Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you’ll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
Congrats to Shannon N who is the winner of copy The Art of Resin Clay compliments of Lori Anderson. Please email Lori with your mailing address so she can send your book out to you!
Welcome to the Humblebeads’ Studio today with Heather Powers.
I should definitely have some “Under Construction: Excuse the Mess” signs up today. I have been slowly moving into my new studio space. My largest space yet. It doesn’t look like it from the photos, but it is 22 x 14 square feet of space dedicated to creating. I love that.
Although it’s a large space, there are some drawbacks. Like it’s dungeon like appeal that I’m combating. It’s an unfinished family room on the lower level, there is natural light via a sliding glass door. But it still feels like a basement to me. And then there is the cold. Oh Michigan, you will toughen me up before the winter is over!
I covered the utilitarian bulbs with with some lovely paper lanterns and added in a scrap fabric banner in some festive colors. I need to rethink the gray curtain – I may go for some flowy white ones instead. The walls are a warm earthy green that work well with my nice wood tables. (A total steal at a used a furniture shop.) Let’s take a moment to celebrate no more folding tables in the studio – yeah!
Getting the studio back to normal has been such a slow going process. I’ve been working on fixing it up between being sick for the last two weeks. So not fun. I feel like frozen sludge moving down a river. As you can see above, the clay table is up, so first things first!
We have some pegboard to paint, an inspiration board to cover in seagrass paper and some shelves to hang up still. My sister has been repainting a large round table for me. This is a space where I could teach small classes. I have four work surfaces to use plus lots of shelving. I need a comfy chair or loveseat for some daydreaming. As my buddy Andrew says, “Little by little the bird builds her nest.”
And then there is the unpacking. And purging. There are so many boxes of crafty stuff that I haven’t seen since August and it just makes me wonder, if I could live that long without it do I really need it.
I would like to opt for less stuff and more room for creativity.
And speaking of creativity, while I was gathering ideas for the studio I used Pinterest to collect my inspirations and thoughts. You can see my color palette and some ideas that we will add into the space as times goes on. Yes, Jess is even going to paint that pattern on one of my walls. He has the template, now to get him to pick up the brush again.
For this week, I’m giving away the owl pendant above. It’s an awesome necklace with a stamped brass owl, a lampwork glass bead from Sea of Glass and a disk bead from me. And look – it matches my studio!
All you have to do is leave a comment and answer this question: Tell me one thing you’ve created or done that was inspired by something you saw online. (Not copying, of course, just inspired.) Maybe it was a tutorial you tried or a color palette that inspired a necklace. If you’d like some extra brownie points, write a blog post about it and share in the comments section too!
Bea
January 14, 2012 at 7:36 pmhi just found your blog via the CBGM valentines bloghop and think it is great and a change to the papercraft ones I usually visit. I do make jewleery now and again but rarely post. Re your questiona bout being inspired by stuff on the internet -I have taken inspiration from Sue at Particraft blog re using spellbnders dies creatively and having taken part in several LiM challenges have been inspired by other entries.
free indeed
January 14, 2012 at 7:41 pmI have been adoring the aqua/green color combo for some time. I finally painted my sewing room an aqua blue color and am slowly incorporating moss greens into the mix. I also have been following the selvage craze and used that idea to make the valences for the room….one is finished, the other I started today. It takes a while to save up just aqua and green selvages! So, two ideas from online for my special room…I love it in there! You'll be loving yours more as it becomes more YOU! Have fun!
Rhea
January 14, 2012 at 8:00 pmI made a junque book that was inspired by kits I saw online. They were from Tim Holtz, so of course they sold out immediately. I ended up making one from my stash that turned out just as well, if not better. I blogged about it, did a tute on my asselmby and even made a video of the finished book. Cheers, Rhea.
http://starrgazercreates.blogspot.com/2012/01/junque-book-video-tour.html?m=1
Beadroe
January 14, 2012 at 8:20 pmI made a bracelet inspired by a necklace I saw in Bead Trends magazine with my own glass beads.
Congratulations on your new space. I have been working on mine for for 4 years and it is still being improved on. Mine is in the basement and light is an issue. You might want to think light colored walls with color accents. Just a thought.
Saturday Sequins
January 14, 2012 at 9:18 pmHeather, your studio is shaping up to be awesome! I love that you'll have four work spaces. I should be jealous, but I'm too excited for you. 😉
(I love my studio, but I'm definitely pressed for space. I share it with Mr. Sequin and his enormous collection of books! I swear, when we moved here we needed one POD devoted just to them.)
I hope you feel better soon! Being sick is horrible.
peacockfairy
January 14, 2012 at 10:01 pmOh, loving that owl pendant! And the multi-colored glass bead is to die for, along with your bead as always. Glad to hear your studio space is coming along. It can sometimes take a long time, but when it's done it will be just the way you want it. I'm currently inspired (via Pinterest) to decorate some baby onsies for a shower we are throwing for a friend next weekend. I'm trying a batik dye job, and then some peacock appliques of course! I will do a blog post about them when I am done.
Erin S
January 14, 2012 at 11:36 pmI borrow from the internet all the time…one of my favorite sites for jewelry inspiration is the sundance catalog. And even though I am TOTALLY not a crystal chick, the swarovski site always has amazing contemporary pieces that knock my socks off.
Sabine
January 15, 2012 at 12:36 amI am trying to design more asymmetrically by using Lorelei as an inspiration. Her pieces have so much more balance and flow than mine, but I am trying!
