Friday, June 21, 2013

Julia Elmore shares her decluttering process to create space for her art

This month Jamie Ridler studios is focusing on making space, just like we are. Here are a few ways you can honour whichever stage of your creative cycle you’re in and Create Space this month.

If you have been procastinating about decluttering I highly recommend reading Julia Elmore´s post "Clearing the clutter to make way for clarity and productivity. I was cheering for her all through the post and it has a happy ending. :D

This month at the Keep it simple, make it work decluttering and organizing series we are looking at the entry ways but today we´ll look at the other side of the house. Recently Julia has conquered another space, a gateway between the kitchen and the back garden and she invites us to see the process. Then I´ll show you some of her beautiful paintings too.


Today has been all about creating a space to play, says Julia.
I have, for rather too long, been working on the dining room table or floor, spreading out and making my art, only to have to clear it all up again in order for my children and I to eat at the table. For too long now, I have been dumping my half-finished projects in a corner of the room until I have a little window to work on them again. Today, all that changed.
Today, I set about clearing the lean-to at the back of my house and making space for my art. It had previously been a dumping ground; an obstacle course between kitchen and garden; a nuisance of a place, dirty and half falling down. However, in taking my art and my passions more seriously, and determined not to let them take over our living space any longer, I made a decision to change this good-for-nothing space into an inspiring place for me to store my art materials and perhaps use to make art. There is no big table out there, so I could continue to use the dining room table or the big table at the bottom of the garden, housing my projects safely in this new space in between bursts of art. Or, I could use one of the wooden boards out there either balanced on top of the drawers or leaning against the wall, paper taped to it, as I have done indoors or in the garden in the past. It is not big, but it is enough.
In truth, it is the message I am giving myself that matters.
It was only in doing this today, in sweeping up the cobwebs and putting the remainder of my ex’s stuff into boxes, that I realised how truly vital a playspace is to productivity and happy home life for me. It is about giving value to my art and what matters to me and separating that from the necessities of family life, such as eating at the table. Simple, but true. Just took me a while to realise this.
Do you have a playspace for your passions? If so, what inspires you about this place? If not, what could you do to create one? I would love to hear your thoughts.

It has been a pleasure to read Julia´s story and I´m certainly going to keep an eye on her site "Be creative daily"  and her gallery of work. One of her pieces will be the illustration for Week 25 next Monday. Come back to see that one!
Self portrait inspired by Frida
Self portrait
Fearless painting #2
Fearless

Self-portrait Spanish-style painted
Self portrait Spanish style


11 comments:

misteejay said...

What a cheerful space this has become - well done Julia and thank you Paula for sharing this with us.

Toni xx

Lisabella Russo said...

It's a beautiful space, I think it's wonderful to make room for our passions...

Faye said...

I loved seeing the lovely self portraits. I did one in watercolors a few years back. One side of the face was definitely me; the other side looked just like my sister. LOL!

Katrina said...

What a lovely space to be able to work in....a friend of mine has a similar space, with all glass too, she finds it so productive in there, I hope you do too

Vanessa Terrell said...

What a nice bright space to work in! Love the watercolors! Thanks for sharing the post and her process for decluttering!

bellefrogworks said...

That is such a nice bright space. Your are right - you need your own space. Can't wait to see all the wonderful paintings you create there. HPPF

Giggles said...

Wonderful revamp of the space! Good for you honoring your art, yourself and that space!! You could even do art on the dresser to mark your space. I have a corner in my family room and everything has a place but I leave it out at times and it gets messy....but it's easy to put away!!

Wonderful self portraits...very pretty!!

Hugs Giggles

Paula - Buenos Aires said...

Thank you ladies! I really liked the way Julia sees the goal and the process.

There is definitely a family air then Faye. ;)

Jodene said...

I definitely have separate spaced for the different things that I have in my life. I have also been working on de-cluttering my home as well. It is a job that needs continual work. I never realized the damage that clutter can have on the, mind, body and spirit. In eliminating things that I don’t need or use anymore, I have felt a huge weight lifted off me and way less stress. The new art area at the back of the house is a great idea and looks like it will definitely help with her inspiration and productivity.
~ Jodene

Julia said...

Thank you all so much for your wonderful, supportive comments. The de-cluttering is an ongoing process, but the clearer my space becomes, the clearer the path to the creative life I love.

Thank you Paula for giving me the opportunity to share my story and images here. x

Paula - Buenos Aires said...

Interesting concept Jodene. Decluttering and separting.

My pleasure Julia. I´m a fan on FB too! :)

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