My studio is a big fat mess.
As I write, the blanket I use to cover the cracked and torn leather couch is disheveled and crumpled under my body. On the floor around me I see piles of books, pillows, crumpled rugs, a sewing machine, artwork, fabric, yarn, dying succulents, tangled power cords, and many piles of paper.
At eye level… every table surface is covered, a jumbled mash of finished artwork, paints, water jars, markers, pastels, more paper, important business stuff buried under to-do lists, aprons, ribbon, three different kinds of scissors, and more.
Above me, four out of the eight light fixtures have burned-out bulbs. And there might be a cobweb or two, I don’t know… my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.
My studio is a big fat mess!
It might be okay sometimes, jumbled messes… evidence of a creative person doing the work perhaps….
But my mess has gotten out of hand, and it’s keeping me from creating anything new, so I find myself needing to begin the process of cleaning my studio today.
(Cleaning now. Keep me accountable!)
carlasonheim.wordpress.com 
My studio has 250 tote bags on the floor. 190 of them are waiting for pockets I made, to be sewn on. The pockets are in bags on the floor. The cutting table is buried under 18″ of piles, some of which are stuff I took off the wall so I could pin up the 9 little quilts I made for fun. If you can clean, I’ll give it a shot too. My goal is to see the cutting table.
Oh, you will feel so relieved after cleaning up. Unless – you will find most interesting things under or among the stacks and start reading or creating or …
That is what happens to me more often than not. 🙂
Tidy up, toss some things, reorganize, but promise me you won’t go all Marie Kondo and become a minimalist!
I hear you, Carla. Trying to turn older son’s bedroom into my studio. He’s long had his own home and doesn’t even call it his bedroom any more. He calls it a mess. All I need to do is remove the bed (someone wants the wooden frame; mattress to the trash,) remove the wallpaper (what in the world was I thinking? My poor son – this awful pattern,) repaint (dusty plum, no one but me likes it, it’s gonna be my room,) re-floor (old carpet: OUT OUT OUT; new luxury vinyl – whatever that is – IN,) Then, the large sturdy pine table currently sitting in the middle of our living room takes its place in my new studio, and I’m good to go. Sigh…..
Nice and easy. One thing at a time, giving yourself time.
This makes me feel so much better! I’m not the only messy artist out there! I’ll work along with you; I have made a list of things to do since it’s all so overwhelming. Good luck to all!
Marsha
My creative space was taking over and I was walking around in circles SO, I decided to go for a walk in the rain with a Meetup photo group. No matter what the weather I feel better when I get some fresh air and exercise. It was great to chat, have coffee and hear about peoples creativity. Now I can settle into tiding up a bit. But man, I need to move my energy by being outside these days.
I can certainly relate to this…..and I keep buying art supplies. Where will I put them? I MUST clean up…and so must you. It is very hard to work in such chaos.
as I’m reading this, I’m looking around at the piles I have on the dining room table (small area in front of computer that is on the table) so I can possibly work or eat…and piles of fabric and watercolors and paper nearby on the foot stool and sofa….
Antidote #42,847: Turn the music up. Loud. Sing along. Don’t care about who might be listening. I’ve made a few mix tapes to cheer a friend during these times. I put on one of those playlists, and the messy room fills with bright music while keeping me connected to someone I love. Win win. AND . . . the studiette (tiny studio) gets cleaned or at least tidied up.
I see unexpected treasures being unearthed. And much light 🙂
I wish I could get organized. I can hardly see the floor!
Yep! Had to laugh at that description. When my art room gets messy enough, I never go in but start migrating to every other room. Keep going. Be ruthless. It feels so good when it is done. And for a few minutes, you’ll be on top of it😁
Best wishes!
Suzanne
I do believe that Creative Mess belongs in a different category to other messes. There’s a certain symmetry to those piles of finished work, in fact, they are stacks rather than piles. I had a friend who used to spray her cobwebs a nice shade of neon pink or purple. Light bulbs however are essential. Good luck with the tidy up.
Somehow I find this comforting to know I’m not alone in having every surface deep in stuff.
Oi. I’ve been trying to clean up my studio for YEARS. It never gets to where I’d like it to be- clean(ish), calm and welcoming. Instead, horizontal surfaces have become a magnetic menace; they collect everything. Drawers hide important ideas. If I don’t see it, I forget. But if I see too much… I become as scattered as the papers which pile up everywhere. I tell myself the problem is my attitude and that I have unrealistic expectations and standards. In reality, I think it has more to do with beginnings and endings. When I take the time to begin a piece of work properly, delighting in the setup and arrangement of the workspace, and take the same amount of time restoring the workspace at the end of the working session, I do much better. And feel much better. The studio may still be chaotic, but the few square inches, sometimes even a square foot of calm, comfort my soul. If I only I could FORCE myself to do the necessary, distasteful administrative paperwork…. I have 10 minutes of energy a day and can’t bear to spend it on busy business.
