A Tiny Creative Corner
Five favorite tips for
Your creative nook!
Hello my artsy friend!
Last week I told you that change was in the air, and that I wanted to my art space to work better for me (if you missed it, see my previous blog post here). There’s still plenty to do, but my priority was to create a dedicated space for art journaling, and I've come up with something I'm super happy with!
Remember I told you about my grandpa's old stool and my grandparent's rolling cart? They've turned out to be the perfect combo for my new little nook! So today I thought I'd tell you about it, how I've organized it and some favorite tips to help you make your own space work better for YOU. Especially if you’ve got limited art space, like a corner of your kitchen, bedroom or living room, I hope this will inspire you!
Tip #1: Light!
Good lighting is absolutely essential to art-making, and as you can see, I've placed my art table / rolling cart right under the window, so I've got plenty of natural light. I've also added an extra little lamp.
This space used to be under-used, because you need to be able to open the window to close the shutters at night, so I couldn’t place a regular table there. But with wheels? no problem! Now that I think of it, in the summer I will even be able to roll my little cart outside in the garden... love! And I've planted roses in front of that window so hopefully, in a few months I will have a beautiful, inspiring view.
Tip #2: The essentials
One of my best tips to stay in the flow, is to have everything you need at your fingertips so you don't have to stop in the middle of the process to look for things which, usually, lay buried in your art chaos... so frustrating! I encourage you to really take the time to think about your own creative process, and make sure that you have all your essentials at the ready. For me, this includes:
My art journal
A jar of water (I've added some extra, clean water in a jug)
A rag
Glue: my go-to is matte gel medium and I also have some homemade gum arabic glue that I'm loving more and more.
White gesso
Paints: here I've got acrylics, watercolors and gouache
Inks: alcohol inks, distress ink pads and Stazon permanent ink pads
Painting tools and mark-making tools: all kinds of brushes, Catalyst tools, a brayer, a plastic card, bubble wrap etc.
Scissors
Various pens, pencils and crayons (some of them water soluble)
And in the bottom part of the cart are all my collage papers: my art journaling basket, full of lovely scraps, patterns and images, a box of inspiring cut-out words from magazines and favorite books, and an extra stash of neutral papers (sheet music, book pages, tea bags etc.)
If you are curious about my favorite art supplies, I share all about them with plenty of tips in a FREE, 5-day video workshop! Sign up here:
And you will find most of them listed with shopping links HERE.
Tip #3: Favorite things
On top of these essentials, it's also super important to have other supplies that just feel fun and exciting, and make you want to create! For me at the moment, that's washi tape, chunky Woody water-soluble pencils and black gesso.
Something else I find really useful is to stick to your favorite colors, what I call your "soul palette", or just a limited palette that you’re currently excited about. I am as in love as ever with light turquoise and peachy pink! I couldn't possibly have every art supply, in every color of the rainbow, in such a small space. So it feels so good to have all my favorites on display, like trusted friends ready to play! Plus, limiting your choices can be incredibly liberating: it forces you to work with what you've got, here and now, and not get lost in indecision.
Tip #4: Keep it small
When space is limited, it's best to have your supplies in small containers. I don't need my usual big jar of gel medium here: a small one is enough, and I can refill it whenever I need. Small tubes of paint work great, and I especially love inks because they come in small bottles that pack up a lot of color in very little space. The same is true of watercolors. I have organized mine into three small palettes: warm tones, cool tones and neutrals. To me it feels so much more manageable and inspiring this way.
Tip #5: An invitation
Above all, I encourage you to make your space inviting, nurturing and inspiring. The best thing about my new little nook, is that it's right at the entrance of the studio: this way my journal and my favorite supplies are the first thing I see when I come in, no matter how messy the rest of the room is! The paint-covered little stool beckons me to come and take a moment just for me. The rolling cart, that my grandparents used twice a day to set the table, reminds me that this is food for the soul, and invites me to make this a daily practice.
I also love to have a small inspiration corner on my table, with plenty of good vibes and positive anchors. Here, the amethyst brings harmony and creativity, the little rose quartz heart symbolizes self-love, and reminds me to be kind to myself, while the tiny Ganesha is the "remover of obstacles": a nurturing reminder whenever I get stuck!
And just like that, I finally have a dedicated space for art journaling! It feels like such a treat, a lovely gift from me to my inner artist. I hope that you find these tips inspiring, and that you will put some of them to good use! Please share a comment with me below, share your own favorite tips and let’s inspire each other! You can even post a picture of your happy corner.