Painted Thoughts Blog

Discovering Forgotten Artwork

As I've mentioned on social media and in prior posts, I've been in the throes of trying to convert my "storage unit" back into a studio. It has been interesting, challenging, annoying, and an adventure!

Part of what makes this situation so interesting is finding all the cool things I've bought over the years...you know what I mean, all those have-to-have-it-right-now-art-supplies because you took a class or saw a demo online. The problem with this is I've already moved on to the next-new-thing-bright-thing or life interfered and I didn't have time so I set them aside. Out of sight, out of mind!

The challenge to finding all these fun toys is you want to stop and play with them RIGHT NOW. But if you do that, you don't get anything done in the studio. Well, you might. I don't. So I have to rein myself in and keep me on task. Much grumbling can be heard from outside the door.

Other challenges include figuring out ways to organize and store all the goodies in a way I can find them when I want them without having to dismantle half the studio to get to them. When I go looking for ideas out on the internet, I often find "pretty pictures" of magazine-cover-worthy studios. They're all color coordinated and every.single.thing.has.a.basket. They're gorgeous. But I cannot help and wonder about the function.

While I like pretty things, what I like/want/need most is a studio that is going to function for me and the way I work. If a solution isn't exactly pretty, but works like a charm, count me in! If it's pretty, but is a pain to use...it's not going to last long. This has turned out to be a daily, ongoing challenge with the storage unit/studio and probably always will be.

Did I mention annoying? Yes. I did.

So you might be wondering what could be so annoying about cleaning up the studio...oh, let me count the ways! There's the annoyance of discovering you have seven rolls of certain kind of tape because you couldn't lay hands on the rolls you'd bought in the past and thought maybe you had imagined buying them. There is also the "what-was-I-thinking" purchases that make absolutely no sense at this stage. In some cases, I don't even know what project I had in mind!

But I think the biggest annoyance, or maybe I should say the one that is bugging me most today, is finding a piece of artwork I thought was finished, and finding it's not done. At least, it's not now because I've grown as an artist and when I look at it, I see ways to improve it. Then the debate begins: do I fix it or do I put it in the drawer with other completed works and go on with organizing the studio. The key thought here is, "I'll come back to it when the studio is finished." The problem with that thought is the studio is not likely to ever be finished!

Much time is spent considering what the right thing to do might be. Finally, in the case of the Easter eggs, I decided it would be worth it, mostly due to the timing of the holiday, to take time away from cleaning and organizing to make the changes. Another reason I decided to go for it is because I had set the piece to the side and I bet I've come across it three, maybe four times now and had the same debate with myself. Make a decision, would you?!

So...ta-da! I sat down last Sunday (which has become known as "Studio Sundays" and is always said in a deep, masculine voice from the Monday night football games on national television) and worked to finish this piece. It took a little over an hour as I stopped several times to make sure I was liking the changes. After I felt it was finished, I scanned it and then filed with the rest of my completed pieces.

From there, I added the finished artwork to my Zazzle shop, Painted Thoughts Studio, as a greeting card and showed it on social media. So despite the delay of working on the studio, I managed to get at least one thing finished and added to Zazzle so it could live on outside of the studio! Not too bad for a few hours time.

Now, onto the next 394 million pieces of paper that need to be sorted, organized, stored and/or finished!

2 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

art

Bethlehem Star Card Template

No Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

humor

The Dangers Of Organizing The Studio

I suppose it was only a matter of time before I became infected with the organizing bug as so many others around me have been. I mostly "blame" two close friends for my infection as they often regaled me of their efforts and eventual triumph over the clutter and disorganization of their homes.

And let's be real—my studio has become more storage unit than studio in recent years. In fact, I usually decamp to the breakfast nook table to paint as it's far easier than attempting to find or make a clear horizontal space large enough for me to work.

But no one ever talks about the downside of organizing. I am here to tell you there most certainly is one and I thought I'd share two recent examples. These may or may not have recently happened in my organizing adventures!

The Dangers Of Organizing

It’s great fun to fondle all of your art supplies and sort them out into ever-so-useful boxes (or not, because you either haven’t rounded up all those fun, similar items to put into one perfectly-sized box, but you are absolutely sure you have more, so you don’t know how large of a box you will need so the sorting and boxing has been delayed) or you simply remember running across an item in your sorting and fondling that you now have a dire use for it, but you have no idea where it is. None. Other than in the studio, that is.

