Resuscitating your muse

Expression, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Kathie Gillaspey

Typically this is the time of year when everyone makes resolutions to improve their lives. You know the drill: lose weight, quit smoking, be nicer to people, blah, blah, blah. Truth is, not many of these resolutions last beyond the first week of the New Year. Many are made tongue-in-cheek, much like the things we Catholic kids decided to "give up" for Lent ... homework and listening to our parents.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

This year, there is one resolution I must keep in order to get a grip on my sanity. I've decided to clear the clutter from my studio so I can get out there and create! Now, I know I'm not alone here. Day after day in my involvement with numerous "groups" online, I see it. Someone posts that they have been "collecting" art supplies and materials but don't use them due to mass clutter. They post pictures of their studios, many of which I'm sad to reveal, look exactly like mine. Piles and piles of stuff--everything you could possibly need to create incredible projects and nowhere to create them. Not a speck of flat, usable space to be found. For many of us, our muse isn't lost ... she's just been buried alive!

The interim solution appears easy at first--move pile A to pile B and clear a small space. Then you decide if you move pile A/B to pile C, that will double your workspace. Usually then, one of two things happens: 1) Pile A/B/C is so precariously high that it obscures all necessary light from the newly created work space, or 2) Pile A/B/C adheres to the laws of gravity and tumbles to the floor creating a huge and frustrating mess. When this happens, it is necessary to stop everything, pick up the components of the piles, and figure out a new place to stash them. End result--complete loss of any creative thought and energy.

The first step to clearing the clutter, although daunting, is to do a basic inventory of everything you have. Use your computer, PDA or a simple notebook and list everything you own. After figuring out (and admitting to) all the things you have, it's time to start establishing a place to store them. Notice I didn't say "stash," I said, "store"--stashing them is what led to the problem in the first place. Storage options are readily available and I've talked about them before. From see-through plastic carts and containers, to shelving and professional art-storage systems, find one that works for you and use it. Make sure you label everything. An inexpensive labeler can be found at any office-supply store, as well as packages of labels if you'd rather use a computer or hand label them.

If during this process, you decide that you have more supplies than you could possibly use in yours, or even the most prolific artist's life, consider selling your goods. Great places to begin are online auctions, online trading groups, classified ads in your local newspaper, or a garage sale. Better yet, start out the New Year with a generous donation of art materials to your local school, senior center, or hospital.

Now that everything has a place, the hardest part, in my opinion, begins--making sure that everything finds it's way "home" after being used. Realistically, I know that some projects take more than one session and putting everything away and then regathering it every time, is just as damaging to the creative process as not finding a place to work. Here's the solution (well, at least one that will hopefully work for me). When I have to stop working on something (God forbid!), I intend to pack up all the necessary components and keep them temporarily in large, see-through plastic containers. A container that has a lid and a label is stackable and can be stored neatly in a designated area of my studio, not strewn about my working surface. When I've completed the project, I am going to make every effort to return things to their rightful homes. This way, when my muse has regained consciousness, and hopefully has not been irrevocably damaged from lack of oxygen and space, she'll be there to get me through another creative year.

Name That Muse!

Name                 Meaning                   Specialty

Clio                 Proclaimer                History
Euterpe              Pleaser Giver             Music
Melpomene            Songtress                 Tragedy
Terpsichore          The Whirler               Dance
Erato                Lovely                    Love Poetry, & Mimicry
Polyhymnia           She Of Many Hymns         Sacred Poetry
Urania               Heavenly                  Astronomy
Thalia               Flourishing               Comedy
Calliope             Beautiful Voice           Epic Poetry