Two Heads Are Better Than One!

Dragon Rags

I live and work in what is called a “visionary environment,” to borrow a term. What that means is that the home and studio in which I live and work reflect who I am. I am fortunate to share my home and studio with my boyfriend, also an artist (a musician ). We often work side by side in a studio that is comfortable (if a little small,) visually stimulating, peaceful, and very functional.

There are books everywhere, and we have cats (though we do not share the studio with them!) We both also enjoy and collect art.The house is an end unit, so we have 2 large windows that look out onto our neighborhood and onto a green space. As I sit at my desk, I look out on pine trees and grass and sky. It's quiet. When I am in the studio, I lose track of time and very easily fall into flow.When I really need to spread out, I do so on the floor of the studio.

My desk is suitable for some smaller projects, and that is where I take most of my product photos, edit and upload my photography, etc., but when I'm playing with my glues and paints, I do so away from the equipment. Ideally, I would like to have a work table, but the studio is too small. We have made the arrangement work for us.There is nothing like sharing space and a life with another artist!

We spend many a night giving one another feedback. He on my art and photography, I on his music. It is a lot of fun, and it keeps my creative juices flowing.When I first moved into my house, the studio was the master bedroom. When he moved in, we realized that it was the perfect room for a studio. Though we both would like to have a bigger work space some day, everything fits. We love this room, and we think others do, too: It doubles as our guest room. You'd have to spend time in this room to really get how nice it is.

I tend to organize by using containers that are either multi-functional or modular. I like to categorize my supplies. My papers are in a multi-drawer unit, sorted by category. My fabrics go into plastic tubs that can be tucked away into the corners and used as end tables. The shelves in the studio closet are fully utilized. That's where I keep my batting and the bulk of my office and art supplies. For me, organizing is all about not disturbing visual flow. Another way I like to keep organized is to clean up as I go. If I am working on multple projects, I tend to put each project's components into their own container and store the items toghether but not put away. That way, I can bounce back and forth between things but not end up with chaos when I am finished. Good organization is very, very important when working in a small space. I believe that is how my boyfriend and I manage to share without getting on each other's nerves!

Visit her studio at http://www.dragonrags.etsy.com/

Three in a Space ~Working Together~ Is it Possible?

Have you ever tried to share your space with someone else.? My space is a family games room with a built in extra large workspace ~ the Ping Pong table. I don't share my space with someone else per say but I do need to clean up my stuff when we have friends over to use the space. I love my space and will use any excuse to spend time in my retreat.

Here is a top excuse for spending time in the studio:

"If I weren't in here, I'd be eating. This is my diet plan." Annie Nordmark in Chicago,IL

~ If you have any excuse to share please post in comment on the blog!~

Featured Etsy Shop ~Krafty Krew

Koodos to Krafty Krew who have mastered the art of togetherness.

By ~KraftyKrew

Well lets see ,we are a joint venture of 3 me , my mom, and my sister and we live in my sister's home. My mom and I share the converted garage so we do with what we have .It's a bit crowded,but we manage.

Let me tell you~ there are times it drives me crazy. I don't like clutter or piles. But since I am not in my own home; well there you go. We try to use plastic shoe boxes to organize. We also use those crystal lite plastic tubes for our pens, rulers, buttons, etc... I use a lot of binders to keep myself organized with my projects and my mom and I use file cabinets to store our patterns.

We also take pictures of our projects to keep a log of what we make.

My sister uses those space bags to store her fabric. She has more room. She had a room built to suit her.

I have a few shelves for my fabrics, which I love .Fabric ~you can never have enough. Who ever dies with the most fabric wins :~) My mom also has a few shelves for her fabric but you will notice that a lot of our fabric is stacked up. We just love to go shopping especially those great fabric shops in Los Angeles.

We all do try to keep our own items and tools separate but sometimes we find that someone has taken our stuff. All in all we manage pretty well. We have fun together and help each other to make the best item so we can list and sell.

So I hope the pictures don't scare you .We do have some kind of organization , don't ask me what it is but I guess it's working for the moment LOL!!! If anyone out there wants to help me ,come on over and help me clean up my work area LOL!!!

Thanks for the opportunity~ kraftykrew aka Rita, Frances, Irene.Pss... the person you see in the picture is my mom. Here she is making her purses and wallets .She also makes soft sculpture dolls. You should see her Mr "T" and Betty Boop. I cant wait to list those. I think everyone will go gaga over them .

http://www.kraftykrew.etsy.com/