18 September 2013

Creative Space

My creative space has been in flux for the last few years. After we refinished out basement in 2009, I commandeered one-third of it for my work area (thank you, honey!). Last fall, I couldn't stand being away from the fireplace and the windows any longer, so I moved a credenza into the dining area and worked from the dining table throughout the cold months. But when the weather turned warm (i.e., no fireplace needed) and the skies  turned sunny (i.e., I had no desire to look outside), I began to realize the downfalls of that workspace: minimal storage, no display space, and an inconvenient round table that had to be cleared for dinner every meal. As I considered other areas for a craft/work area, my friend Mary began to tackle her own long-planned craft room design. Hearing about her process and seeing photos of the well-organized results, I longed more than ever for a dedicated workspace of my own. When Mary and I visited our friend Rachel for an art "playdate" and I saw Rachel's creative, inviting craft room, I was officially in find-a-perfect-craft-area mode. Harry encouraged me to list my priorities so we could settle on the right place. My top three desires were proximity to a fireplace, view of the weather (so I could see the rain and snow), and sufficient storage space. In a house as modestly-sized as ours, there weren't many ways to meet all three of these needs so I resigned myself to sacrificing one of them. Yet every time I thought I'd decided on a location, I shied away from it right when we got ready to take action. Then Harry - that brilliant and supportive husband o' mine - suggested, "Why don't we move out the piano and replace it with your desk?" Could it be? Could it really, truly happen?!? YES, it COULD happen! And it did. Over the Fourth of July week(end), we transformed the long wall in the living room from its irritating hodge-podgeness to a cohesive, inspiring work area. Fireplace? Check. View of inclement weather? Check. Ample storage space? Check. I have used my area constantly since then, and have been more prolific and excited about creating since I started working there. I used only things I already had on hand, so it was completely and utterly free. And with the steel skies of autumn and winter fast approaching, I am gleeful as I anticipate crafting at my cozy desk next to the crackling fire while I watch the storms roll in.
 
Take a look at some other inspiring crafty spaces at Marcy Penner's blog here

Just Begin

The perfect is the enemy of the good.
- Voltaire

I have procrastinated making my first post to this - my first - blog so many times and for so many reasons: the design isn't perfect yet, I don't have enough time to write all that I really want to write, we don't have Internet service so I have to figure out how to do it... All legitimate reasons, but I've reached the point where they are no longer acceptable to me. In fact, I could hardly have chosen a less convenient time to post: sitting on a bench at the elementary school playground while the boys run and jump and slide. But it is now that I am suddenly unwilling to wait any longer, now that I am realizing that "good" is sufficient, now that I am yearning to put words on the screen. So I am heeding the call of Now, imperfection and all. And I pray that, like Paul, "I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV). May He use this blog to inspire us, refine us, prod us, and may we glorify Him in the process!