Studio Redesigned

Last year I undertook a reorganization, rethink and rebuild of my studio space in the house. Up until now I shared nearly half of my studio with my children's art supplies, projects and messes. On one hand it is wonderful to share a creative space with them, and on the other it was frustrating to face a mess every time I went to get started or continue to work on a project.

So the solution was to take out the cabinet and countertop that divided the studio and turn it into an island that is on casters. I can now move the island to line up with any of the other counter areas in the studio to make a larger work space and several different configurations. Also one of the cabinets below the island is filled with the children's art supplies that they can access at any time, but their new rule is that projects and supplies get put away when they are finished. This way anytime I walk into the studio it is ready to work.

Top: Before     Bottom: After

The next redesign involved lots of supplies moving, cabinets shifting and new countertops for the new counter along the far wall. The counter runs completely along the wall with a section on the right for my computer and a floating counter area on the left. My craft table that is on casters can be turned to slide beneath the counter if I need more floor space, or the two stools can be set up for projects for myself or the children to work on that counter. Then I added two cork boards below the wool boards on the wall that was cleared from the old counter area for pinning projects that are in different stages.

New wall counter with computer work area, beading area and space for both the cat and the fish!

Additional wall work space was available once the mid-room cabinets and counter were removed.

The last area to be addressed was the sink wall. I found that I didn't have enough counter space when felting if I was rinsing pieces, especially if I already had polymer clay pieces firing or cooling on the limited counter space. So cabinets were moved from their "L" shape and shifted to run the length of the wall to the door with a new counter installed along the whole length. The upper cabinet was also moved to the right which made more room for adjustable shelves and easier access for supplies.

The Ikea bookshelf was shifted between the river windows with custom made shelves taking up the extra space to the ceiling for more storage and space to organize supplies and books.

Top: Before      Bottom: After

At this point I love the flexibility of the space, having a storage spot for everything and finding that I have room for multiple projects to be worked on at once. I have two artworks in progress now, four more at the sketch and color design phase and one series that is in the beginning stages as well. Hopefully I'll keep finding time to work and create this year.

New Year... new logo... new look... new studio.

Last winter I started the long process of a much needed update and rethink of my art.

The studio has since been redesigned for how I am creating with a combination of felt, polymer, digital photography, painting, jewelry and beading. I'll be posting new images of the space soon.

As things have changed in my life and my family time spent in the studio had gotten pushed to the side for a time. Now I'm working toward finding moments that I can hike through the woods for inspiration, work in the studio and push myself creatively.

And so along with the redesign of the studio, rethinking of time spent on creating art, I've also decided to move away from my old logo and description of Polymer & Prints to Sara Pearsall Arts. This better represents how I am creating as I use so many different materials and how I am pushing myself to draw inspiration from the world around me.

A redesign and a new beginning.

It's time! I'm about to clean out my studio to redesign it. I'm at a point where the space needs to be reworked so I can keep moving forward with my ideas and artwork.

These are the "Before" photos taken this afternoon!

The view from the doorway south into the studio.

The view north toward the sink area and doorway.

New configurations of counters, work spaces, a redesigned island on locking casters, and new wall shelving organization. The best part is that I'll be reusing most of the cabinets and only adding wall brackets and possibly new lights that will be better focused on the new work areas. A kids cabinet in the island is planned for their supplies will live so they can create with me, and then can clean up better at the end of the day! I can still share my space with them and they will be able to work on their projects, but the space will be easier to let them work and then all their projects will have a cabinet to be put in and out of the way of some of my bigger projects that are tending to spread across surfaces.

Step one is putting things away and packing up (so much stuff!!!), and then the jigsaw puzzle begins of moving everything around!

I'm so excited. If all goes well the studio should be put back together by late spring.

A new work in progress.

After gathering ideas, working through some sketches and pulling out all the colors of merino and polymer I thought I'd need. I finally got to work again over the past few weeks.

I wanted to work with more elements in the foreground than I did in the last felted landscape. I spent a significant amount of time making different polymer 'beads' to add, and felting elements that resemble lichen and moss before I even started to layout the layers and layers of wool for the background.

