I found. It's called ArtFire.com & you should check it out.

It's still really, really new (still in beta) but it's heading in a really good direction! They are already buying advertising online & in print magazines to bring in traffic to the site. (It's already got almost as much traffic as indiepublic.com)

It's got stats for shop views so you know where your customers are coming from! I know! Gasp! Faint! Right? hehe

& it's just $7 a month (for the first 5000 artists) to list & sell as much as you can FOREVER. $7 a month no matter what! I signed up on that alone! haha

Anyhoo, it is new so there aren't zillions of people using it (which is good & bad) but I thought you might want to take a look at it. With the ad campaign they are working on kicking in soon (or so they are saying), I think it's going to be a good place to start listing!

If you sign up, give me a yell & let me know what you think!

Always,
Amy

P.S. I love your blog. I stop by everyday!

Mitzi said...

Wow girl! You are so much more organized than me! Your workspace looks awesome! Mines a huge mess:) I know just where everything is though!