Studio Tour

Today I’m sharing an inside view of my metal clay “studio”. My primary workspace is situated in a corner of our family room.  It’s a bit unorthodox, but it works well for me. You should know that I have a home office, which I could easily convert to a studio.  However, I work full-time and I spend most of my free time working in metal clay.  If I shifted my creative space to my office, my husband would probably forget what I look like! It’s simply a better choice for both of us that I’m out in the middle of the action and able to work without closing myself off from him and the world.

My worktable is actually a modified TV tray, which is both portable and perfectly sized for how I work.  It accommodates all the tools I need at hand for any given project.  This arrangement encourages me to keep my materials well organized and to clean up at the start or end of each session.  Trust me, this is not in my nature!

A few months ago, I added a larger board to the top of the tray to expand my workspace.  I screwed small strips of lumber on 3 sides to keep my materials from rolling off.  The entire addition attaches to the TV tray with Velcro, which is surprisingly solid, yet easy to remove if I ever need to fold the tray down.

Close at hand in my studio corner, I have efficient storage for tools, supplies, work in progress, books, and even my laptop computer.  When I’m not working, my chair and worktable tuck neatly back into the corner and out of the way.

We have an enclosed porch, which is a great place  for the rest of my tools and supplies.  This is where you’ll find my kiln and polymer clay oven; along with everything I need for torch-work, pickling, tumbling, patination, etc.  I like having these elements outside, since they are often loud, fiery or smelly.

I’m sure the day will come when it makes sense for me move into a real studio.  For now, this arrangement fits my lifestyle and actually encourages me to spend more time being creative. Perhaps someone will read this post and be inspired by my minimalist studio approach.  You don’t need a lot of space to create.  You just need a creative approach to using the space you have.  It certainly worked for me.