Removing the Clutter

Yesterday I dedicated my first two hours to cleaning up the studio. I tend to work on several projects simultaneously, and things often get a bit chaotic when I'm flying around throwing oil paint on this canvas, and tossing acrylic on the next. Needless to say things get messy fairly quickly and in the end I wind up spending more time searching for the things I need than actually using them. The clutter had become a huge obstacle to my painting and it had to be eliminated.

There were piles of things on the floor and every table surface was a veritable wasteland of jars, brushes and paper. It appeared to be an overwhelming task, but it had to be done, so I grabbed a broom and started sweeping up the saw dust that was everywhere. I swept a section of about two square feet when I realized that there was too much on the floor to continue sweeping. All of the paint returned to their respective bins and I put all of the solvents and mediums back on the shelf. I went back to sweeping and I worked from the edges and corners of the room back into the middle, which formed an island of sawdust, scrap wood, string, screws, and staples. Cleaning is one of those things that I usually dread, but the deeper I got into it the better I felt about it overall. Removing the clutter allowed me to actually see what I was working on and it also eliminated the mental strain from navigating the debris.

Cleaning provided me with clarity. Now I can't wait to walk into the studio to work again because the space is organized and I know where everything is at. There is also much more open space now and my work no longer has to compete for my attention, which is as it should be. Most importantly it helped put me in the right mindset to create. I feel very positive about the studio now, and this will undoubtedly resonate in the work.