Now it's finally to a point where most of the wet felting is finished and I have it pinned to the foam backing to start working with layers and layers of needle felting and stitching.

Beginning to layout all the elements.

Polymer pieces in the midst of adding texture and color veneers.

The initial merino wool layers for the background.

Wet felted shelf lichen.

Felt, silk and polymer elements to mimic mosses.

Finally pinned on the foam work space to work with layers and layers of needle felting and stitching.

A weekend workshop!

I just spent the weekend in Burlington, VT at the Northeast Fiber Arts Center taking an amazing class with Marjolein Dallinga of Bloomfelt. The class was fun, challenging, inspiring and it was such a joy to take part in. Marjolein is an incredible teacher and is so generous with her knowledge and so very patient as she guided the class through the many, many steps and stages of our projects.

Marjolein's work can be found on the web at Bloomfelt and on Facebook.

It felt fantastic to have three full days to simply focus on learning. I'm now thinking of some new ideas to play with over this winter as the snow flies outside and the studio is warm and cozy. 

The photos show the beginning stage of one of the felting projects that began as a simple triangle and then was combined with multiple cords. And the other project which pushed my limits thinking through colors, layering wool and working with multiple resists to create a scultpture.

This is the final result of the initial triangle.

An this was the multiple resist project with layers and layers of wool!

On the wall.

Just a quick image to share of my piece hanging in the gallery at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY.

The exhibit, Mohawk Hudson Regional, will be on display through the end of December. There is a special event coming up on December 16th, the exhibit catalog that was developed with the juror and Hyde staff showcases not only the pieces in the current show, but also a bit of the history of the show as this is the 80th anniversary exhibit.

My piece on the back wall on the right.

A Road Trip.

Otherwise known as 'I need to add to my stash to further my creativity!' This past Saturday I drove down to New England Felting Supply in MA with my sketchbooks and iPad in hand. I have a few sketches fleshed out to the point of working through colors and I've planned what I'll need to felt some of the backgrounds and various elements. 

I was all set with the amounts of polymer I'll need and the canvas sizes for the final pieces, but some of my colors of felt were low and I knew I'd need more of others to fully work through my ideas!

So it was off in the car for a road trip, a fantastic visit with much encouragement and assistance at NEFS and I am now back home with colors in hand! Seriously - being at NEFS I now know how my kids must feel when they enter a candy or toy store...

The wall of dyed merino was so fun to peruse as I matched colors!

Now the difficult part will be fitting in some studio time in the midst of beach days and adventures with the little ones.

Accepted!

Whoooo hooooo!!!! So excited my piece was selected for the 2016 Mohawk Hudson Region exhibition! I am thrilled beyond anything because this is a new direction I'm exploring and truly love and am inspired to continue so it's amazing to have a juror feel strongly enough about the work to include it in such great exhibit.

Excuse me while I go do a dance of joy around the studio!!!

And onward!

I've had some time to sketch out ideas following this path of combining my polymer, felt, photographs and then creating a landscape piece. I'm excited exploring new ideas and find myself puzzling over how to create the different elements, how to combine them and how to best use the different mediums to create the textures, colors and final piece I have envisioned!

The sunshine at the barn felt wonderful as I sketched! A bit bright for my eyes... but the view of the mountain certainly was inspiring too!

The small sketchbook is primarily for my jewelry pieces, and I've started a new sketchbook for the landscapes and further ideas.

And the finished piece.

And this is the finished piece, 'Through the Woods'. I've photographed it and am submitting it for consideration for the 2016 Mohawk Hudson Regional. It's the 80th Anniversary of the regional juried exhibit - the oldest regional juried exhibit in the US! We'll see... the exhibit is October - January 2016.

A new path to explore.

I've been sketching all winter and letting ideas stew and brew and finally got to work in the studio over the past few weeks to explore a new creative direction.

Landscape & nature photography, polymer and felt have been kicking around in my studio and my head for years now. 20+ for the landscapes, 15 for the polymer and now nearly 5 for felt... and I've kept thinking of ways they can work together. This new piece was a complete 'what if' moment and was so incredibly fun to just puzzle through and create.

The landscape... the layout of the roving just before wet felting.

