Come To My Party

Although I didn't have the epiphany or breakthrough until last Friday, it is clear that my subconscious has been busily at work inside me for some time now. My paper arts "studio" - a small segment of the basement - has been totally trashed for months, maybe years. The fact that the space shares functionality with other tasks only complicates the cleanup further.

About a month ago, I began clearing it out and cleaning it up. I promised myself that when I was done, I'd reward myself with a day of artful play. I haven't gotten there yet, and the end isn't even in sight. But I am making progress.

Why is it going so slowly? Well, instead of just temporarily scooting things out of sight or to another area of the basement for a quick but temporary fix, I am trying to make a decision about each thing I pick up. Do I need it? Want it? Is it a craft I once did, and will I really do it again? If not, should it be tossed out, given to a friend or donated to one of several local charities? I've been filling up bags and have already made several donation runs. Some decisions are harder and more painful. And for some, I spend time awaiting responses from friends or friends of friends who can make use of the item.

Why do I have so much stuff? First because I am a collector and a packrat. (And I'm sure Freud and Jung would have something very deep to say about that....) Second, because I've been crafting forever. Crafts come into vogue, fade away and reappear years later - and I still have all my original tools and supplies (untouched in many cases). Third, because my focus has changed over the years; I've become more of an artist and less of a crafter. Fourth, because as the art evolves, so do the tools and supplies that support it.

A prime example is diecutting. The original Sizzix was heavy and so were the dies. But I bought one. Then came the QuicKutz. Smaller machine, smaller dies. And with all the specials on the alphabets we couldn't scrap without, we each ended up with two and three of the darn things. Then came the little red Sizzix for the Sizzlets which was much easier to use, more portable and would cut QuicKutz dies. But then the dies started getting larger and out came the Cuttlebug, the Spellbinder Wizard and the BigShotz. Finally the Cricut and Slice emerged which did away with all the manual effort. And as each new and improved model came into existence, it was easy to talk myself into upgrading at least some of the time.

Same goes for storage options. But as tempting as it has been, I have not traded up my iris carts and stackable drawers for the wooden drawers and cube sets. Still, I've purchased plenty of other storage items over the years that I now have to make decisions about.

My mode of crafting has also changed dramatically over the years. Ten years ago I taught classes and attended crops regularly at a local scrapbook store, and attended long weekend retreats. All of our supplies needed to be portable to some extent, and despite good project planning, we found that some perfect embellishment or a tool we needed was at home. Many smaller cases and totes were purchased to make all the gear portable. Now, I never craft anywhere but home or occasionally at my sister's house - and she's as well equipped as I.

Portability is no longer a necessity.

So now I am really trying hard to keep only what I will use. And part of what is slowing me down is that I need to find a place - a single place - for like items to reside. As I uncover bags and boxes and containers, I neatly package embellishments and flowers and fibers (just love those 4x5 inch clear plastic bags!) and store in labeled drawers together. Paper is all in one place by color and theme. And so on. Progress, and the rewards :>)))