I need more studio space. Who doesn’t? Problem is, I have a fair amount of studio space but it’s full of stuff that I’m not using right now. I took some time on Thursday to attack my space with a virtual crowbar and sort out what I was actually going to use and what I needed blah blah blah.
I started in the sewing room. It is stacked to the ceiling in three different places with bins and shelves of fiber; flat fold, and sliced to knit. I am planning a weaving binge to clear the sliced fiber; I may use some of the flat fold as flowers.
I bagged up a lot of fiber that I will probably never weave and posted it “free to a good home.” I dropped another stack of yardage that I don’t like and won’t weave into the thrift shop donation bag.
That effort cleared three cubic feet of shelf space and uncovered 10 yards of fabric that will make great spring flowers. I had completely forgotten ever stashing those pieces, but I recognized them once they saw the light of day.
Then I went into the room I call my Studio and started reorganizing and cleaning and reorganizing and cleaning and after a while I realized that if I simply got rid of one tub of old beginner rugs, I actually could use the room the way I needed to. That is, there are places to put four tubs of rugs I want to sell, but it was the 5th one in the middle of the floor that prevented me from moving around the room easily. I loaded the tub into the truck and brought it to my husband’s house where we carried it up to the attic.
On the way to the attic he said, “Hon, could you give this stuff away or sell it?” And I looked at him and I said, “let’s just get it gone.” Out of sight, out of the way; perhaps for the time being and perhaps for longer.
I know that stashing stuff in the attic is not the long-term best answer to hoarding textiles and clutter. However, I also know that I simply have to get the stuff gone right now, and I can’t (bring myself to) throw it away.
Up to the attic it goes. Maybe I’ll remember it, and maybe I’ll deal with it, and maybe one day we’ll finish off that space for the studio I’d love to have up there, but that’s not going to happen today.
Today, I need work space. I need a place to arrange the flowers and and store arrangements and bouquets that’s safe and spacious and not falling over all the time. I need that room empty. I don’t need to look at a bin of rugs until I get around to photographing them and putting them on the web to sell, or even thinking who could use them and then shipping the rugs to that person.
My history tells me that eventually I will let go of those rugs. I did take some of them out and I’m using them in the house. The very first rugs I wove are in the tropical room protecting my feet from the tile floor. I draped two others across the bed where I could see them and let them inspire me to some other new work.
Maybe I’ll remember the others and maybe I’ll go get them someday and maybe they’ll burn in a house fire. I don’t know. What I do know is that I kicked the problem forward and made space to make new art today, and didn’t get too tied up in trying to salvage stuff that may be history.
