A New Year And "Must Haves"

It's 2017.....Can you believe it!..I still had not put away my Christmas decorations from last Christmas, seriously. The years seem to go by so fast now.

  I am not one for making New Years resolutions. I either don't seem to follow through on them or, by the time February rolls around, I don't even remember what my resolutions were. I instead just make them up as I go now. That seems to work better for me.

  What I thought I would do to start this year off is blog about some of the things that I just can't be without in my studio. I'm not talking about paint and pencils and paper, I know I need those things, I am talking about the work horses of my studio. The materials that make it possible to create my art and the little things that make my studio an inspirational, inviting and comfortable place to work. Maybe, you may discover something that might work for your personal space too. So, in the next few weeks, I will post some photos of what I do have in my studio and explain why I have them. I will also post photos of some of the oddities I have as well and I have a LOT of those!

  I find it's important to have a personal space. whether it's used for creating or just a place to hide from the world and find solace for a few hours a day. What you have in your personal space says a lot about who you are and boy....does my studio scream ELLEN !!!

  So lets see........first up is my drafting table..........

  I received this drafting table a year ago, from my hubby, for my birthday. Before, I was using a small table top easel with a masonite board propped up against it. It worked, sorta, but, it was precariously balanced and because of that, I would be working at it and suddenly it would fall to the floor. Let me tell ya......it's not fun when the corner of a very heavy masonite board hits your toe. Yep. Being an artist can be painful.

  This table was purchased through Amazon, (I love Amazon, who doesn't!), It was a Lightning Deal at the time. It was normally priced at around the $250.00 mark but my hubby got it for just $78.00!

  It has a smoked glass top and what I see a lot of artists doing is putting a clamp light underneath the glass which turns the drafting table into a light table. A very cool idea. I don't personally use a light table so I don't own one but I think it is a clever idea and a great reason to have a glass topped drafting table.

  What I like about the glass top is that it is very easy to clean and maintain. Nothing stains it or sticks to it. A little window cleaner and it always looks like brand new. It has three small drawers built into it. I have erasers in the top drawer, yep, I have a LOT of erasers, all different shapes and sizes.  I have cutting tools such as my box cutter and my exacto knife as well as my art tape in the middle drawer and the bottom drawer is one of my assigned junk drawers. I have no idea whats in there but we all have a junk drawer don't we.

  A really good reason to have a drafting table is this......A drafting table lets you keep the drawing surface at a more vertical angle. Why is this important you ask? because when you draw on a flat surface, such as a table, it is harder to get the proportions of your drawing accurate because your view of your drawing is distorted by the flat angle. A vertical drawing surface allows you to see the drawing at the same, natural  angle that a viewer would be seeing it thereby allowing you to get it drawn correctly.

 Also important................We, as artists, spend hours at a time drawing and stooping over a table will wreck your back, shoulder and neck. A drafting table keeps you upright and your posture correct so less pain. And less pain means you can get more art done.

  So there you have it. My first and foremost, most needed "Must Have" I do have a lot of others too. Lets all welcome in the New Year.   Keep learning and keep creating. I will be back soon with more. Happy New Year everyone!