In the Studio with Cate

Daylight Giveaway Winners and a new Studio Contest

Cate Prato — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:32:00 GMT

Hey folks, don't you all just love a giveaway? And the responses were terrific, too. Looks like there will be a lot of creating going on in your studios AND in your gardens this spring.

I'll get to the winners in a moment. . .

...but as you are all so enthusiastic and proud of your studios, I thought I'd alert you to a studio contest by one of our sister publications, Fiberarts. However, you have to hurry as the deadline is next week.

Here are the details:

Last year's winner, Andi Arnovitz' studio.

Show off your studio! Enter your creative space, large or small, in the 2011 Fiberarts Reader's Choice Studio Contest. Winners will receive fabulous prizes from Jacquard and be featured in the Summer 2011 issue of Fiberarts. The deadline is March 21 so enter today for your chance to win!

Categories include:

Best Stash
Best Setting
Best Use of Space
Best Organization/Storage

It's easy and free to enter! Just upload a few images of your studio and fill out the simple online entry form.

Tell your friends and good luck!

And now to the winners of the Studios giveaway. I pulled names from both this blog and the Cloth Paper Scissors Today blog post announcing the giveaway, to be fair to all.

mdwright45 (Daylight lamp)

Loyce (Art at the Speed of Life book)

kaykatbelsouthnet (Paw Plunger)

Send your street address to lmurray@interweave.com within 1 week to receive your giveaway!

Thanks for participating, and don't forget to enter the Fiberarts contest.

Need Some Sun? We're Giving It Away!

Cate Prato — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:26:00 GMT

Daylight Savings Time cannot come soon enough for me, and fortunately, it's only a week away: Sunday March 13 here in the U.S.

To celebrate, the Studios crew is offering three very nice giveaways.

The first comes courtesy of our friends at Daylight Company: A Daylight Ultimate Table Top Lamp just like the one featured in the 10 Must-have Gadgets article on page 14 of the Spring 2011 issue of Studios. This lamp gives you bright illumination that simulates daylight; a clamp where you can attach, say, technique instructions from Cloth Paper Scissors magazine; a magnifying glass just in case you need help threading that needle or attaching that jump ring; and little cubbies at the base where you can keep needles, grommets, beads, etc.

Second, given that March is "mud season" in many parts of the northern hemisphere, we have a medium-size Paw Plunger, from, well, the Paw Plunger people.

Our new Studio Pets columnist Faith Cleary featured the Paw Plunger in her debut article, also in the Spring issue of Studios. Faith swears by this tool as a way to clean grimy paws before they make prints all over your studio, and your art.

Finally, knowing how much we all try to cram in as much art making as we can in the little time we have, we're giving away a copy of Pam Carriker's new book, Art at the Speed of Life. There's an excerpt in the current issue of Studios, but know that just left you hungry for more. (In fact, that was the whole idea.) So, now we're giving away a copy of the whole book to one lucky person.

To have a chance at winning any one of these lovely items, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling us what creative thing you're going to do with your one more hour of light. (If your place of residence doesn't participate in DST, just pretend, OK? We don't want to exclude anyone.)

On Monday, March 14, I'll spring forward and draw three winners!

Oops, gotta pick another winner...

Cate Prato — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:50:00 GMT

QueenKatherine didn't come forward to claim her Ty's fabric prize, so that means someone else gets a chance.

The new winner is....

SOIPAINT!

Send me your snail mail address at cprato@interweave.com by Monday, Feb. 21.

Who Won Ty's Fabric?

Cate Prato — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:16:00 GMT

Oh my gosh, what great ideas you all have for Ty's fabric! And, methinks you also have some ideas for Ty, if you get my drift.

QueenKatherine, you are the winner! Send your snail mail address to me at cprato@interweave.com and I will send you the fabric. (If I don't hear from you by Feb. 16, I'll draw another winner.)

Sorry, Ty will not be personally delivering it.

