February Reset

 This is the third year some of my artist friends are offering a month of inspiration for "Reseting Our Spaces as Living Altars" and creating cozy corners, and I'm joining in. Each has her own focus - Angie on clearing clutter, Katy on setting sacred space, and Iréne on sharing tips from Feng Shui, and all three engage creativity. 

As I've written before, I go back and forth with more and less order, and like many of us, these last couple of years with fewer visitors has not helped! It's quite time for a reset! 

Breema and morning practice

I participated in Breema week in January, and have continued with the online self- Breema classes most mornings. For my first cozy nook, I rearranged some things, pulled out the clothes for give- away, and made room for my felted Breema rug in my little upstairs.

Some inquiries as I embark: 

• Why do I want to dethug and reset?
• What an I creating space for? 
• What blocks my process/progress? 
• Who - what matters most to me about my space?
• Who (what items) am I 'renting space' to - do I like the 'tenants?'
• When - what time will I designate, and how much?
• How - what strategies will I employ, and
• Where will I begin?

I already began with the Breema nook, starting small with an easy win always works well for me! I set a timer for 20-30 minutes, and then take a break or reset it - short focuser sessions help prevent overwhealm. 

My goal is a clearer space with more cozy, inviting nooks, and curating items that resonate with my current interests and life. 

As a Virgo, I can get finicky about fine tune cleaning, and ignore the big picture, so I'm saying saying Ø to perfectionism, and 'yes' to progress! 

Assistant testing a cozy space

My LMT friend Kira is also a professional organizer, and I've been enjoying her new podcast, What's Up With Your Stuff? 

For general tidying, she suggests to ponder your own baseline - what matters to you (and your partner/ housemates) Work from that to develops and fine tune your daily routine. 

I make my bed when I get up, wash the dishes and wipe down counters after breakfast, and aim for at least one 20/10 a day (20 minute tidy/ clear, 10 minute break)

We start where we start, and each bring our personal stories as well as stuff to our Spaces - do you know yours? 

Claiming Space

Several of my artist friends are claiming studio space, either in nearby business spaces, or in their homes. Recently one wrote about moving her studio into one of their largest rooms, with her husband's blessing. She realized she had "permission" all along, but didn't feel "worthy" of that large room. She invited us to notice where we play small, and if it's time to shift! 

This is a timely inquiry! For the past three years, I've had

Dining nook Atelier

my Atelier in my little dining nook, a space about 5 x 6', which opens into my kitchen. My daughter asked a few days ago if I'd thought of moving my seating area into that nook, and "claiming" my living room for my art! It's an area ~ 11.5 x 20' and I'd thought of using the back section (10 x 10') but not of moving my seating into the nook! 

Front living room

I go in cycles of more organized and clutter-full, and am currently in a cluttered need-to-dethug and organize phase! Sigh. And my daughter asked her good-at-cleaning and organizing husband, "which should and do first? Move stuff around, or declutter?" ... (you guessed it! ... sigh) I found this kool video on creativity and clutter from the "Clutter Fairy," nice to watch while I'm sorting through some piles! And she offers some great tips on going through craft stuff, to make it easier to get creative! 

As a Virgo, I have a tendency to want perfection, and can get overwhelmed when it's gotten chaotic. (CHAOS: Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). I love the energy of rearranging, and cleaning around that! So, .... on with it! 

Last night at our Red Thread Circle, our inquiry was

around the messages of Cancer, what are our crab claws ready to release, what are they opening to receive? I played flute while Sepha led a meditation, and then we moved to out art materials. 

I drew a crab on the white board, and told the kid's story about a hermit crab decorating its shell, then outgrowing it, and needing to move on. One gal, who's changing jobs, used that imagery. A couple of others painted hands, closed fist and open to receive. I had a tangle of seaweed that my crab was moving out of.

This morning, I'm sketching the spaces to rearrange, and thinking of better organized storage. I cleaned out the under-stair closet on 4th of July, and plan some shelves and bins for seasonal things stored there. I had a field trip to Ikea last weekend, and got a Råskog cart for in use materials, and some lights (and lots of ideas!) 

Happy Paint Party Friday! 
What are you ready to release? 
What are you opening to receive?

Blessings in the New Year!

The Monkey has been wiggling its tail these last few weeks, getting ready to jump aside for the Rooster! It's cold and clear here in the Pacific NW, and a great time to clean up and rearrange my Atelier! This article offers some tips and inspiration.

Much of clean-up time is simply getting out the broom, dust pan, garbage and recycling cans and applying some elbow grease, LOL! Stuff does pile up, at least in my studio, so next comes reorganizing what's there. (I like the suggestion by one artist to tidy the studio daily, .... or "not at all!" Since creativity often generates a certain amount of stuff!

I continue to work in acrylics, so have my paint containers pretty well organized: one oz in a chipboard container, 4 oz in containers on a higher shelf. Stencils and interference paint are housed in two smaller lidded containers. Then there are my Smashbook and Art journals (shelves), brushes (containers in a cleaning caddy), spritz bottles, rags (T-shirt squares). And in our Intentional Creativity tradition, I have a area set as am altar with fresh flowers, a candle, crystals, incense and things to represent the elements.

Before the dethug

I currently have the brushes and other supplies both on a small rolling cart and a table. I'm thinking of switching shelves from another room with the table, to have more room for painting, and for storage on shelves. There's also an armoire which houses my laptop and some of the supplies. 
This year I will journey with Shiloh Sophia in Red Madonna, following the Sacred Path. I am honored to be one of the Hearth Tenders in the online Red Tent, holding space and honoring the other travelers. Shiloh filmed a little video recently of the art supplies we commonly use for these classes.

I'm partway through the "elbow geese" portion, always the most daunting! I hope to share the"after" view next week! 

Happy Paint Party Friday!!