My Rosebud bracelet in Creative Jewelry 2009, featuring lampworked beads by Kandice Seeber. |
The first time I deadheaded my roses, I feared I was killing my rose
bushes. I didn't quite believe that if I cut off the dead roses more
would grow. What if I cut off too much? Would the plant die? Cleaning my studio feels a bit like deadheading roses. I know it's a good thing, but part of me is afraid to part with anything. What if I need that later? What if I need a messy studio to be creative? What if I put everything away and then I can't find something? Even though I'm no longer in school, I still find September is the perfect month for new beginnings or renewal. There's been a spate of artists cleaning their studios. (If you're curious, Andrew Thornton mentioned a bunch of them in a recent post.) All those artists have helped inspire me. I'm hoping a clean, organized studio will help me renew my creativity. |
Here are 7 tips I've learned:
- Donate or sell any unwanted (but still good) supplies. (See my donation ideas in a previous post.) You can also arrange a bead swap with friends.
- Throw out anything that's no good. I tossed a dried-up tube of jewelry cement and a paintbrush I used for resin that I forgot to clean.
- Add in missing parts. I snagged an old kitchen rug for my studio when I realized how much beads bounce on a bare cement floor. I also keep a running list to stock my studio more efficiently. Often I'd be in the middle of the project and realize that I was running low on brass head pins or silver jump rings, but when I had time to shop, I'd have forgotten I needed them.
- Make it fun. I've been doing a lot of cleaning by listening to music or podcasts. Podcasts like Crafty Pod and NPR's The Splendid Table (two of my favorites) are especially helpful because they run for a certain length of time, so you don't have to let cleaning eat up your whole day. You can get a lot done in thirty minutes or an hour.
- Create a place for everything. It made a huge difference in my productivity last year when I finally went from a single bead container to separate drawers for different kinds of beads. I also have a special box for in-progress projects which makes it easy for me to carry around if needed.
- Make a "junk drawer." While it may seem that the point of organization is to eliminate junk drawers, this is a tip I picked up from The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It's good to have a place you can rummage through and find unexpected treasures when the mood strikes. The key is to keep it to a single box or drawer.
- Keep an empty shelf or drawer. It sounds crazy, but it makes me feel good knowing I have two completely empty drawers in my bead storage system. It makes me feel more open to possibilities. I obviously don't have enough beads if I still have space to hold them!
I'd love to hear your tips for cleaning your studio
space. What works? What doesn't?
Be sure to check out the other Art
Bead Scene posts on "renewal" in mid-September.