But be sure to check out more of him in Studios!

Thanks, everyone, for participating, and watch this space for another giveaway coming very soon.

Studios Upcycle Challenge

Cate Prato — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 17:22:00 GMT

Do you have a cure for this recyclable?

I was peeling the labels off these (and several other) medicine bottles this morning in preparation for tossing them in our recycling bin when I thought, surely there is a good use for them?

So I brought them in to the office to see what my creative cohorts thought. Immediately the ideas started popping like a kid with her hands full of Bubble Wrap.

"I use them to hold beads."

"You could attach them to a wall and stick things in them."

"Glue several together to make a multi-level pencil holder."

All great ideas, but I know you can come up with something even more original. The tops of these bottles are a bit of a challenge because of the child-proof cap, but they're a great color, sturdy, and see-through.

Then again, maybe you would remove the tops, change the color, or cover the bottles with something to make them opaque.

Share your ideas in the comments section below. The person with the best usable idea will get a copy of the Winter 2010 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios and have their idea featured in the Spring 2011 issue.

Follow Along Friday - Boulder Studio Tour

Cate Prato — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:30:00 GMT

When you combine business with pleasure, sometimes it's hard to tell which is which.

That was the case a couple of weeks ago when I flew out to Colorado a few days before a business conference at our Loveland offices, in order to visit with family who live in Denver and Boulder.

The weather and scenery were spectacular. After growing up in the middle of the country, having the Rockies at my doorstep, outside my window, and visible through the windshield absolutely takes my breath away.

But the best part was being able to tool around Boulder visiting the studios of some fabulous artists. Their art is as breathtaking as the mountains. And that's where the line between business and pleasure blurred.

I started the day with Nancy Anderson, the creative mind (and hands) behind Sweet Bird Studio. You'd never guess by the mundane exterior how much color, sparkle, humor, and creative luminescence lies within.

Nancy combines sterling silver, found objects, and wit to make the most spectacular mixed-media jewelry. Her belt buckles are mini-shrines (she calls them "wearable shrines of intention"). The proceeds from many of her lines go to good causes, such as the SOS (Save Our Souls) pendants that support efforts to help wildlife and the coastal areas affected by the recent oil spill.

And she's got cute dogs, too.

My next stop was at the home studio of assemblage and collage artist Patricia Chapman. She chose her current home specifically for the basement and its ability to serve as gallery, classroom space, and workshop. It was already divided, one side as finished gallery/teaching/collage space and the other wet work/power tool area.

The walls of the stairway down to the finished area cause visitors to descend very slowly, as they are full of her artwork. Each combines text with imagery for a witty or wry effect. They're like potato chips: you can read just one!

I love how she balanced the numerous plastic drawers with the plethora of art above them. The plastic seems to blend into the wall and the focus is on the art. Yet her supplies are all within reach--and sight.

The final stop of the day was at the home of Judith Trager, a teacher and award-winning quilter. When I stopped by, the workmen were still putting the finishing touches on the home she and her husband have been renovating. They took it from a standard layout to an open floor plan where they could get around more easily and also display Judith's incredible works of art.

With priorities firmly in place, they turned the former formal living room into Judith's studio and teaching space.

Judith loves order, so everything is just where it should be, easy to see and easy to find.

Well, there you have it, a typical "work" day for a magazine editor...NOT! But you can see how it was really a pleasure taking care of some Studios business while in Colorado.

We'll have full profiles of these artists and many more in the spring issue of Studios, including a very high-profile celebrity, so stay tuned!

Organize Your Stuff and Your Self: It's Elementary

Cate Prato — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 18:15:00 GMT

I've been watching and thoroughly enjoying the new, modern, Sherlock Holmes episodes on PBS "Mystery." I can't quite put my finger on what makes this version so wonderful, aside from great acting and writing, but it could be that Dr. Watson is not played as a bumbling fool, but rather as exceptionally bright--just not as pathologically brilliant as Holmes.

