Studio makeover all over, so let the work commence

The new look TIDY studio

I promise this will be my last post about tidying my studio because.... IT’S FINISHED!!!!  Okay, you still can’t access the shower in the spare bedroom, but no-one needs to for another three weeks, so that’s fine.

Part of my bookcase, with organised books

I am writing this at one of my lovely new desks, sitting on a very comfortable new swivel seat, surrounded by all my things, which are in all the right places, apart from what is currently being used.  I am definitely having that post tidy up problem of not being able to find anything as I reorganised where most things went, but at least I had the foresight to stick ugly labels besides everything to remind myself.

Useful window ledge

Tidying and cleaning are not talents I’ve ever shone at and having reached the ripe old age of 40+something, I have decided to live with it rather than get upset at the mess and my inability to deal with it.  But... having got it this tidy and with teaching from my home, I’m looking forward to the minimum standard of tidiness and cleanliness being significantly higher than over the last five years.  Fingers crossed anyway.

Very ugly labeling

One delight of tidying up (and it has been this way for me, ever since my teens), is rediscovering lost books, or even, books I had forgotten I even owned.  This time was no exception and I was thrilled to see these two resurface.

Rediscovered book 1

Rediscovered book 2

Right.  Tidying - done.  Notes written for first class on Friday – done.  Time to get back to the fun stuff of creating!

Neatly organised threads

Groundhog Day Studio

My studio reorganisation - ongoing...

I would love to be showing you photos of my latest pieces of work and how I am developing the next stage of Unsung Muses. Unfortunately I'm still stuck in studio reorganisation Groundhog Day.  Apparently to keep me positive I'm meant to focus on what I've accomplished. 

The tables and chairs before I emptied the cupboards.  Going to look good

The tables and chairs have all been constructed and are in the room, on top of the beautifully repainted floor. New shelves are up. I've worked out where the ironing board can go. 

More mess

I've also emptied out lots of cupboards so I can reorganise where things are stored, so I can now no longer see my beautiful new tables and chairs!  

Usefully sharpened pencils

Oh I have sharpened lots of my pencils. A very useful thing to do!

But it feels like an insurmountable mountain just now – never ending and I just want to make some artwork – draw or stitch or something.  I was trying to hold off to make sure I got the tidying done, but this morning I finally gave in, cleared a bit of a desk, got out my sketchbook and pastels and started this drawing. 

The start of a drawing

I couldn't take it any longer - I needed to create something other than mess and reorganisation!  This drawing still needs a number of hours of attention, however, I think I am going to have to get on with tidying... again!

Inspiration: everyday materials, sheep, exhibitions, talks... and Ikea!

I haven’t written an ‘inspiration’ blogpost for a while – I’ve been so busy making the work I was already inspired about and getting everything to exhibition standard, which also involves remembering to pack things like staple guns and labels.

So now that the exhibition is up, I feel I can get back to normal and start looking again and get inspired, rather than have tunnel vision and just focus on the show.

On Friday morning when I went to photograph the exhibition, it was a beautifully sunny spring morning.  I intended to go for a walk in the countryside in my inappropriate footwear (see I was too focussed on the exhibition), but instead I was distracted by this tractor and other old industrial, rusting machinery in one of the workshops besides Farfield Mill.  I think they are wonderful.

I did also make it into the fields because I felt I should and the sheep were just crying out (or baa-ing) to be photographed!

On my way home from Farfield, I dropped into the 62 Group’s exhibition at the Upfront Gallery, near Penrith.  There were some interesting pieces, particularly by Catherine Dormor and Hannah Lamb, but unfortunately no photos were allow so I can’t share them with you.

Saturday was also a lovely sunny day, which I spent in the company of the delightful ladies of East, Midlothian and Borders Area of the Quilters’ Guild.  I always intend to take photos of these events, but then I’m so busy delivering the talk (this time about how I get from inspiration to finished quilt) and then discussing the individual pieces with the quilters that I forget.  Anyway, they were great and some of them even enjoyed my lame jokes.