You think you remember it in a specific drawer, but is it there? No. Maybe the one below or above? No.

And so begins the epic journey down the rabbit hole of “where-is-the-elusive-item," causing you to spend vast amounts of time hunting and searching everywhere you think it might possibly be lurking. In your laser focus, you may or may not undo some of your prior organizing.

And still you cannot find the item.

You may become so frustrated and angry you stomp out of the room, slamming the door (if you have one) for good measure, hoping the studio will rethink its selfishness and give you the item you must have for some reason you can't quite recall at the moment.

You could also succumb to defeated negativity (this is especially dangerous) and give up completely as you feel you are not up to the gargantuan task of organizing the mess formerly known as your studio.

Do not succumb to these feelings!

Do not let one little item and its gleeful game of demonic hide-and-seek derail you. You're bigger than one little-bitty missing item. You can and you will do this. (Repeat this statement until you start to believe in yourself again.)

Simply ignore the item and use something else. Usually, within a day or week or month, said item will surface in the first drawer you expected it to be in the first place. It is very important to refrain from throwing lit matches into the mess at this point—you’ll regret it.

Or, you finally, after days (weeks?) of searching, find the item, but by the time you find it, you have absolutely no idea why you had to have it, what project you intended to use it on let alone where the project may be at this point, or you simply don’t care anymore. You have zero interest in using it because all of your enthusiasm was wicked away by the hunt for the idiotic item that may or may not have been as great as you originally thought.

These particular jaunts down the rabbit hole are extremely dangerous to your well-being as they can cause extreme frustration, irritation and exasperation not to mention they can make you question your own mind as to the possibility that you may have simply imagined owning the elusive item because you’ve also spent a great deal of time online searching out fabulous ways to organize said studio. These necessary searches may have lead you down the road of temptation to other fabulous art supplies which you may or may not own!

The second example is even more insidious in its ability to make you think you are quite possibly losing your ever-loving mind. You think you have finally corralled every item of a particular genre. You have carefully sorted, labeled and stored these items into just the right size box and then you sought out the best location in the studio to store this carefully curated box of goodies for the next time you need/want them.

Job well done, you mighty organizer, you.

As you continue on with the laborious task of organizing every.other.art.supply.ever.made, you bask in the glow and contentment of a task well done...until you find one more wayward item that should have been stored in that glorious box. And here’s where the trouble begins:

You go to find the box of said items and it is no where to be found! Did you store in cabinet A or in drawer 7 in Cabinet G? It’s in neither and you were absolutely sure you put it one or the other. Refer back to the first example of the ensuing mayhem that takes over your mind and studio when you jump down the rabbit-hole of extreme searches. It’s not pretty. Instead, it is best to quietly exit the room, shut the door—no slamming—and fix yourself a nice cup of tea. Perhaps add a small amount of your preferred alcohol to help calm your nerves, but do be careful not to over indulge or you’ll have yet another problem on your hands. Return only when you are in a relaxed state and no longer care about the where the box is. It’ll show up. Eventually.
Or you find the box and it’s full. As in perfectly full. As in too full for one more single thing. And you deflate. Your glow and contentment wither and dry up, swept away on a wind of defeat as you realize you will have to dump it all out and start over. You entertain the idea of secretly throwing the vexing item out, but then reason(?) reasserts itself and you realize this item may well be the very one that makes or breaks a future project that could not possibly be as perfect without said item. Again, quietly leaving the room and indulging in a strong drink—forget the tea—has been known to do wonders for helping the organizer to relax and not really care at all. About anything.

So for those of you thinking you want an orderly and organized studio in which to create your wondrous creations of which the world is in sore need, proceed with extreme caution lest you question your mental stability, become known as a highly, peevish individual prone to fits of pique or quite possibly, a lush.

Yes, this organizing thing is getting to me…why do you ask?

8 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

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7 Creative Thought(s)

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The Color, Green: Fun or Frustrating?!

2 Creative Thought(s)

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Classes and Workshops, Oh My!

4 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

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Hints of Autumn (And I Mean Hard-To-Find Hints!)

No Creative Thought(s)

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An Imaginary Trip To Jekyll Island Online Class - Registration Is Now Open!

1 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

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Something New, Something Different, Something Exciting!

No Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

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2 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

art journaling

Pouring Pain Onto The Page - The Healing Properties Of Art

"Shards of A Splintered Heart" - Painted with watercolor, memories and tears

While painting this quilt pattern, a small splatter of salty water hit the page.

