HKpowerStudio

Creatively Organized Spaces

Wednesday Words::Disiderata a Poem

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education 1 Comment

Go placidly, amid the noise and the haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others even the dull and ignorant, they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of times.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let not this blind you to what virtue there is, many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;  for in the face of aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentile with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have  a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God; whatever you conceive him to be.

And whatever your labor and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all it’s sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

I found this poem in a book not so long ago, it was written in 1927 by Max Ehrmann.  I enjoy the somewhat outdated language and the universal message, I hope you do too.

Textile Tuesday::Experiments with Bits of Cloth and Thread

by Filed Under: Art & Design, Handmade, Inspiration & Education, Textiles & Pattern 1 Comment

In the midst of the moving madness I’ve managed to continue to do a bit of textile work.  Expanding upon my rust experiments I’ve done some rust dyeing on silk scarves, which I realize may compromise them in the long run but I couldn’t resist the rust!

This is a detail of one end of a long narrow scarf.  I am so intrigued by the metallic shades, rainbows and oxidation that occurs on the fabrics.  The effect here partially washed away after I rinsed the fabric.

I’m embarking upon the exploration of natural dying, slowly trying to learn a bit more about it because I’ve never really done much of it but am now very interested.  It seems a natural progression bringing together my interests in gardening, sustainability and textiles.  I’ve started with onion skin collected (from my local CSA) over the last couple years (because I don’t need to MOVE them!), both yellow and red.

I got a variety of hues and shades on both fabric and yarn varying from a green gold to a warm pale brown.  I experimented with silk, cotton, wool and linen and used alum as a mordant.

I’ve also been experimenting with the process of natural dying via bundling bits of dirt, bark, lichen, leaves and other debris in fabric Ala India Flint.  These experiments haven’t been tremendously successful but it’s new and fascinating to me so I’m enjoying the process.  I think it’s time I get India’s Book “Eco Color” though so I don’t waste too much time and fabric in the learning process.  I did have some faint success with fern leaves and with mud so far though.

Finally I’ve been trying my hand with a little textile and mixed media assemblage.  This is a work in progress that I’m playing around with.

Bits of Cloth and Thread

…PS…Knitting season has returned (I usually put down the needles in the summer) so I’ve picked up the needles again and have a couple projects going (they are gifts so I can’t show them yet).

Save

Moving Monday::Where to Begin with Packing

by Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 2 Comments

Okay, it’s time for my weekly check in on our moving progress.  I’m excited to share that the house is on the market and has shown a few times.  It’s got to be kept spic and span which is a challenge in this state of affairs but it’s kind of nice!  I’m enjoying having things looking neat and clean for our last amount of time here.

A few more items have made their way onto Craigslist and the flea market is behind us now.  It was a wash out but we made a little money before it started pouring and the remaining non valuables went directly to donation.  So, what’s the next step?  Packing of course!  When it comes to packing I wanted to share a little of my strategy. I have a list week by week of what I will be packing by category.  I’m sure there will be a little overlap but it’s a plan and it creates weekly goals for our packing which will help keep us on track and feeling less overwhelmed.

  • Pictures and artwork, especially personal photo’s (those came down before we started to show the house).  Next, all the small artwork come off the walls.  I pack smaller photo’s and artwork in medium size boxes with newsprint wrapped around each and bubble wrap or cardboard between them.
  • Small decorative non function items. Otherwise known as Nicknacks:)
  • Formal china, stemware, crystal and serving pieces.  I’m not planning to do any formal entertaining before we leave so these things won’t be needed.  We don’t have a lot of it but what there is will go in boxes this week.
  • Any books I know I won’t be referring to.

By next week it will begin looking a bit more bare around here.  This is the part I don’t like very much but I’m hoping to embrace the empty space and enjoy the simplicity of living with less.

Related articles

Follow this Friday::Reuse and Organize

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Organize, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 2 Comments

Here are a few favorite things I found this week that fall into the categories of reuse and organizing.  You can’t beat that combo!Suitcase Side tables from Cupcakes and Cashmere

Crate’s are popping up everywhere and here are a few ideas for their use.

Crate Side table from Neet Magazine

Crate Shelves from Design sponge

Reuse and Organize

Various shelves and organization by way of re-purposed crates, suitcases etc from Recreate

To see more ideas for re-using everyday stuff check out my Pinterest Re-Use It board.  If you would like to follow my boards click Here.

There is a lot of discussion these days about how images collected on Pinterest are attributed, in my case I always try to link back to the original makers.  In some cases, these items are for sale but may not be available.  In other cases, they are simple ideas that no one would mind you reusing in your own way.  In any case, I hope you will give credit to the creative makers who inspire us with their DIY inventions!

Save

Moving Monday::House Tour

by Filed Under: Photography 1 Comment

Whaaaa, moving is so much work!  Okay so we haven’t really begun to pack yet because our focus has been on the purging, organizing, sorting and getting the house in ship shape for showing.  Since I took the photo’s the realtor will be using I thought I would share a behind the scenes tour of our home.

Welcome, please come on in!

Half Bath

The Kitchen

Our Back deck with my jungle of plants, sadly some will not be coming with us.

The Dining Room looking towards the back deck and the kitchen.

The living room

The living room from the dining room, as you can see the first floor has a very open floor plan and great windows!

The Master Bedroom

What use to be our guestroom is now our staging area with packing supplies at the ready.

