Friday, November 14, 2008

To Be Organized...

Most of today was spent in the studio unpacking boxes and trying to get organized once and for all.  Some of the boxes I opened hadn't been opened in years and had survived (unopened) through several moves around the country.

The shot to the left looks like absolute chaos, but I actually get a good feeling from it.  Already a pattern is forming and things are beginning to divide and sub-divide and eventually everything will have a home and a specific place to be.  Sure, the random turkey baster is thrown into the lot, but a kitchen box got mixed in with my studio equipment and is just another example of me weeding through things and organizing them.

The process hasn't been the quickest –  I've been very careful of going through things.  I've made several trips down Memory Lane and continue to sort and re-sort.  As impossible as it sounds, it's very meditative.  I want the studio to be set up perfectly and for me to know where everything is and really use what I already have on hand.  Believe it or not, I have over two gallons of white Elmer's Glue, six mini-paint rollers, and dozens of unopened packs of batteries.  Right now it's all about laying everything out.  Next it'll be about cutting back.  And ultimately the goal is to have a perfectly organized studio.

8 comments:

Lorelei Eurto said...

i wish you lots of luck and thirsty owl for this endeavor.

Round Rabbit said...

That photo looks like my everyday existence. :) Personally, I just love knowing that I have 50 gallons of white glue, 17 packages of rotary blades and enough fabric to clothe the world. I could loose all my money tomorrow and sill have enough supplies to keep me creatively busy for the rest of my life. :)

Anonymous said...

Ha! I find it hard to believe that cash was hiding in a box for years! Perhaps the photo was just a little bit staged? :)

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Lori! Thanks so much for your well wishes. I'm very excited, because I can see patches on the floor. I remember when it was packed ALL the way to the ceiling and was spilling out of the room! Ask anyone who witnessed the moving process.

For a long time, I had to move furniture around while I was trying to organize... this is just the small stuff!

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Nancy! Yes, I like to feel well-stocked as well. Though I think for me and my current space limitations, it's sort of ridiculous to have all the back issues of Lucky Mag and Domino (even though I use them for collage papers)... but still. My desire to be minimal is often trumped by my need to possess. It's just about getting to know where everything is that's my battle!

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Lynn! Actually it wasn't staged at all! The wad of money is actually a folded up two-dollar bill that my grandmother had given me years ago. :-) Wouldn't it have been just wonderful if I opened up a box and found millions of dollars in it? Of course, if it was from a box that I owned, those millions would all probably be fake. But there was a story recently about a contractor finding Depression-Era money in the wall of a place he was working on.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/11/money-in-walls.html

You know, if I did end up a millionaire over-night, Anne Choi would have her hands full with my special request of one of each of every bead she's ever made.

jeweledrabbit said...

How long do you estimate it'll take you to get your studio organized to your liking?

Andrew Thornton said...

Another day or two and it'll be up and running. I think however, it may take a little longer to really get things the way I want them. I really want to get another storage system and maybe even a small table. We'll see.