Studio organized... progress

It has been a busy week and half, reorganizing the studio space. As you can see in my previous post the studio was getting really cluttered and I was completely out of horizontal space. Things always had to be constantly moved around and a shelf could be used for just one thing, storing handbuilt pieces in progress, decorating or glazing.

One significant change was moving the kiln in the garage. With the garage in my working studio space, I often lost a day or two of work during a week because it got too hot in the studio. Plus it takes up so much room. Now with the kiln gone I was not only able to put another set of shelves, but also add another working table. Now with more that one shelf I don't have to move things around that much.

The garage space also got a uplift. The thing that bothered me most about it was the packing peanut dispenser which hung in the middle of the garage. Cannot live without it but at the same time it shrunk my space in half. I modified the shape of it and fortunately it fit snugly in the dead corner between the garage door rail and the wall and could also go higher up. And those Ikea shelves work great for me to sort out wholesale orders.

To move the kiln in the garage, I did have to have electric work done. Got two outlets in the garage for another kiln in the future and added other power outlets too. Of course, got a lot of light added as well. Now with the kiln in the garage, I don't have to worry about my studio working schedule. I can make things when I want to rather than waiting for my studio to cool down.

And cleaning out the garage and the studio, did generate stuff that was taken to the Goodwill, distributed to other artist friends. But there was significant trash which was taken to the dump. Any guesses on how much the trash weighed?

Studio needs to be cleaned and reorganized

To have a good functioning pottery studio, one needs space. That would be true for almost any artist. The more space we have the better.
But what do you do when you don't have the space? Well, you learn to efficiently use every inch of space that you have. And it is very essential, to clean out the studio and get rid of stuff more often.
I know of some artist who have huge spaces. I am not going to name any names, but I am jealous. Some of them have their space organized well, but most of them can get away with just spreading around which also results in collection of stuff that never sees the light of day.
So sometimes I feel that just having the big space might not be the perfect solution, though I will take it if I got it.
For some of you who have been to my studio know that I work in a fairly small space for he amount of work that I make. My studio is the family room at the ground level of our home and it is ~350 sq ft and also houses the kiln in it. Recently with constant firing and struggling with covering things because they would dry sooner than I want and with the increased production, some serious changes need to be made. In addition to this space I do use a one-car garage as well to store inventory, packing orders, and all the other misc stuff.
Here are some pictures and you can see it is pretty tight and always a challenge for more horizontal space. Well, I am making some changes and will post pictures of what happens later. The kiln will be moving to the garage and more shelving added to the studio. Garage space will be organized a lot better.... hopefully.

How big is your studio space???

Extruder die storage and Kiln posts storage

I have a pretty small studio space as some of you who visited my studio must have noticed. I try to make the most of every inch of space I have.
Early this year I visited Barbara Dunshee's studio who is just great at managing here studio space for teaching pottery in her basement studio. What she shared with me were here IKEA CD shelves used as storage for kiln posts. I loved the idea and was on Craigslist hunting for them right away. Found two of them for $30.
With adjustable shelves these are perfect for arranging kiln posts by height and they work great for storing all my extruder dies as well. Make sure to attach them to the wall so they don't fall over. And they have such a small foot print fitting perfectly in the dead corner behind the kiln.

What are your favorite storage solutions in your studio? Comment away.

Pottery Studio Tour and Sale

In all these years of doing pottery, it is hard for me to beleive I still have never done a studio tour. I have usually joined potters and artists and did a show at another location.
With NCECA in Seattle this year, I thought it would be great opportunity to open the doors of my studio. I do show the happenings in my studio all the time through my blog, but this time you can actually step in.

Plus it will be fun to meet other potters and artists coming for NCECA.

Great deals on Older Stock and Seconds!

Plus buyers get to put their name for a chance to win one of my gallery pieces.

If you are out of state, you can have a virtual tour of my studio here and browse through my work in my Etsy shop

When: March 31st - April 1st (10am - 5pm)

Where: 32706 5th Ave SW,

Federal way, WA 98023

Directions: From I-5,

Take Exit 143, 320th St and go west

Drive 2 miles and turn left on 6th Ave SW

Drive 0.5 miles and turn left on SW 327 Pl

Take first left on 5th Ave SW

I look forward to meeting you

As part of NCECA 2012 in Seattle, do look for my work at the following locations

• Pillow bowl being displayed in theSeattle Convention Center for Potters Council Show "The Chromatic Edge"
• Ceramic shoes and bag displayed at the Nordstrom window in Seattle Downtown for the "Feet of Clay" show.
• Two platters at the Platter Tectonics/Specific Rims exhibit at the Kirkland Arts Center Store
• Dancing Divas and a platter are going to be at the Pulse: Rhythm in Clay exhibit at the ArtEast Art Center in Issaquah
• Beer Stein Live auction at the HopVine Pub in Seattle March 29th 9pm.

Other places you can find my work in Seattle area

City Kitchens

JF Henry Kitchen and Tableware

Throwing mud gallery

Ginger Street