A tear.

As I often get "lost" in the process of creating and go off in my mind to other worlds within this one, it wasn't really a surprise. It's happened before. Creating seems to lower my mental walls just enough to allow me to revisit old memory and witness a new perspective on some experience or relationship.

So, no, the tear didn't surprise me too much until I started following my thought-thread back to find the source of the moisture. Until that moment, I didn't realize I was giving voice to the pain—and healing—of losing my mother after a particularly long and vicious battle with dementia.

My mother was a seamstress of great talent, but making quilts were never her thing though she did make a few. She was more of a collector and she enjoyed them in her everyday world rather than keeping them for "company" or special occasions.

As I let the quiet tears fall, I knew they represented the stress and damage caused by an illness that knows no kindness and gives no quarter. They were for the years lost even though she was alive, for the impact it had on her, my father and my siblings as well as for the loneliness and lost feelings that still pervade my mind. And for the helplessness we all felt as we watched her mind being slowly destroyed.

As I followed my thoughts more consciously, I decided to give witness to the pain, guilt, loneliness, anger, frustration, and yes, even happiness, that her death brought. The swirling mess of volatile emotions, some seemingly at war with one another, were slowly brought to life on the page of my sketchbook.

When I began to lay out the quilt idea on the page, I made several changes from the original pattern I found. The shape of the heart (I made it fuller), the outer edges of the heart shape (I wanted it to be less fragmented) and the small splintered pieces inside (to represent my own emotional shards that have yet to settle) were either changed or added as I went along.

Much of the relief (and happiness) I've felt is in knowing she has set down the burden of her illness. The feeling of being lost and lonely sidle up next to the gaping hole of lost love I will no doubt feel until I no longer walk this earth. Anger that I lost so many years with her to this insidious disease and bewilderment that she's truly gone. All of this was and is overlaid with frustration that there was nothing, absolutely nothing which could be done to slow or stop the illness.

As I poured forth that complicated mess of feelings, I began to feel lighter, a lessening of the weight that seems to have been stifling my soul for months now. And while the weight is not completely gone, the slight lightening gives me hope that it will eventually be transformed into something different and new.

They say time heals. I say art heals more. I am ever so thankful to have an outlet by which I can process the big and little hurts we all encounter as we stroll upon the surface of the earth.

6 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

art journaling

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5 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

art journaling

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3 Creative Thought(s)

, by Laure Ferlita

beach

Come and join me for the Jekyll Island Art & Travel Workshop, October 21st - 25th, 2019!

5-Day Sketching Workshop

Work on location with Laure at Jekyll Island, see live demos on sketching birds, dolphins, beach treasures, native flora, fauna, the inescapable beach kitsch and more! You’ll receive a full color handout with step-by-step instructions on many of these subjects PLUS one-on-one feedback and help on your work.

The workshop will start each day at 9:30 a.m. and finish up in the late afternoon, leaving you with plenty of time to strike out on your own for a little exploring, relaxing, shopping or whatever your heart desires!

Jekyll Island

One of the four barrier islands along the coast of Georgia known as the Golden Isles, Jekyll Island has a long but quiet history. Guale and Muskogian Indian tribes once made their home on the island before it was discovered by Europeans in 1510. Eventually, the English gained occupation. The island was home to a number of plantations.

In the late 1800’s, a plan was created to turn the island into a winter playground for the wealthy. Members joined the Jekyll Island Club of one hundred patrons and began building “cottages.” These mansion-sized residences were the homes of the Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Morgan, and Pulitzer families. They played and vacationed on the island up until World War II.

After the war, the island was eventually bought by the state and the Jekyll Island Resort Club was opened in 1985 as a luxury resort hotel.

For more information on Jekyll Island, please click here. For more information on the club, please click here.

Our Visit

Each day will have us exploring the island with time in the historic district, visiting the beaches, spending time with some turtles, enjoying the Mosaic Museum and nearby areas.

We will be capturing these visits and more in our sketchbooks so we can enjoy them long after we leave the island.

Activities Galore!

Whether you’re into kayaking, hiking, walking, birdwatching, or simply soaking up the warmth of the sun, there’s plenty to do on the island and in the nearby areas of St. Simons and Brunswick!

Want To Join The Fun?!

Please click here to learn all the details and to download the Registration Form! As always, I hope you can join me as it's going to be soooo much fun! Please let me know if I can answer any questions.