BELOVED CHAOS MUST YOU BE SORTED OUT?

YES!

Here on my loveseat...a microcosm of life as I know it:

cinder blocks for a project in progress

blanket and sweatshirt lest I feel chilly

movie theatre reels awaiting my decision as to their fate

and

above and behind all

books

My new kitchen with its modern conveniences is a clutter

because I really hardly ever go in there to use those things

but must have them on hand

lest my sanity (aka adherence to social norms) be questioned

My studio work room glutted with STUFF:

in the fore some recently used materials

a glide rocker with a garbage bag of plastic bottles ready to go out to the trash

stacks of finished pieces, some of them on the can of poly sealer

piles of books destined for my daughters

an old computer monitor I don't know what to do with, atop of which is

a finished piece by my Cities Daughter Tess to be displayed

a heap of new dish-towels to be painted on

a basket of plumbing supplies

a corkboard that needs putting up somewhere

rough cut (raw) pieces that need finishing including

pieces on my tri-fold screens and

leaning in the bay window a large thin piece of wood to be cut up for backings

And that's only a sampling!

So

YES!

The sorting out must commence.

But not right this very minute.

These are newly sealed cedar shake skyscapes w/silhouettes.  They'll go to my sister's shop.

Hodge-podge of assorted stuff on the bottom shelf of my tea-cart.

Sorry it's sideways...laundry stacked in the attic hall.

This one's sideways too...geez...it's one of the ceiling tins, leaning in the attic hall along the wall it will be attached to (along with five others just like it) where I'll eventually be putting series pieces, beginning with the Dozen Cousins.

You know, I can certainly live with chaos.

Surprisingly, I can not WORK amid chaos. 

When it come to actually USING my studio work room, my work spaces MUST be clean and orderly. 

Typically I'll be working on several pieces, moving between them as my fancy or necessity dictates.  On one table I'll have a sculpture under construction.  On another, photos will be sorted and laid out neatly according to their futures.  My desk will have computer stuff in the works, and probably a book either open or on hold.  The tri-fold screens will have works in progress, paintings under way, with a little table nearby holding ONLY the paints and brushes needed for those particular paintings.  Yet another table might have pencils and paper for drawings, or prepped hoops and more paints and brushes for smaller pieces, or both. 

Files, books, papers, whatever I've collected in terms of inspiration, are organized so I can find what I want when I want it.  Ideally, that is.  Currently I have a lot of that organizing to get done - but I do manage to find whatever it is that I'm looking for since it's at least (even if only) halfway organized. 

With so many outside projects dominating my time and energy, not to mention my work schedule, I figure I'll get by as best I can through these all too limited summer days - and know full well that my days of this coming long dark will have plenty of projects to keep me occupied!