I am delighted to share a virtual tour of my studio with you today as part of "Open Studio Day" sponsored by Studio magazine and the great people at Quilting Arts and Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazines.
I have six sons, so as they began to move out on their own, I finally could claim a room for my studio. The challenge for me was that it needed to be a multi-functioning space (I am a writer, creativity coach, and I love to work with a variety of media in art -- primarily fiber art). For a number of years, I also costumed for the theater and for my own one-woman show.
My little space (a former bedroom) is packed -- filled with all kinds of creative items -- from my collection of over 200 antique books and magazines, to lots of vintage lace, trims, buttons, fibers and fabric.
On one side of my room I have bookcases and a roll top desk (purchased with part of a publishing advance on a series of books I wrote). I love sitting at the desk -- but it is often crowded with work as I multitask.
On the opposite side of the room is my very small sewing table. It is an antique oak "campaign" desk -- one that might have been used by a high ranking soldier in the Civil War due to its size and the ease of folding it up to carry to the next tent city. It has a small locking drawer with its original key. (This came in very handy with those six sons of mine -- if they could find my good sewing shears, they would use them on all kinds of their own projects -- including cutting wire!)I was also blessed to receive a couple of my husband's family heirlooms I enjoy in my special space -- two antique oak spool cabinets. They really help me sort and organize all the little bits of lace, buttons and trims -- and yes, even spools of thread.
At heart I am a creator/developer. For years my husband tried to get me to darn socks (those boys went through them so fast) to help save money. I did (and still do) mend good clothing -- but to me darning socks is just so mundane! My valuable time could be better spent exploring new artistic endeavors. At one point, I must admit I did embroider the tops of my son's socks (with just a little stitch on each in the same color) so I could try to track the multiple tube socks going through the laundry and find mates before the dryer ate them!
I know my curiosity and passion for exploring the creative came from my two dear grandmothers, both now in heaven. I have been working on a quilted album of important memories of my life. I have finished the 12 x 12" page that represents the wonderful contributions those two women made in my life. From one, I inherited an interest in quilting, flowers, music, and fine detail; from the other a love of reading, writing, sketching, and needlework. Many of the initial antique books I collected and the pieces of vintage linens and lace came from their treasure trove.
There are so many heirlooms to be treasured, restored, re-purposed and enjoyed! I love living my passion every day, finding inspiration from the writings and textiles of past generations. It is my hope that I can inspire future generations to value these treasures so they will not be lost.
The opening picture of this blog post showed my antique ironing board with a project just being started. Here is the finished product -- a statement collar (bib) necklace I made from using pieces of wonderful vintage lace and buttons. My antique dress form, "Martha" is modeling it for me.
I hope you have enjoyed my virtual studio tour and the opportunity to get to know me just a little in the process. Oh, and because I know many people are curious to see the "real me" -- here's a photo my husband took of me. If you would like to see more photos of my studio and artistic endeavors, visit my Facebook Fan page (link to the right): Vintage Legacy Studio. Of course, you can always see more of my art in my Etsy shop. I have a special 20% off sale in my shop today in conjunction with the open studio tour.
Connect with others in the Open Studio Tour here.
