Creative Spaces

The hardest part of my process is the fact that I can’t show you all current projects because they haven’t been gifted yet.  So until I can show you this year’s haul, I’m going to talk about something else that is important, and I’d LOVE to hear from you.

What is in your creative space?  I don’t mean your tools.  I mean what art or decor do you have that helps you establish your creative flow?

For me, I have surrounded my sewing room with artwork.  Most of it is from my absolute favorite artist – James C. Christensen.  I first found out about him when they turned one of his books into a cheesy Hallmark movie called Voyage of the Unicorn.  I was fascinated and looked up the original book, Voyage of the Basset.  From there I found out that the author was primarily an artist and was a professor at Brigham Young University.  I learned he passed in 2017, and I was actually in my sewing room when my uncle, who also likes him and bought me an autographed copy of his book, texted me.  I choked up as I looked around and realized how much his art defined my own creativity.  The featured picture is called A Place of Her Own, and I plan on getting that print one day.  I feel like he captured my soul in this painting.

His artwork is so complex and beautiful.  I loved all the layers his people wore, and the depth and symbolism he used.  He had successfully created another world.

I even have one of his paintings in puzzle form.  It’s in a frame in my classroom.  It’s a piece called All the World’s a Stage, and it has all of Shakespeare’s plays represented in one way or another with Shakespeare himself in the center.  I’ve labeled as many as I could.  My students stopped class one day to finally ask me about it because they’d been eyeing it since the beginning of the year.

In my creative space, I have other prints both big and small.  One of my favorites was a gift from my husband for my birthday.  For a long time it hung in my daughter’s nursery, but I reclaimed it for my new sewing space when we moved.  I loved the notion that story-telling was like setting sail.

The Listener is also right above my cutting and ironing area.  This one fascinates me because I end up noticing something new each time I look at it, and I love the message of tuning out life’s distractions.  My creative space is where I can do just that, and I’ll go into my own head and everything else just melts away.  In a world where there’s a lot out of my control, my quilts and creative space are mine to own.

In addition to Christensen’s artwork, I have an original piece I bought at a silent auction.  It’s a piece by artist Lori-Gene who I just found out passed away in 2014. Her site is no longer up – otherwise I’d link it.  Here is another blog discussing her work.  The frenzied fingers of the pianist mesmerized me and reminded me of my piano classes in college.

I also have a picture of the solar system my daughter drew.  It was cute, but I especially loved it for one specific detail.  The planet on the extreme right is Jakku.  That’s right – the planet from which Star War’s Rey hails.

I have some other works by Christensen around the room, and my daughter has claimed a small wall nearby for her own artwork.  My creative space is slowly also becoming hers.  I love it, and it’s my happy place.

What all do you have in your creative space?

Related blogs and posts:

Critique of a Master’s Work

A Quaker’s Christmas Reflection – this one uses one of my favorite images of Mother Mary.

Am I Writer – discusses Christensen’s book Voyage of the Basset

Creative Space