On the way home I popped into Ikea to buy the furniture I need to turn my studio into a teaching space.  This week is going to be spent tidying out the studio and then, hopefully, putting the furniture together – wish me luck – I think I’ll need it!

Four Landscape Fabric Postcards for the Stitching Show

Tree by Gillian Cooper

Next week I have a stand and a workshop at the new Stitching Show at the SECC in Glasgow.  It is a very exciting event for me, although it came about in sad circumstances as the reason I am doing this is because the Studio, Loch Lomond couldn't take the place, so they asked if I could take advantage of it.  

Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I immediately said yes, whilst inwardly panicking about how I was going to fit it in with the two solo exhibitions I have this winter and it has also given me the impetus to set up teaching classes from my home studio (more shortly).  

Marshes by Gillian Cooper

So I had to think of a quick and easy, preferably hand stitch and limited mess 1 hour workshop rather fast.  I thought making a little landscape postcard would fit nicely.  This week I've been making the samples and packing the kit.

Sunset over sea by Gillian Cooper

Whilst the idea does fit nicely, executing it has proved harder as I haven't done any landscapes or work this small for years and so it has taken some time to get into the mindset.  I think I'm there now, but you should know that I'm not showing you my first effort, which was truly awful and had me really worried about whether I would be able to deliver what I had promised - it would have been a lot easier with a sewing machine, adding details in paint rather than the strict guidelines of fabric and hand stitch.  It's amazing how much my work has changed as that's exactly where I started out and now it proves challenging!

Fields and flowers by Gillian Cooper

Now I'm enjoying making these little pieces daily.  It's good to try something different and hopefully if you are at the Show next week, you'll come and say hello and maybe take the workshop - it's at 3.15 each day. 

This Glamorous Life

Sometimes when I write for Popular Patchwork, I get the impression that people are rather envious of the fact I have a studio. I know I am very lucky. However, I have never been a neat and tidy worker. Even as a teenager, books were strewn everywhere and now my studio is filled to the brim with fabric and knitting and sewing machines and the ironing board. So the computer is in the playroom and my desk is messy with very old paper work still sitting on it begging to be sorted (sorry paper work not today, got better things to do). I've finally started getting the Shelter pieces made for the Loch Lomond Show and they are taking over the entire house!

The garage is too full of junk and potentially mice to paint fabric there, so this is being done in our dining area of the kitchen, stretching the fabric from the table to the old futon, doing about 1.5m by 1m at at time - let's hope it is sunny over the next few days or it could be a very slow process! The two frames which are being covered in wadding are in the living room as I can't get the big one up the stairs without punching holes in the thin plasterboard walls. What is it going to be like when I have all six of them at this stage? And even more so, where I am going to keep them after the show? Please someone, would you like to exhibit them somewhere as I don't really want a permanent show in my living room!

something fishy

The big tidy up in my studio continues. It's probably going to take months as I get distracted by other things along the way. It's lovely rediscovering things that have been buried for ages in my studio mess, but it makes the tidy up very time consuming. I'm also not very good at throwing things out as I may need them one day... Occasionally I have used something I have kept for five years plus and this confirms to me that I should hang on to every single scrap of fabric and magazine forever.

I have been playing with my images of fish again. I have a huge collection of photos I've taken of fish at various aquariums around Europe. I really want to use them somehow in my work, but I've never quite got there, beyond using them for the journal quilts. I spent this afternoon making a drawing and pattern for a small sample piece. I decided to use the free freezer paper I rescued from a Christmas parcel to help shape the fabric. It took me over an hour to cut out all the shapes and then I got the fabric out to start making. However, either that wasn't freezer paper or I can't use it properly as it didn't stick to the fabric! Arrgh. So I have managed to throw all of this paper out and will start again next time I get in studio. Anything to put off more tidying.