During and after festival season, I was left feeling a little overwhelmed and exacerbated by the season itself and my surroundings. Holiday time was here and of course it was also festival season. My creative space, where all the magic is supposed to happen, seemed to be the dump site for anything and everything. In between shows I wasn't able to keep my space tidy and by the end it became a mess to say the least. I couldn't even open the door! I couldn't create and my magic left me.
I don't know about you but I HATE clutter. I have found that it not only causes distractions in my work space but it also causes my mind and spirit to be cluttered and then I feel defeated and drained. Cumbersome is the word that comes to mind. I certainly can't create in a cluttered environment.
I promised myself that I would start cleaning out my room and make it a workable space again once the holidays were over. I have to admit that I felt overwhelmed just thinking about it and because of that it took longer than I would have liked or expected. The task took me over a month but I finally did it!!
BEFORE.....
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| standing in the doorway of my studio looking at contents of my studio lining the hallway |
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| standing in my kitchen looking at the contents of my studio lining the rest of the hallway outside of my room |
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| standing in the doorway looking in my studio |
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| another view of my CLUTTERED studio from the doorway |
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| standing on the chair - a view of my "stuff" on the floor and surrounding work tables |
AFTER...
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| After cleaning... clutter free, clean work space My bead table |
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| Another work table in my studio with my books, supplies and tools |
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| Clutter free soldering work table |
So, the next time you are feeling a little overwhelmed, take a look around you. Is the space cluttered? Is it filled with too many distractions or things? I promise you that if you clean up and get rid of things you will feel MUCH BETTER! I started on this tedious project shortly after the new year and I vowed on my birthday (2/21) that no matter what I would have it done by the end of the week. I completed the task late Thursday evening, 2 days later. I awoke on Friday the 24th with a smile on my face and the first thought in my mind was how nice and refreshing it was to have a clean studio. Now it's time to make some magic. Magic for you and magic for me.