The beginning of the felt rocks and other elements. I kept a palette consistent with the roving I was using and mixed the polymer colors to create the rocks and tendrils for the plants to match.

Wet felted with the polymer rocks imbedded to be revealed as I cut away areas of felt later.

The felt rocks and some polymer rocks mid layout and work.

A sunny morning in the studio with the landscape on the pin foam. I needed to set some of the felted elements and other polymer pieces to begin to add depth.

Elements are added to the 'trees & vines' and some of the polymer rocks are set with other areas of felt needle felted and waiting.

Lots and lots of stitching to set all the felt & polymer elements.

And then some more stitching to set the piece on the background canvas as it's final display.

A closeup of the foreground with the felt & polymer rocks.

An antidote to the cold, and inspiration for creativity.

When the sunshine pours into all the windows of the studio and I have little voices discussing their own creative projects I can't help but feel content in this space. 

I've worked a bit on cleaning surfaces and putting away materials once I've finished because it makes me more apt to begin a new project when I see less clutter. And now that my jewelry is incorporating felt, metal, polymer clay and beads, there are just too many opportunities for the materials to take over the room! 

So far so good though and today is a good creative day!

These are several of the new pieces that I've created and placed in the Lapham Gallery. I'm working with more of the copper elements and incorporating more felting and freeform beading. It's great to be able to switch between the different techniques and pull them together into a finished jewelry piece.

A felted brooch with polymer beads, copper fold formed flower, soutache and freeform beading.

A necklace with a copper fold formed pendant with polymer and felt inlay and freeform beading.

A felted necklace with polymer beads and freeform beading.

Circle drop earrings with wire wrapping detail.

Circle drop earrings with wire wrapping detail.
The polymer circle is an abstract cane made with a rainbow of scraps.

Back in the Gallery Shop!

I went downtown to the LARAC Lapham Gallery this afternoon to reinstall my jewelry in their gallery shop. My necklaces, pins, bracelets and earrings will be available year round again. Stop in to the shop if you are looking for a unique gift for a special someone.

A new year and new ideas.

Freeform beadwork, copper fold forming, soutache, felting, wire wrapping.

  I have quite a few ideas, doodles and thoughts that have been waiting in my sketchbook. Waiting for time, time to sit, time to think, time to create. With this new year, I am going to keep trying to find moments that I can focus and push some of these ideas from the paper to the table.

The holidays are around the corner!!!

The Holiday Artisans Shop at the LARAC Lapham Gallery is open for the holidays. If you are looking for a unique gift made by a local and regional artist, writer, or craftsperson make a point to stop by and see the wonderful things they have this season.

My polymer jewelry is one of many displays!

Step by step.

  This is a quick collage of a work in progress. Working from one of my photographs of an iris that bloomed this spring in my garden I sketched out the potential shape of the pendant and thought through some of the ideas for shaping the copper and how to finish the pendant insert.

  The copper fold form pendant was successful in size, shape and patina. As was the polymer that I molded and fired to build the pendant shape. However I'm unhappy with the color on the surface of the polymer and may sand it back to the white molded shape and begin again.

  I've pulled the wool needed to felt the final layer in the pendant. The wool will also be blended and felted to create several small beads to use in the freeform necklace. I was also happy to look through my bead stash and find several lampwork beads that will work beautifully in the color scheme I have in mind.

  We'll see where this takes me! Once the polymer suface color is set it's on to beading!!!

New Work from the Studio.

Over the summer I've been experimenting with fold forming copper to serve as a base shape for pendants and also free form bead work. This direction in my work is inspired by several classes I took earlier this summer. The copper has been through some trial and errors and I have quite a few more pages (and pages!!!) of sketches to work through as I move in this new style.

Left: Lime necklace; copper fold form pendant, polymer inlay with colored pencil & liquid polymer layers, czech glass beads, seed beads. Free form beadwork. Right: Detail of pendant.

Copper fold form shawl pin; copper fold form pin, polymer inlay with colored pencil & liquid polymer layers, czech glass bead, copper wire & pin back. Mohair handknit scarf.

Orange Disc set; polymer disc beads, lampwork focal bead, czech glass beads, seed beads. Free form beadwork.