What does any of that have to do with art studios? Well, it reminds me that sometimes the solution to a problem is obvious. And sometimes you need to pursue the less obvious solution.

Take "The Case of the Cluttered Cloister." Avid scrap booker turned mixed-media artist Frances Peets emailed me explaining that about five years ago she was "up against a major clutter problem."

"I have kept every piece of scrap and leftover paper since I started creating over 10 years ago now. I can't seem to let go of something I can make use of. I just couldn't bear to throw anything out. As sentimental as I am, I ended up keeping everything while my paper collection continued to grow. This collecting soon became out of control and yet I still didn't want to throw anything away.

"I live in an apartment unit and eventually our living room became my crafting space because it was the largest area for me to spread out and create. Art is a priority in our house and so is organization and clarity."

Now, some people might suggest that Frances change her habits and start finding a way to part with her papers. Obviously, too much stuff was her problem, right?

Not to Frances. She chose the less obvious but more organic solution: find a way to have her papers and clarity, too.

"I purchased this organizing unit at IKEA. The great thing about it is it protects all my scrapbooks and photos from possible water damage coming from above. Inside each cubbyhole I have stacking paper trays I can bring to my crafting table for ease of use," she wrote.

For clarity's sale, Frances separates her papers and equipment by a common theme and organizes around that. Papers are grouped by colors and motif, tools by likeness, and so on. She stores projects safely in plastic boxes or craft keepers and stamping equipment and inks together yet separated. The wicker baskets on top of the unit house jewelry tools and supplies, cardboard, envelopes and various adhesives.

"This way I know where everything is and when creativity strikes my imagination it can flow into expression without clutter, confusion, and frustration. I never place anything in front of or behind anything else where it can be easily forgotten leading to unexpressed ideas and the repurchasing of products I have forgotten I owned.

"By changing my space, I'm improving how I use of what I have, allowing the flow of my creative journey to become better, easier, and clearer as I grow as an artist."

I love the way Frances took the less obvious solution, giving equal respect to her stuff, herself, and her art. As she puts it, "Part of owning or having the privilege of creating is to respect everything. Everything needs a space of its own--even things."

When you think about it, it's elementary.

Do You Sit and Spin?

Cate Prato — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:27:00 GMT

What a fun weekend. Half the time I was checking in with and adding to the Virtual Studios Tour. Thank you to everyone who opened their studio or visited them!

The rest of the time I was visiting my daughter at college for Family Weekend. While attending events at the college's organic farm, I had the opportunity to meet a couple of young women who spin and knit with yarn made from the wool of the farm's sheep.

I also met the sheep.

I know knitting has been popular with the younger crowd for a while, but spining and natural dyeing seem to be catching on (again), and it's wonderful to see young people taking up these ancient fiber arts. I wonder what fresh twists they will put on them?

I've had some requests for spinning studios in STUDIOS, so I'm putting it out there: If you have a spinning, yarn/wool dyeing, or weaving studio, please send us a few lo-res pictures to studios@clothpaperscissors.com, and we'll be in touch!

Even though it was a very blustery day, I thought it was great fun to be out in the open fall air, creating beautiful fibers. Spinning seems like such a contemplative art, too.

So tell, me, do you spin? What do you like about it? And, if you don't spin, what kinds of art or art processes do you like to do outside? Leave your comments below.

Tour These Beautiful Studios!

Cate Prato — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:50:00 GMT

Here's a list of the studios on our Virtual Open Studio Tour, October 15-17. As I get more links in, I'll add them to this post. Keep watching every day as we add the links, then enjoy a desktop tour filled with great artists and studio ideas all weekend long. Be sure to send your link to me at studios@clothpaperscissors.com and link from your blog or Facebook page back here to participate. Don't have a blog or Facebook page? Upload to our Post Your Studio Pix gallery.

