It's #workspacewednesday..so I thought I'd inspire you with little snippets from my studio and ideas for storage. I've moved my studio around many times and have lots of photos from both my home studio and art studio workshop space. My studio is always creative chaos, it's messy, with lots of things on the tables, in shelves and open containers. There's colorful inspiration everywhere you look. I love to collect things and show them off to inspire my color palettes and paintings. Here's a look into my studio...and more than 25 ideas for creative storage and displaying items in your studio.
What's on your studio table? {above} one of my studio tables full of printmaking supplies and tools. many of my tools are handmade from found objects and things collected from my travels, the hardware/dollar/thrift store. Look for interesting things around your studio, garage, home that will make a unique mark. Store your handmade stencils & printing plates in open metal containers. I found the metal containers at Daiso, the Japanese $1.50 store. If you haven't been there...it's a must! {below} my encaustic table. Last year I started experimenting with encaustic monotype. Tyler built me an awesome hot plate. Here's a peek into my setup...
Display your favorite pieces in your studio. I love to display my fabrics and I collect lots of vintage pieces like pillowcases and remnants that can be cut and stitched into my art journal covers. This vignette mixes silks brocades from Bali, vintage place mats & pillowcases with a big piece of upholstery fabric draped with the beaded "LAUGH" I found at the dollar store. It's hung on an open door of a vintage armoire I found at an estate sale.
Store beads & embellishments in open containers. I shop for vintage cake stands, cupcake tins, cups and saucers in thrift and antique stores. Here I've used them to display my colorful collection of beads, bookbinding threads and trinkets. They stand on top of a chest of drawers I found at St. Vincent dePaul store, they have great furniture finds.
Create a chalkboard wall. Writing on the wall is so freeing and fun! We painted one wall of the studio with black chalkboard paint. It's great to use for writing inspirational messages, doodling, brainstorming and calender to-do lists. I use colored chalk and chalk pens to draw on the wall. It's great for kids too, let them draw pictures. Write creative prompts on the wall and encourage everyone to doodle and write stories. Take photos of the art before you erase them so you have a record and collage the pictures in your journal.
Recycle your glass containers for mark-making tools. Salsa, jam, mason jars, baby food glass containers and plastic tumblers are great storage solutions for brushes, pens/markers, colored pencils, beads and calligraphy tools. I rinse them out, place them in the dishwasher and remove the label. I also collect vintage melamine plates that double as colorful bases to hold my glass containers.
Tape your work in progress on the wall. Create an inspiration wall with your work, photographs or other things that inspire you. If you don't have wall space, use a large piece of foam core or the closet door.
Use storage shelves and bins. How do you store your paints and mediums? Look around your house or garage and find alternative storage. Use random household items for storage...coffee cups, teapots and lazy susans. Stack cups sideways in shelves to keep your pens/markers horizontal. Place items on top of a rolling cart, for easy access.
Use shelves and baskets for creative display. store things vertically. I love to use my shelves to display all my colorful collections. They are lined with my folded graffiti painted canvases, artwork, handmade journals, vintage ice bucket from my parents bar, my mom's old avocado sewing box and ceramic bowls my grandma created. I love to surround myself with things that remind me of my family and items I've collected from my travels. Roll up all your parent sheets of paper and place them in a woven basket.
what's outside your studio window? take 10 minutes to relax, stare out the window and daydream. place your table by the window to take advantage of natural light. take a picture of what you see outside your studio window. Here's a picture I took yesterday evening outside my home studio window...such a gorgeous sky!
Spend a little time creating a space that is unique and shows off YOU. incorporate items from your travels. show off your collections. find interesting storage items. gather ideas...write about it in your journal. use your journal or pinterest to collect ideas and photos to plan your ideal studio space.
check out my art studio inspiration pinterest board
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what are your favorite art studio storage solutions?
share your studio...I'd love to see your studios {even if it's in a small corner or your room} and storage ideas. If you have a blog post or other ideas leave a comment below. btw...I had to turn on comment moderation because I was getting a crazy amount of spam comments. So if you don't see your comment right away, don't worry. I have to approve them.
happy workspace wednesday!! xoxo~Traci
