Recently I read a post that shared the creative work spaces of some of the most talented individuals of my lifetime. Authors like Virgina Woolf and Roald Dahl, as well as artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georgia O’Keefe. It was wonderful to get a peek into their private creative sanctuaries. It also made me take a closer look into own creative sanctum and observe my own rituals and habits.
I am very fortunate to work my design business from home and after many years of floating around the house from room to room and desk to dining room table, I wanted a more stable space. So when a few children had left home and my daughter moved into her brother’s bigger room, I have landed in my own room. A space that puts a smile on my face just by walking through the door, it helps me realize how grateful I am after many years, to do what I love, and now I get to do that in a place with all its little quirks, makes me giddy with creative delight.
Here’s my special place, I like to give you the grand tour. Our home is a very old stone farmhouse, built in 1796, so she has a lot of charm and special features. From the pumpkin pine floor boards, deep windowsills and fireplaces. She has an energy of her own and as I recently said to a friend I often hug her and thank her for all she bestows upon my family and myself. You’ll notice the mosaic in the old fireplace, as I said this was once my daughter’s room and she and I created a fun piece of sea life artwork in the closed up hearth. My collection of snow globes and family photos grace the mantle.
I love hand me downs and I was able to re-purpose much of the furniture she had outgrown. I have a bookshelf that’s composed of simple target cubbies that I screwed together and added crown molding to. A vintage dresser whose drawers work perfectly for storage and flat files. I use her discarded ikea desk as my work table. Vintage shelves with a new coat of paint hold my inspirations.
What are the things that spark your creativity? Do you have any rituals that you do before you begin? What are the things that you like to surround yourself with? My husband thinks that I hoard too many “things”, but what creative can say that those things that light your imagination are products of some deep seated hoarding. I love to have images of the my friends and my children’s creativity, wherever I look. You’ll spy my daughter’s early fashion drawings or pieces gifted to me by my friends at Moore College of Art and design. I love to pause before I begin my work day, light some incense and acknowledge the blessings in my life and ask for inspiration.
If you look around my creative space you’ll notice things I enjoy collecting, things of beauty and things that help to ground me.
My daughter’s tea set and my Grandmother’s powder boxes.
A quiet little nook holds pillows from one of my Society 6 collections and the old window sill holds my collection of cobalt glass and my little altar. But I think the thing that truly helps me throughout the day are my furry little four legged companions, Allie and Sydney. They can be usually found curled up by my feet, chewing on a bone or snoozing on the dog bed.
So what do your creative spaces look like? What inspires you? What are your rituals and who are your companions? I’d love to hear and see them. Maybe together we’ll inspire others by allowing a glimpse into our think tanks. If you’d like to take a look at the post that inspired me, here’s the link. http://www.thinkinghumanity.com/2014/06/workspaces-of-some-of-the-greatest-artists-of-the-world . So now go great something beautiful.
Gracefull Arts by Pam 