Fall Studios Virtual Studio Tour 2010

Katie Cannon: http://asouthernladysramblings.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-workspace.html

Barb Pezza Brown: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77264&id=1655928164&l=2b79d91b13

Wen Redmond: http://fiberartgoddess.blogspot.com/

Tammy Lafitte: http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=123681&id=656484714

Libby Riemersma: http://kayakchickee.blogspot.com/2010/10/welcome-to-cloth-paper-scissors-studios.html

NancyDaQ: http://sewwest.blogspot.com/2010/10/virtual-studio-tour.html

Debbie Trainor: http://knitnsewstudio.blogspot.com/2010/10/tour-of-my-studio-space.html

Susan Clayton: http://studioadventures-susan.blogspot.com/2010/10/virtual-open-studio-tour.html

Nancy Lefko: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23609&id=100000823336000

Kathy Barinholtz: http://graciewear.blogspot.com/

Cynthia Frenette: http://www.biggirlfeet.ca/site2/fall_studio_tour_cynthia_frenette_artist_crafter_designer/

Pam Carriker: http://pamcarriker.com/2010/10/13/virtual-studio-tours/

Karen Anne Glick: http://studioatlillehus.blogspot.com/2010/05/1-new-decade-deserves-new-look.html

Laurie Kathleen Clark: http://heartitudeartandsoul.wordpress.com/

Daryl Dancer Wade: http://daryldancerwade.com/blog/?p=996

Paula Cravens: http://crazyravens.blogspot.com/2010/10/cloth-paper-scissors-spooky-studio.html

Melissa Valeriote: http://theholidayqueen.blogspot.com/

Nancy Quinlan: http://quiltnans.blogspot.com/2010/10/virtual-studio-tour.html

Sandy Donabed: http://sandeedee.blogspot.com/p/ganymede-studio.html

Sonya McCllough: http://sonyamacdesigns.blogspot.com/p/design.html

Kerryanne English: http://shabbyartboutique.blogspot.com/

April Cole: http://aprilmariecole.blogspot.com/

Lia Kent: blog: http://artjunk.typepad.com/photos/art_junk_studio_2010/index.html

Kelly Patton: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39928&id=100000055976848

Joan Gaetz: http://clothpaperscissors.com/media/p/10457.aspx

Joella Notte: http://www.facebook.com/pages/One-Artsy-Chick-Studio/119946684714951

Vickie Hallmark: http://blog.vickiehallmark.com

Terry Gardner: http://tbgdesign.com/web-content/Pages/studio.html
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=102023&id=96661854575

Jessica Loughrey: http://jessicaloughrey.blogspot.com/2010/10/studio-tour.html

Sherry Ball Shoenfeldt: http://pashnada.blogspot.com/search/label/my%20studio

Diana Polly: http://rockyroadcreations.blogspot.com/

Jim Tripp: http://www.doodlesanddabbles.blogspot.com/

More to come. Check back often!

Cate

When Ghosts Haunt Your Studio

Cate Prato — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:06:00 GMT

I swear my studio has a ghost. You know, like when a sheaf of papers inexplicably slides off the table and scatters on the floor. Or when you know you put the glue cap down on the table just a second ago, and when you turn back, it's not there?

Sure, it could be the wind. Or more likely the cat. But when the window's closed and the cat's nowhere in sight, I have to wonder.

Of course, some people live with ghosts in their studio every day. And plenty of witches, black cats, and pumpkin-headed gnomes, too. They're artists who specialize in Halloween and other fall-themed art. I had so much fun viewing the images of these artists in preparation for our special "tour" of Halloween-themed art and craft areas for the Fall 2010 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios, it was scary! It also made me think about bedecking my studio with some crepy--or creepy--decorations come fall.

Dani Nelson, artist and owner of Halloween artist group SpookyTimeJingles, is one of the artists featured in the issue. She accomplished her spooky décor by painting the walls a shade of pumpkin and bringing in primarily black furniture. Her own art, and that of many of the other STJ artists, adds most of the rest of the ambience.

