For the sake of my sanity... let's pretend this post isn't oh...

*looks around nervously*

a mere few months overdue...

Really, what's a few months among friends?

So why dontcha pull up a chair, and take a refresher course through the previous installments in this series...

Pretty Organized (June 2006)

Pssst... (September 2006)

Art Marker Organization (September 2006)

Everyone all caught up now? GREAT!

Today's focus is on storing Collage Sheets, Magazines, and Books, and how to showcase the things that inspire me, without becoming overwhelmed.

It was crucial, that I have a quiet, cozy place to curl up and page through books, magazines, and other publications that can not only light my spark of creativity, but teach me new techniques as well. I've had that oversized chair for about 5 or 6 years now.. It's one of my favorite pieces of furniture, as I scored it for a mere $185 when Sears Homelife went out of business... 75% off! Woot! It's comfortable, vibrant, and the perfect addition in my studio. Pairing it up with my cheap, old Wal-Mart bookcase was a no brainer..

When you stand in my hallway, those are what you see (along with the Ikea Expedit piece I'll show you next week)... I didn't want my art table visible..as it's so cluttered. I admit it, I like pretty. This isn't my vision of perfection -- but it suffices for now!

I loaded the bookcase with all my art, craft & home decor books, some art I've been given, or bought... and stuffed it full of the cardboard magazine holders I purchased at Ikea... just $2.99 for 5 of them! All i did was color copy ephemera and old letters from my grandmother and use gel medium to adhere them to the cardboard. I put on a few topcoats to seal it, sprayed it with a Matte Fixativ, and voila! Some cute magazine files awaited me. I labeled them with my Dymo, and stuffed them with all the publications & zines I have... I was mindful, to leave some blank though.. so my collection had room to grow.

Storing my collage sheets and printouts posed a bit of a problem at first, as I didn't have enough room for a filing cabinet in there, and frankly, I didn't want anything to fall out. When i saw this cute accordion file in T.J. Homegoods clearance ($3.99).. I snatched it right up! I labeled each pocket by theme, with tabs and filed my papers accordingly. (My smaller, cut images are stored on my art table, an area I'll show you soon)... It's stored on the floor, under my art table, so i can grab it on a moment's notice. The bonus? This is totally portable, so when i travel or teach workshops, I can take it with me easily. Sweet!

It would be easy to recreate, as the covers are just fabric covered canvas panels... if you decide to tackle creating one, please share!

And lastly, my inspiration board!

This is a constantly rotating display area filled to the brim with other people's artwork. It changes based on season, sentiment, my mood... I bought the French bulletin boards at Michaels, they go half off basically every month... and are super cheap. I can turn to my left as I am creating, and be instantly inspired! Take a close look, do you see your art there? That display was on my board in March, it's changed a bit since... but there is art there from The Altered Diva, Bird Nerd, Paper Relics, Zorana, Amyma, Jean Skipper, Misty Mawn, and a bunch of other gifted artists!

Hope this sparked some ideas for your studio, I'll show off another area of my studio space soon!

-- Chrysti

Tags: Altered Art, Art, ATC, Bipolar, Birds, BlogDesk, Chrysti, Collage, creativity, Folk Art, Mixed Media, North Carolina, Organization, Outsider Art, Painting, Raleigh, Studio