The Workroom

I created a new listing for my Etsy shop today entitled "Treadle" http://alisondubois.etsy.com. The photograph depicting the decaying workroom of a seamstress in the abandoned mining town of Bodie, California, features her dusty vintage Singer treadle sewing machine and worn wooden table and chairs.

Along with wondering what she created in her special space, it got me thinking about the differences between her workspace and my own modern version. So, I thought I'd share some quick snapshots of my area created in a walk-in-closet...yes, losing space for clothes, shoes, and purses was hard to do, lol!

My room measures 6' 4" x 6" 10" and I admit I tidied it up a bit before taking pictures, but there is a place for everything. I find it easier to work on projects if I put things away regularly, as it gets messy pretty quickly.

My chair swivels between my jewelry workbench and my sewing/painting area. I do my soldering and patina work outside as there is no ventilation in this room (safety first, always!) I store my sterling silver, copper, brass, and gold filled wire and metal sheet in my bench drawers. The pegboard is great for keeping my tools handy. I use the shelves above the closet poles to store some other supplies.


I utilize these cabinets for my shipping supplies, polymer clay, stamps, paints (oil, watercolor, and acrylic), beads and findings, art papers, scrapbooking supplies, and miscellaneous treasures which fill up the closed cabinets that you see, too.




Okay, the secret is out, I have spilled a teeny bit around the corner into the next room with this Chinese cabinet that has a few more tiny bits and pieces:)

This is my sewing, painting, beading, etc. area. My old Kenmore sewing machine has been with me for about 30 years - I service it regularly and it works like a dream. Working on a quilt in this small space is impossible, so the dining room table is pressed into service for this activity.


I store my serger on a shelf and use the folding table between the jewelry bench and my mannequin when it is needed.

The picture on the bulletin board is a working copy of a Red-shouldered Hawk that I was fortunate to capture a picture of when he landed on the edge of the spillover from our backyard spa into the pool. I'm working on a large watercolor that I hope to finish this month. I'm more proficient with oils and acrylics - watercolour is not my medium - but I'm enjoying it very much!

I needed a bit more space to store my sewing supplies, so this little area where I enter the closet is useful.

By the way, the photographs on the walls are mine, and I enjoy changing them out by the season to pretend I am outside. The wall hanging in this corner is hand quilted by me with lovely gold thread, and I painted the small framed watercolor on the stand.





And this my laptop computer, which is old as the hills and takes forever to start up, but it is very handy for keeping track of my projects and for playing music while I work. It's also great for learning new techniques - it's amazing what you can learn on YouTube!
Thanks for taking the time to check out my creative work space ~ I'd love to read your comments, especially if you have a link to your own post of what your workroom looks like!

Best wishes,

Alison

My Coffee Table Book

I'd appreciate it if you would take a moment to vote in the Weekly Grand Champion Etsy Challenge (hopefully for my "A Collection of Photographs by Alison Du Bois" coffee table book) at:

http://etsychallenge.blogspot.com/2008/09/915-weekly-grand-champion-your-category.html

And, if you wouldn't mind too much, maybe you could forward my shameless begging request *sheepish grin* on to your email list for me ~ I'd really like to win this so I can go on to the annual contest.

My self-published photographic coffee table art book contains 31 glossy pages and measures 11 ½” by 15”. This deluxe hardcover book is printed on high quality archival (lignin and acid free) paper with high quality ink by a professional printer. The black background makes the colors really pop! This first edition book includes a dust cover. Many of the 80 photographs included in this collection are listed on my http://www.alisondubois.etsy.com/ site. The layouts include from one to four photographs per page, and photos have captions. The book is available for purchase here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12706242

Thank you so much for your help, and don't forget to vote in the other categories, too, at http://etsychallenge.blogspot.com/ - I think you will enjoy trying to choose between all of the talented artists competing!

Front Page of Etsy

I made the front page of Etsy last night in this beautiful treasury created by http://www.gollybard.etsy.com/. Holly creates whimsical watercolor paintings - I'm particularly taken with her dragonflies.

I'm so happy that she included my photograph entitled "Stone Arches" that was taken in Pompeii, Italy.

Thank you, Holly!

Front Page of Etsy

I made the front page of Etsy.com today in this beautiful treasury created by http://www.girlsavage.etsy.com/ who makes cute plush creatures and her "Feltidermy" have been featured on Cute Overload, The Martha Stewart Show and CNN American Morning!

I'm so happy that she included my photograph entitled "Solidarity" that was taken in Pompeii, Italy.

Thank you, girlsavage!

Bodie, California

I received a picture from my sister-in-law of the matted and framed collage of my pictures of Bodie, an abandoned gold mining town in central California.

Thank you for sharing your picture with me, Virginia! It's nice to see it up on a wall :)