Saturday, May 5, 2012

Where I Create

Welcome to my studio.
I live in Sydney Australia where we have lots of sunshine and warm weather. It doesn't snow here so we can work outside all year round.

My studio is where I spend most of my creative time as it contains most of my toys and stuff and I just love being in it. It has a great feeling just being in there.

My studio was originally two bedrooms but when my kids left home we decided to knock down the wall between them and turn it into a studio for me.  It is about 7m x 3.5m. How lucky am I?

It has two skylights, two windows and track lighting with 12 spotlights. It also has 24 power outlets. Too many I know but we put two double outlets in 6 different places in the room. Unfortunately not many are where they actually need to be so there are still cables running all over the place.

I also fill all the orders for Dyed and Gone to Heaven here so this corner is dedicated to admin stuff.
The two fireplaces have been converted into tables. They do fold down flush to the wall but it never happens.

The other fold down table  is my ironing board which is a piece of mdf covered in towels/wadding/cotton top. Sometimes it doubles as a printing table but I usually do that ourside.
Underneath are 3 sets of wire baskets which are full of different types of fabrics like silks/satins/yarns/wool rovings/printed fabrics.
These built in shelves were custom built and were designed for those under the bed type tubs but i just fill them with other stuff. TV with cable is an added bonus. 
I have a design wall running the length of one wall (about 6m) which is made of caneite (1/2" thick board made from recycled sugar cane waste I think) with a length of wide flannel pinned over the whole area. Extra height was created by cutting up and extra board and they are all screwed to the wall. It also doubles as a pin board for inspiration as well as works in progress.
My Bernina 820 is a wonderful machine and is set into an Sew Ezy table and then butted up to an Ikea reject office table. Ikea is also responsible for all the sets of drawers (Alex) and bookshelves (billy).

I also have a Handiquilter Sweet 16 which I love as it allows me to quilt any size quilt with ease. I move it around where I need to use it with the side flaps open but when I am not quilting it is tucked into a corner.
I have obscene amount of threads and beads and lots of drawers holding other art supplies.
I do writing and painting etc at this desk but get distracted easily by looking out the window so had to change my original machine position from here.
Most of my stash is just 'borrowed' from the 'sweatshop' next door (used to be the kids living room) where Peter does most of the cutting and packing of all our handyes. I usually just ask him to dye fabric specifically for projects and it just magically appears.

I do most of my wet type work in the garden and have a great table (made of industrial hoarding which is waterproof and doesn't buckle) and we both spend a lot of time here creating fabrics.

I know I am very fortunate to be able to follow my passion and have dedicated creative spaces.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for showing the wonderful creative spaces you have. Love the shelves of beads and masses of thread. The fabric on the outside table looks yummy. Chris from Toowoomba Qld

Jan Mac said...

Lisa, thanks for sharing your creative space. It's great to see how you've made your space work for you.
Hugs, Jan Mac

Paxton said...

Lisa, this is almost like I imagined your setup would be - everything has its place! Thank you for sharing with the rest of the world. If your studio would not cause inspiration, nothing would! Love it!!

Lisa Walton said...

Thanks Jan

Anonymous said...

Now I know what heaven looks like!

mel.forrest said...

OH wow, your creative space is very inspiring. Thankyou for sharing :))

Dale Kathryn said...

Your space is fabulous! Thanks for inviting us in for a peek!

Anonymous said...

OMG I can't thank you enough for allowing us to look into your private space. I've always wondered what others workspaces look like, especially those who make a successful living from their art. Thank you. It's been wonderful.

cait said...

Thank you Lisa, it's an inspiration! cheers, Cait

Fran C said...

what a well laid out work space. Food for thought. Love it and would love one that size.

Beverly said...

Thanks so much for sharing your studio space with us- it is so bright and cheerful. However, I want to know if I can place an order for that husband/hand-dyer who just magically makes hand-dyed cloth appear? :)

Deb said...

It's been great seeing your creative space, but is it always that tidy????

Bronwyn Walkley said...

Thanks for showing is Lisa. It all looks so organized and perfect for inspiration. Cheers Bronwyn

Vivian Helena said...

Thank you for sharing.. Love your work space, motivates me to do some clearing! Our summer in Calif. is just starting, so will get my sun paints out and get to work.

Nienke said...

Love it! Will copy few of your ideas as soon as I can :-)!!!

Eileen said...

Lisa, your studio is fantastic! Yes you are lucky to have such a great place to work. Sounds like you're also lucky to have a great partner in your hubby. ;)
Thank you for sharing.

Jenny Bowker said...

It looks terrific Lisa - the thing that I am truly envious of is that it never seems to get untidy! I work in a blizzard of fabric.

Jenny

Lisa Walton said...

Thanks all for your kind comments and no it doesn't look that tidy all the time - in fact rarely. Just had to clean it up between projects so took the photos then.

Sue Dennis said...

A great space Lisa- love all the white which makes it clean and bright. Now get those fabrics out and make it messy!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing Lisa. You have a fantastic workspace.

Your Alice shots are beautiful. I lived there for a couple of years, fantastic place!

Cheers
Heather

skylights Toowoomba said...

Hi nice post. Thanks for sharing the information.

jeanne Marklin said...

What a lovely and well planned studio! That IKEA table and baskets look so inspiring. Thanks for posting.