One thing I did use the internet directly for is the color scheme of my bathroom redo in Michigan. I loved the gray with a black ceiling bathroom of the W hotels (that I first saw online). We did that scheme with cut river rock and a slate colored ceramic floor. The most wonderful bathroom. Unfortunately, we had to move away. I always wonder if they kept the black ceiling.
Ann
http://mycriticaleye.com
KayzKreationz
January 15, 2012 at 12:53 amI saw a great color palette on Design Seeds that I'm trying to make a piece for. I love her color inspiration.
Meadowland Designs
January 15, 2012 at 2:20 amHi, Heather!
So sorry to hear that you've been sick; it can be so frustrating when you're out like that but still have work that needs to be done.
You have a lovely pendant design set up and sounds like lots of fun ideas for your studio.
I tend to use color inspiration to get me going with a new design and I really like using the Design Seeds photos with color schemes based on the pictures…very fun.
http://www.design-seeds.com
indigo heart
January 15, 2012 at 12:53 pmso sorry you've been sick. i feel your pain. i've been sick for months (since summer) and the doctors don't know what's wrong with me. 🙁 however, i'm still trying desperately to make jewelry. i actually was inspired this winter by one of your necklaces. the raven one on the branch. remember it? i put my raven (a kylie perry one) on some black silk sari ribbon with three graduated sizes of swarovski large round beads on one side, a swarovski snowflake under the branch which i covered with little ab crystal seed beads to look like ice. i'm really pleased with how it came out. love how your studio is shaping up! i'm currently converting my ginormous room into a bedroom/studio. totally looking forward to moving everything from the living room to the new studio. it'll be my first studio and i'm so excited about it!
Kristen
January 15, 2012 at 1:24 pmI'm inspired by craft tutorials I see on Youtube. Recently I've watched some on using Gilders Paste and alcohol inks to color metal components. Your studio looks great! I turned one of our kid's bedrooms into a studio but I won't be able to finish it until our kids move out for good!
Marie Cramp
January 15, 2012 at 2:50 pmYou know Heather, I am looking at your ceiling and thinking how much higher and brighter it would look painted white or off white depending on your preference. I would not cover it up, but a little paint would look fabulous!
As for something that inspired me to create, well everyday things all the time! Where would I even begin to tell you! 🙂
new-creations
January 15, 2012 at 2:54 pmHi Heather
I love ArtBeadScene and as far as I can tell, there's nothing quite like it over here in the UK. I was very inspired by the "Two Finches" Monthly Challenge, especially the part with the Chinese Characters on it, but I wasn't confident enough to send in my entry. Anyway, here's what I created using the beads I made inspired by that painting…only a few months late!!! LOL
http://pinterest.com/pin/39476934203434750/
Andrea
Elaine
January 15, 2012 at 3:43 pmI sympathize with the basement cave feeling! I have two deep windows with great sills I painted white so they'd beam and reflect the light in. And the room itself is aqua, to keep it bright and cheery. Still a basement but I do love my little cave.
And DO put the armchair in there – I have one in my studio and it makes for comfortable space for visitors as well as the occasional nap.
Online ideas… I've done projects based loosely on people's clay or bead tutorials or colour schemes. I labeled boxes and containers to get the organized look I saw on a pinterest board. That sort of thing.
LissC
January 15, 2012 at 6:02 pmI don't know…i lived my first 28 years in Michigan in a house a few miles from the lake.so we got all that lake effect weather. I never got tough enough, so I had to get out. Way way way to cold for me.
LissC
January 15, 2012 at 7:37 pmi always look for nature photographs online for inspiration… flowers, water, etc.
Lori Anderson
January 15, 2012 at 7:48 pmLove that owl! And I made a wire necklace based on a piece Cindy Wimmer made years ago and that I've coveted. I had no idea what her links were, but liked how she had a different link between each bead, and made a piece for my Cup of Bead Soup project with Jane Perala's beads. None of the links are like hers, and hers is much better, but I love what I made!
Carol D.
January 15, 2012 at 8:36 pmCongrats on the big creative space! Is the sliding glass door to an outdoor space? Think how fabulous that will be in the summer. Mirrors and wall art can do a lot to cheer and brighten the space. Good luck!
My online inspiration has come from many artists who do asymmetrical designs. They encouraged me to create a new necklace design for my sister's Christmas present.
TesoriTrovati
January 16, 2012 at 3:21 pmThe space looks like a blank canvas ready for your – and Jess' – touch! I think that it will be a perfect spot to create and share and daydream in. I love the flags for a pop of color. Oh how I long for natural light like that! The important thing is that you keep creating. I just saw a message today that said, "If life gives you hands, make handmade." I might have to borrow that and make it for a frame in my studio.
Enjoy the day!
Erin
quiltingjewel39
January 16, 2012 at 6:49 pmYour space is shaping up – you must be so excited to have more room and real tables! Love the owl and the multicolored bead. I like when Art Bead Scene does the picture of the month – I try to do something myself from the color palette. I don't have a blog so it is for myself or to sell.
Cynthia
January 16, 2012 at 7:30 pmGood luck with the new space. I think you're on the right track. You palette is fantastic.
The greatest inspiration from the internet, for me, has been participating in beading challenges. I started out doing the monthly Vitaj challenge. And Erin Prais-Hintz's "Challenge of Color" is a fun one that really makes me stretch! Challenges are fun, and you get to "meet" other artists out there.
Misti Dodge
October 28, 2012 at 1:53 pmI just started making affirmation bracelets because of something I saw online. I try to find nice objects that I can recycle and put into pieces for alternatives to silver and gold. This week I am using some remnant stainless steel that I was given by a friend that works on race cars.