Creating spaces of the spirit

A few days back, I posted about doing a first watercolor sitting at my studio desk.

It was a first, as I couldn't recall having written or drawn or read anything there, since I reconfigured the studio a bit over three years ago, when we moved to the mountains full-time.  Maybe I'd sat there at the desk once or twice, but I largely used my secretary desk (which I'd never used in my old study), aside from storing art supplies and other miscellany, as my spot for using my old desktop, then the laptop, and now an iMac.  It had been part of the early studio setup, when we were still part-time residents.

Back in 2010, I'd written about wanting a creative space, in what we were already thinking about as our post-paid work home.  I'd thought about a bigger separate studio down on the coal road, which I wrote about then.

And in 2011, I wrote about a better solution, a studio on the ground floor,  which I mentioned recently, too.

Fall, 2014

But I'm thinking about this, this afternoon, in terms of how we surround ourselves with objects that have meaning.

It's been essential to me throughout my life -- I've had favorite things that have followed my work spaces for decades, and my creative spaces at home, too, I guess. Until I began writing narrative in terms of my blog posts, starting in 2007, my creativity was only expressed in my work endeavors, which fortunately included many abundant challenges and opportunities for engagement.

This post was inspired by a friend asking to see what I had done with my small chestnut rail vase drawing, as I mentioned I'd put it up near my computer.  I've been thinking about the objects that I've surrounded myself with -- and kept, through downsizing, etc. 

I'm looking forward to writing about them over the coming days.