I haven\u2019t been painting much lately and it doesn\u2019t feel good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the six years that we have lived in this house, the basement (really the ground floor) has been a huge mess. Part workshop, part gym, part storage – all mess. It has taken all that time and multiple attempts to finally turn it into a usable space and after a lot of struggling, we finally managed to do it a few months ago. As a result of all that hard work I was able to set up a painting studio in there. I cannot adequately describe the joy I felt at being able to leave my paints and supplies out and have everything organized just so where the kids wouldn\u2019t mess with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I got up before the kids fairly frequently to paint. I would play my music, no headphones required, and I would just paint. I was really productive for the last few months and finished three large paintings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But then my mom had to move in with us and the basement was the only available space where she could stay. My easel went back to my office, which I share with my husband right off of the kitchen. All my art supplies had to move up too. The spaces that I had clawed to open up closed in again and clutter flowed back in like an unwelcome tide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I haven\u2019t really painted in the weeks since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mostly I\u2019ve been tired, but as the mom of two small kids that\u2019s just my default state. As I wracked my brain trying to figure out why I haven\u2019t managed to get up early to paint again, it occurred to me that the fact that I no longer had a studio space probably had something to do with it. I used to delight in closing myself in that room and being free to paint. But the two times I\u2019ve tried to paint when the easel had to move back I was constantly being interrupted, by my mom, my husband, the kids, and so on. No one meant<\/em> to disrupt me, of course. But every comment, every time I had to take out my ear buds to hear some comment directed toward me, sapped me of momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I just keep staring at my unfinished canvas. The calendar deadline I set up for myself for this fourth painting is just mocking me on my phone now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I relished having my own studio space. No one disturbed me there and I was free to just work. It was a physical space that served as a manifestation of my Work and my Passion. And now I\u2019ve been relegated into a tiny corner of my house again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I need to figure out a new path forward. I didn\u2019t paint much before I set up my studio. And I haven\u2019t painted much since I lost it. But now that I\u2019ve had the feeling of painting consistently, I can\u2019t give that up. I need a new strategy to get up early even though I\u2019m tired to paint. I need to set up my office in such a way that it can be enjoyable to paint in there, even if it\u2019s cramped. I won\u2019t let go of my dreams now that I\u2019ve had a taste of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I haven\u2019t been painting much lately and it doesn\u2019t feel good. For the six years that we have lived in this house, the basement (really the ground floor) has been a huge mess. Part workshop, part gym, part storage – all mess. It has taken all that time and multiple attempts to finally turn it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,13],"tags":[36,46,47],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-feelings","category-traditional-art","tag-art","tag-studio","tag-studio-space"],"yoast_head":"\n