Disorderly Conduct

One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. A. A. Milne

I've posted a couple of entries about moving and organizing my work space. I received a lot of comments about how neat it is. Well it was, for about 5 minutes! I thought I would show you what it usually looks like, after a day of creating.

Notice my new Wubber tools, the ones with turquoise handles. I am really loving these. I will be writing more about these soon.

Now I admit that I will probably clean it up a bit before I start working again, but this is it's usual state. If I was good I would clean it up as soon as I was done, but generally life is what calls me away in the first place, and life doesn't wait. Plus, it really is much more fun to be a little bad!

Another artist who is finding out first hand that life can sometimes take time away from creative pursuits is Michelle Harvey of Mirabella Creations. After I read her take on life with a 3-year old child, life with teenage boys sounds easy!

Organized Work Space

I talked about moving my work space into the family room in an earlier post. Well I finally finished (for now!) organizing my beads and findings. I know I'm always very curious about how others organize and use their space, so I thought I would share how I organized mine.

Everything is against one wall in plastic storage drawers.

The large set of drawers on the far right contains paperwork, shipping and packaging materials and tools that I use occasionally. The four 3-drawer units in the center contain most of my beads organized by color. I have one or two drawer for each color: red, pink, orange, yellow, green (2), blue, purple, brown, black/grey, white/clear, mixed/multi. Most of the beads are stored in see through acrylic boxes. This system works well for me. The drawers come out easily so I can look through them, or I can pull out individual boxes and put them together until I find my inspiration. Previously I stored my beads in ziploc bags, but the beads are so much easier to see, and prettier to look at too, in the acrylic boxes.

One of the bead drawer units.

Here is the inside of one of the green drawers.

I have seperate 3-drawer units for sterling silver and copper beads and components. They are organized by findings, beads/spacers and chain/bead-caps/misc.
Other drawer units hold other types of metal findings, stringing materials, focal beads, metallic beads etc. I'm sure as time goes by I'll make some changes, but this is working very well for me right now, and it makes it very easy to clean up after a creative session.

Not shown in the pictures is a portable file box that is stored under the desk. Inside are hanging file folders. I have my stash of wire stored there, seperated by type (sterling, copper, brass) and gauge.

Well, that's how my space is organized. If you are curious how another artist organized her space, check out how Lily of Tulip's Treasure Box organized hers.

Teresa's Tool Talk

One of the really fun aspects of being a jewelry maker is all the toys, I mean tools, that you get to buy and play, I mean work, with. One of my favorite new tools is a bead reamer. I know you can get powered bead reamers, but I decided to go the frugal route.

I have to admit that I was skeptical that it would really work, but I find myself using both this and a pearl reamer on a regular basis. A reamer is especially helpful when I make bangles like the one below using 14 gauge or heavier wire for the base. It is hard to find a great variety of beads with holes big enough for this wire, so this tool can expand the palette that I have to work with.

It is best to use the reamers in water if possible, and I find that it works best if I try to 'file' the sides of the bead hole rather than forcing the reamer into the bead. You do have to be careful not to use to much pressure or you can crack or break your bead. I'd love to hear other artisan's opinions on their bead reamers, especially if you have any experience with the powered ones.

Old Work Space

Here is a picture of my old work table. It's former life was as a kitchen table.

My main problem with this space was that when I pulled out materials to work with, there was no place left to work. I usually work on several different pieces at once. Some might be in the design phase where I like to pull different beads together and just let them sit for a bit while I think about it. Then I might have one or two pieces that I'm trying out a new idea or technique on, and I often like to let those sit for a bit too. Then of course, when I finish a new piece I like to leave it in view for a time so I can critique and/or admire it. So you can see how having a few creative days can result in a work table that becomes completely unworkable!

But don't worry, relief is on the horizon. I am in the process of setting up a new work space. I've moved a large L-shaped desk from the office to the family room. This will allow me to store all my supplies on one end of the L where I can also 'audition' stones and materials. This will give me the other end of the desk, about 80" to actually work on my pieces. There will also be room to set up my light box, so I won't have to turn the dining room table into an electrical octopus with tentacles of power cords radiating in every direction.

I'm hoping to have things set up within the week to get back to work. And hopefully I'll have some nice pictures of my new space to share.