Thursdays are usually the day, when subject to being in the same town, I get together with my friend R for a bit of attic art and creativity. I was particularly looking forward to that this week since I felt in need of a bit of a pick me up.
Sadly, that wasn't to be since R had Covid. She's actually feeling a lot better than she has been but didn't want to risk spreading it around. Soooo disappointing for both of us.
To make the best of it we decided to have a bit of a catch up on Zoom, the plan being to do something creative in each other's company.
However, R was behind on a few work things and decided to tackle those and I just felt uninspired. My dirty and chaotic desk was screaming for my attention so I set to to sort that out.
It's been months since I've taken everything off and cleaned it so it was very grimy. And, turned out, it was a bonus not having R here as I was able to dump everything on her desk while I cleaned.
First I put a load of stuff away that had been sitting there for weeks. Then I went through a booklet that I'd kept as a reference for ideas for day trips I might like to do.
I removed the ones I was actually interested in and then was able to put out the booklet for recycling. I've now taken the papers downstairs and put them where I can see them so, hopefully, I'll be more likely to get out and about and visit these places.
With the desk emptied I set about cleaning it. Filthy doesn't begin to describe how mucky it was. Mainly dirt from the roof. It's slate and has very old wooden boards on the inside so a lot of dust gets through. And the obligatory coffee cup stains of course.
I was a bit concerned about those white areas when I took the photograph but when I poked them they seemed pretty solid. Considering what came off when I touched them I'm thinking it might be some salt laden moisture seeping in although there are no leaks. Thank goodness.
Next I set to cleaning all the bits I'd taken off and returning them to their proper place and, drum roll please, I now have a nice orderly and sparkly clean table to sit at.
Now I just need to get creating and, um, looking at that picture, it might not be a bad idea to organise those wires a bit better.
In the meantime here's a brain dump of attic projects on my mind that I could do:
- Christmas cards for Mum, Kids and Grandkids. (I started some last year that I ran out of time to finish so would like to get those completed this year).
- Birthday card for Grandson
- Birthday card for Mum
- Upcycled game Christmas banner
- Upcycled game birthday banner
- Advert calendar for the Grandkids (possibly too big a project to do and keep it enjoyable rather than stressful)
- Mini boxes with little notebooks inside - need to do a prototype of this and see how feasible/time consuming it is to make
- Sort out stuff I have already for the kids' stockings to see what's missing
- Make some personal notebooks or cards for the stockings
- More cleaning/sorting in the attic
- And, as always, all the stuff I have no idea about at the moment
I'm exhausted just writing all that, let alone doing it.
One step at a time, eh? One step at a time . . .
Tidy spaces always call me to mess them up again... the art table.... the kitchen counters. SO inviting.
I call that a good accomplishment, cleaned up and list initial list made. Unfortunately those things have to be done from time to time in the art space. Just a part of the process. My art table needs a bit of straightening itself. I used to organize and clear up between every project, but for a while now, I haven't. A while back I had a collage paper making weekend to refresh my stock and I have never put them away. I have sorted them in similar color piles several times and put them past the middle of the table and just used out of them there. Nothing too wrong with that since nobody else needs to use the space, but it has made me neglect somewhat the many papers I already had. ha ....oh well !
Glad you turned your no-play date into something constructive. It always feels good to get those things done.
And here I was thinking you would have to put your stuff away between each session since it was your dining table. 😁
Nope ! A long while back, I pushed my dining table into the living room area, right in front of the windows! Although I do much more art at night than in the day, I loved being able to see out while I was working. It also faces my big TV that is on top of my piano. I barely even have any living room space left, just my fav chair and one other. I even gave away two of the chairs that belong to my table to my Sister whose dining chairs have gotten much more use than mine and were loose and rickety. I still have two. If I was going to have someone over for a meal, I'd have to throw everything in a box and put a table cloth over it. LOL... but we'd have a great view out the front window while dining.
Once in a while on the days that I am working, I will eat my lunch at the art table and enjoy the view. I will also stack/clear temporarily if I want to work on some other organizing project of non-art things. Basically, if I was a real artist, you would say I traded my living room area for an art studio of sorts. I didn't have an extra room that was not carpeted to devote to an art space, so after resisting the idea for a couple of years, one day I caved and it's been like that since.
I'm glad that you caved and you have your special art space area. I'm keen on nice views too. My desk looks over a community Church garden and whenever I consider changing rooms, which would make more sense given our small flat, I find I can't give up the view. I like to look out the window and relax.
That's one thing I miss with the attic space. No outside view at all.
The only space I had previously was in the small dining area (open concept room) but it has no windows ! It wasn't calling me to come over and play. I play in art much more time than I have company, so I finally told myself, why not have it the most fun way for me on a daily basis? Was crazy not to just for an hour or two of company here and there.
This is the view out my front window. I stepped out on the porch and snapped it to give you the most updated version. LOL It is a horse pasture. When I moved here there were three rescue horses there. One has since perished, but I love seeing the horses as the graze or frolic or take off racing to the barn way in the back when one of the owners comes in the long drive that borders it. Absolutely no way to find a complaint about that. :)
You have such a lovely space to look out on. I'm in the middle of a city albeit one block from the sea. My window looks over the Church community garden to the main road. I used to love living here but nowadays less so. It's getting busier and busier, more and bigger buildings, less and less cultural cohesion. No idea where else we'd go though. I'd hate to move away from the sea. I never tire of it.
I don't blame you for not wanting to move away from the sea. I am on a very long road that leads from my small downtown to WAY out in the country. It used to almost be considered "rural" way before I got here, but as normally happens, more and more modern residential neighborhoods have been springing up between here and town, so I'm really only barely on the edge of rural now, so I do understand what you are talking about. The only reason one of those terrible things hasn't happened across the street from me for now is that the man that owns it was raised there. His father built a big house further down that was split off and sold. To the right of the horse pasture is a cow pasture with a small holding pond and the owner's father's ashes are spread there, so he will never sell it. I just hope he lives a very long time ! 😄
I always thought I'd love to live in view of some water, didn't matter if ocean or pond, river or lake, but that has never happened and I'm guessing it never will, but I won't spend time fretting about it. It still would have been nice.
I always feel the need to clear up my art table before starting a really new project. Might, of course, have to do with the fact that I like switching up media. If I stay in the same media it is fine to just make a bit of space but when I'm switching - then I find it utterly uninspiring to have a cluttered desk.
I hope R is getting better in a hurry so that the two of you can make art together again.
R's fully recovered mow so fingers crossed she'll be back on Thursday. It makes a big difference to my motivation to have someone else around to have a laugh with. We both go about things quite differently too which we both enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.
There seems to be a bit of surge in Covid at the moment. I have known loads of people catching it, me included.
Glad R is okay.
Yeah. I had it last month. But it's that time of year I suppose. Better to get it now than over Christmas though. 😁
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