What does the workspace of a Mixed Media Artist look like?

Well I can tell you that it is not a pretty picture as you can see for yourself. Since my move out west, the space has become much smaller and there's no where to put anything. Not to mention that I share my room with one of the family pets - - our cat whose name is "269". Long story but she came with the house when my daughter bought it and since my daughter manages one of the veterinary clinics here, well what could she do? :) I really don't mind because she is sweet and loves to curl up and purr! What I do mind is that she does not help cleaning up the mess that I make! I will get a picture of her and post it.

Well here you see my creative contraption of cubby holes a.k.a. a shoe rack! My daughter was going to throw it away but I had a better idea!

More of My Space

Here is my stack of shelves! My daughter was going to throw them out also...I wasn't sure what they were shelves for - - a TV? Nope - - shelves for a microwave. Okay, why not... I piled them up and use them to house some of the 100's (or could that be 1000's??) of rubber stamps that I own. NO they are not all there! HA HA! I have 3 huge totes full sitting in the garage.

And yes that is a jar of instant coffee on the lower right side. No 269 and I don't drink that...we use it in our art.

There are more shelves but it was way too messy to show.

Saved the worse for last!

OK, so here is where all the creation begins on my desk (table, work area, studio). You can pick one of those words as it might fit in. And yes this was also recycled. My mother had this table on her patio and no longer needed it. Could you say that my "work space" is a form of altered arts? I took things that were meant for one thing and used them for something else. OK I am stretching it a bit but it sounds good.

I am a messy artist. I have to admit that. Right now, believe it or not, I just sort of cleaned it to take this picture. Well, sort of pushed things back to make it look like I have a spot to create in. But I am one of those people that if my work space is clean I freak right out! I like a mess when I am creating. Call me crazy but it helps me. I keep piling up the supplies, tools, inks, pictures, glue etc., etc. and the space will get smaller and smaller and then I can't find a thing...did you notice that there are 2 bottles of my glitter glue in the same colors? Did I get them on sale? NOPE! I usually buy 2 of everything because I loose it on my desk! LOL!

Well I have come out of my comfort zone and have showed the world "my space!" How about you share your creative work space?

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog. My name is Lori and I am a Senior Designer for Altered Arts Magazine. I have been a member of Altered Arts' design team for three years now and each year is more exciting than the first.

Being a designer can have its ups and downs. The upside is that I have the opportunity to work with a fantastic crew! --- Cyndi, Clara, Barb and all the other design team members which include Robin, Jeni and Kathleen.

Each year the designers are given an editorial schedule to follow when creating their projects. It is so much fun to see how the themes are interpreted by both the designers and our readers who submit artwork for each theme.

Now the downside of being a designer is that we don't get to "meet" each other in person... BUT...in this world that we live in today, we can cross over mountains, rivers, valleys and oceans without a car, train, or plane and "visit" each other by blogging! Therefore, I look forward to "meeting" all of you.

For some fun we will be having some challenges among the designers posted here for you to view. If you have any ideas for challenges you'd like to see or participate in please let us know.