Dani had the following tips for giving your studio and storage Halloween flair on a budget:

Window trick-or-treatment: Mount framed postcards on the curtain rod between black tab-top curtains (readily available at most discount department stores) and drape creepy cloth in between them. Hange vintage-inspired Halloween paper fans upside down from the tops of the window frame as swags.

Spooky shipping station: Dani cleaned up a chest she found for $12 at Goodwill and painted it with black and white stripes and orange and black polka dots. The drawers hold wrapping and shipping supplies, balls of yarn and trims, and scrapbooking papers.

Sticky storage: Twig and twine baskets from a garden center have a rustic, autumnal appearance and make for great-looking, versatile storage. Hang them from the wall or stand them up on a surface. Dani keeps her most-used trims in one and has another one near her shipping station to hold crinkle-cut papers she uses in her packaging.

Skeletons-in-the-closet modules: Create a custom furniture look with discounted closet modules, paint, and funky hardware. Dani painted a swirl pattern on a storage cabinet she found for $4 on clearance and added checkered knobs. Then she found a shoe cubby, also on sale, removed the bottom slat (shelf) to accomodate taller items like binders and notebooks, and placed it on top of the painted cabinet.

You can find ideas like this and many more in the Fall issue of Studios, now available on newsstands and at the Interweave online store.

And if you have suggestions for turning your studio into a haunted house, some ghostly studio occurances you'd like to share, or some ideas for turning bargain finds into custom furnture, leave a comment below or show us in the Studio Pix gallery.

Giveaway Winner Announced

Cate Prato — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:23:00 GMT

AmongTheseHills is the winner of the Nantucket Bagg and goodies!

Her name was randomly drawn by by number.

Email me at cprato@interweave,com with your address by Thursday, May 20 and we'll send out your stuff. Congrats!

I loved all the ideas for summerizing your studio. Send me pictures at the email address above!

Studio Goodies from Brimfield Flea Market

Cate Prato — Fri, 14 May 2010 20:05:00 GMT

Just got back from a day trip to the gigundo flea market that is Brimfield (Massachusetts) and I have goodies to share. Well, OK, pictures of goodies.

I was on a mission to find quirky storage and organization containers and furniture as well as displays of stuff you could use in your art while you're in your studio. If I got to spend eight hours fondling vintage textiles and rusty-crusty Victorian keyholes, and buttons that looked like candy in the process, please do not feel sorry for me. I did it all for you.

So, without further ado, here are a few of my best finds of the day.

Finally, I was completely taken by this patchwork wall of rusting corrugated metal. It served as the backdrop for a "booth" of salvaged materials that included a terra cotta globe that had once been signage, a "stairway to nowhere," fabulous iron grates and railings, and a jumble of other myriad odd parts. An assemblage artist's dream!

Cloth Paper Scissors editors Jenn and Barbara are going to Brimfield tomorrow, and I'm sure they'll want to play show and tell with their finds on the Cloth Paper Scissors community. So be sure to check back to see what they discovered.

If you have pictures of your own fabulous flea market finds that you now use in your studio, be sure to post them in our Studio Pix gallery.

Giveaway: You Can Take it With You!

Cate Prato — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:03:00 GMT

The Summer 2010 issue of Studios won't even be on newsstands until May 18, but we've already had such great feedback that I feel like celebrating.

People who now have the copies they pre-ordered from the Interweave Store have been raving about bright colors, the variety of studios, and the storage systems artists have put together. One reader even said she had "shelf envy" looking at Jodi Ohl's studio. Who wouldn't?

The Summer issue traditionally features an "art on the go" section as we know this season is a time for traveling, going on retreats, or just getting out to the beach or the park for some sunshine and alfresco sketching. One of the best items we've come across for traveling with art supplies--whether you sketch, paint, knit, crochet--is the Nantucket Bagg. It's reversible, it unzips to lie flat, it has a ton of compartments so you can easily find your supplies, and you can carry it as a tote or wear it as a backpack.