Thank you Carla. I’ve been meaning to ask if you’d show us the magical drawer in which you toss everything? I really could use some tips on how to store unfinished works. the mountain of Possibly Useful Bits grows and grows each day….
I think a lot about compost.
🤣 that was me on Friday! Tidied up enough to work in there but needs an overhaul. Too busy painting for that right now though. Maybe next month. 😉
I love Carla!
me too!!!
When my house and studio are kind of clean and organized, it’s usually because I’ve been anxious or depressed and I need to feel in control of something. When I’m seized with a creative idea and the juices start flowing, the last thing on my mind is
organizing and making things look reasonable. Whenever i visit a fellow artist in their studio, I love to see all that unimportant messiness. This tells me they’re in the zone, or flow, or whatever you want to call it. Tidy space, tidy art, rarely inspires me. Yes, sometimes when i’m walking on top of my still wet artworks because i’ve run out of
space, some action is required. Eventually.
I have been cleaning as well. For a fresh start. Go Carla. Happy Cleaning
I love all of these comments as well as your post, Carla. Clearly people have different strategies for cleaning as well as various amounts, kinds and reasons of/for mess. I had a painting teacher (I adored) who said that even after just 5 minutes of having a conversation with me while I was painting, he would walk away with more paint on him than when he spent the entire day painting in his studio. I’m that kind of artist. I work in many mediums and often have several projects/pieces of work going at the same time. Eventually I do get overwhelmed, so have to stop and take the time to clean up. Whether I do small (one surface or one part of a surface) or big (floor, shelves, piles, the kind where you explode and regroup) I usually find inspiration to work stops me at some point and I rarely if ever get to the end of a cleaning job.
There’s a children’s book that I used to read to my kids that describes my process pretty succinctly. It’s called Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gillman. Check out the first one of the series: http://www.scholastic.ca/books/view/jillian-jiggs
I think we all end up with messy studios. I have 2- one at home and a storefront downtown. It is a challenge to keep them neat. Everytime I start a project it looks like a tornado came through. And when I “try to organize” I drag more out thinking “oh I can read this and get rid of it” or “I need to remember to to do this(which I have not done yet in the past 5 year!)”
Get it to the point where you feel good. Sterile is not ideal! It needs your personality in it.
There is the creative mess, the I’m too busy so everything just gets piled higher mess, and I am feeling overwhelmed and tired mess. You will feel better when you clean it up. It is also part of the creative process. Get’r done, girlfriend! Okay, so now I will go out and clean up my messes, to.
I find your description oddly comforting because I can so strongly identify. One thing I enjoy about cleaning up is finding a long-lost favorite pencil or a scrap of painted material that I can use for a current project.
I used to be upset with myself with the clutter and mess I seemed to always “create” . . . until I started exploring neuroscience.
It seems that people who have brain that process their world by seeing the WHOLE (gestalt) first and details later see the possibilities in EVERYTHING and NEED to have visual cues for the brain to remember. Whereas brains that are linear first see the details and afterwards the gestalt picture. Linear brains can file things away – everything in their place – and function maximally.
My brain is overloaded with gestalt processing (out of sight, out of mind). I leave drawers open, do many things simultaneously and can’t maintain a linear focus for very long without being stressed, clean and mess, clean and mess . ..
It’s hard-wired and every day I thank my brain for the messes I make . . . if I don’t it gets upset with me.
I recently moved all the paint and art equipment I wasn’t using to a shelf in the bedroom. Some of my equipment has come back. Louise de Masi watercolour teacher inspired me. Now I am working through all your free lessons….. What a wonderful gift to us all Carla. Bless you and Steve, you bless us with your inspiration.
It makes a difference. I did my studio on Saturday. At least I can do a project. I feel more creative when things are in order – then my mind can wander…you can do it!
I could never be a minimalist, like Marie Kondo. But didn’t she ask the question, “Does this spark joy? If not, dispose of it.” The problem with creatives, as I see it, is that everything sparks joy! I find comfort in having even unused art supplies about me; their creative potential gives me a lift. Carla, I recently mentioned that I had signed up for a “Mastering Watercolors” class online. But since I’m homeschooling my great-niece, I am already way behind in this class. Also, I had promised myself that I would clean my room–which is my studio–before I commit to a class like that. So, I did jump the gun. Thanks for being so honest. I will join you in cleaning!
I adored EVERYONE’S contribution to this thread!! I love how even talking about tidying is cathartic.
I am fortunate to have a studio with lots of light which adds an element of gaiety to the shambles. ha ha. I find the purging more stressful than the tidying. You know the trap “Oh keep it, it will be good for collage…” good cleaning to all!