So, to celebrate the new Studios and summer, I'm giving away a Nantucket Bagg to one lucky commenter. Just tell me how you "summerize" your studio. Do you open the windows? Change the decor? Clean and de-clutter? Take your supplies outside to create? Change your creative focus (e.g. switch from fibery art to something less weighty, like paint)?

Start commenting today and I'll draw a winner Monday, May 17.

Follow Us @ StudiosMagazine and Putter

Cate Prato — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:34:00 GMT

Studios is now on Twitter! You can follow us for news, tips, tricks, and the occasional treat at StudiosMagazine.

I'd like to share something that I discovered while on vacation last week: The power of puttering.

In each issue of Studios, we talk about how to get organized, de-clutter, improve function, and decorate. But Studios is also about inspiration and dreaming. I can't count how many times artists end their articles with a version of "but most of all, my studio is my place to relax/dream/reflect/be myself..." The word "sanctuary" gets used a lot.

While at home last week I had planned to spend some time making art. Now that I've organized my studio, I was anxious to get in there and actually use the things I've been sorting and storing over the last several weeks. Also, my daughter is graduating soon and I want to create something to commemorate that. But I got sidetracked. My teenage girls were on vacation, too, and they did not rise before 11 each day, so I had the mornings to myself. I started by having a cup of coffee (or two) in my now spacious tea room where the sunlight streamed in. With no deadlines, no urgent emails, no lunch money to dig out of my purse or permission slips to sign at the 11th hour, I had time to ponder and to putter. Wouldn't that vase look better over there? What if I put a teacup on that stack of books? Don't I have a chair in the attic that would be perfect for that space?

I puttered from room to room, moving this, changing that, considering bigger changes when I have the time (and money). The freedom to let my mind and my feet wander without purpose actually helped me make decisions, come to conclusions, and make some creative discoveries. For example, after years of keeping my vintage linens in a tall cabinet I had bought just for the purpose, I decided it would please me if they had a little more room to spread out in the china cabinet. Unfolding and refolding all my tablecloths, stacking them one on top of the other, was mindless work but also allowed my mind to wander to the places where ideas live. The process gave me such a sense of well-being, not to mention how I feel looking at all that luscious vintageness afterward.

I saw how having time alone with one's thoughts and one's materials doing nothing in particular and with no specific goal in mind can have a profound effect on creativity. So the next time you're in your studio, don't do anything. Or, do something "mindless" like sorting beads or winding ribbons. It may be more productive than if you spent every moment of that time "making" something.

Where Did the Spring (Studios) Go?

Cate Prato — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:04:00 GMT

We're sending the Summer 2010 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios off to press this week and I am both excited and relieved. Excited because this is one of our most colorful issues, with a wide variety of studios and a lot of new features thanks to our expanded format . Relieved because my studio is done at last--and I took it right down to the wire.

In fact, I was so immersed in the upcoming issue that I didn't notice something important--the Spring 2010 issue of Studios had sold out on our website! We were able to get some extra copies from the printer, so there are some now in the Interweave store, and you might still be able to find some in book and craft stores.

But the bottom line is, if you haven't gotten your hands on a copy yet, you better hurry. You don't want to miss 101 organization and storage tips, Elsie Flannigan's super-hip space, Susan Fabian's perfect playhouse or Jenn Mason and Shona Cole's tips for combining art-making with kids.

Be sure to check out our Online Extras for that issue, too.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of our Summer issue, on newsstands May 18.

The entrance to Caryn Duncan's art studio and teaching space:

A glimpse of glittering jewels that Lovey Johnson-Debrow uses in her mixed-media fabric and photo collages:

Julie Branch's upcycled china cabinet where she stores fabrics for her mixed-media fabric sculpture.

...more to come!