2nd Bath

The Office

This pretty well concludes the tour of our home for the past 6 years.  I’ve left out a few areas including the full basement because it’s not much to look at right now.  Below is what it use to look like when I had my carpet design office down there, now it’s another staging and storage area but will be a great space for whomever move in here next.

There is still a lot to do, including getting stuff out of here which we are continuing to sell.  Rather than a yard sale we will be participating in a Flea Market to sell the remaining items this coming weekend.  A few furniture pieces, art and craft items, tires, tools, electronics and other odds and ends will be going.  Now that the house is pretty much ready to show we will on alert to vacate for the realtors at a moments notice.  I’m sure that’s going to be fun!  I’m trying to keep a positive attitude but the limbo part of this process is particularly tough on me.  I’m a very home based person so I feel I’m being invaded but it’s what we must do to move on.  I’ll be back next week with reports on the flea market and the realtor’s listing info.  If you know anyone who you think would love to live in this house in Gaithersburg, MD please get in touch!

Texture Tuesday::Specimines on my windowsill

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Photography 5 Comments

It is late so I’m not going to say much BUT this photo was taken with my new Canon 60D!  So far I LOVE IT:)

This is my kitchen windowsill which includes a small vase of flowers, a  “Joy” message stone and a collection of antique miniature jars containing various specimens of moths, insects, flower and plant seeds, mica pieces and Yogi tea messages (because they are better than fortune cookie messages).   I’m taking the time to stop and enjoy the small pieces of our home that I love.  I love that my kitchen sink overlooks the back yard and I’m always bringing a bit of the outdoors inside to my windowsill.  Today’s image was enhanced by Kim Klassen’s texture “Granny’s Cupboard”.  Check out some other photography using her textures here.

Do you decorate your windowsills?

Related articles

Moving Monday::Week 5 Count Down

by Filed Under: Art Leave a Comment

This past week’s focus has been on part one of preparing the house to show.  Both my husband and I have been busy doing some serious deep cleaning, purging and misc. small job’s around the house to make it all shiny and ready to go on the market.  In some ways it doesn’t feel real yet, a lot of what we are doing could be chalked up to a really major fall cleaning and it’s small detail work that’s not all that visible on the surface but it will make a difference in showing.  On Friday the realtor came by to check things out, collect a key and discuss how the showings will work and this defiantly made the whole move seem more real!  This coming week is part two of getting the house ready which means more purging and then organizing the stuff that needs to go into neat areas and getting the stuff that we can out.

Today I had a cancellation in my schedule and I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather so I decided to take advantage of it and stay home.  It was the perfect day to do a BIG PURGE of the ART and CRAFT SUPPLIES!   The husband’s been out of the house all day and I’ve had a movie marathon while sorting piles and piles of stuff.  I’m not done and might be staying up late to finish the fabric and yarn stash but I plan to get through all of the craft stuff TODAY!  I’ve got a really large pile so far and there’s sure to be more before I’m done!  I’ve toyed with the idea of trying to sell some of it at a flea market we are selling at in early October but I think with so much going on I’m just going to donate a big part of it and give some things to friends.  If you live in the DC metro area and want to know what I’ve got leave a comment or shoot me an email.

It feels FANTASTIC.  I was skeptical when I started this morning, I wasn’t sure I was in the right frame of mind to do this today but I feel so free and liberated.  If I don’t LOVE it, it’s going.   I mean, I’m finally getting rid of things I’ve moved about 4 times already (from MD to KY to GA back to MD), it’s about time don’t you think?   I have sooooo many types of craft and art supplies that go all the way back to when I worked in an art supply store in college.   Here’s what my stash includes and my strategy is to get rid of some things in all the categories because I still dabble in all the them and these are the creative outlets that will stick with me in the future as well.

Categories of Craft and Art Collections in my Stash::

Knitting (the yarn stash includes both knitting and weaving yarns!!)

Textile arts (dyes, chemicals and fixatives for dying yarns and fabrics of various kinds, also recently have accumulated various rusted metal objects for natural dying and I still have a large stash of onion skins even though I did one batch of natural dying with them recently)

Weaving *OK, I haven’t really woven in 6 years! (except a small bit on my table loom) but I still have tools etc I’m not ready to part with.  Will I ever weave again?  I hope so!

Sewing (patterns, embroidery supplies, fabric, thread and other tools and supplies)

Paper crafts (glues, papers galore, brads, stamps, paper punches, cutters etc) *Did I ever mention here I use to have a small greeting card line when I lived in GA?  I still make holiday cards and do other paper crafting quite frequently.

Fine art (paints, pastels, boards and canvases, markers, colored pencils, sketchbooks and various specialty papers)

Is there anything I don’t have?  It feels like it but I suppose if I did clay or more 3-d art it might be worse.  At least my loom (which is FOR SALE) is dis-assembled and got rid of basket making supplies after our last move.

The remainder of this week is CRUNCH time for getting the house ready to show.  Mainly this means more purging and then organizing all the stuff we are getting rid of into neat categories of DONATIONS, FOR SALE and TRASH (which needs to go to the dump this week).  I’ve also got some fall yard cleanup to do and it looks like the weather should be pretty nice for this.

Related articles

Procrastination is not healthy…or is it?

by Filed Under: Photography 3 Comments

At least not chronic and habitual procrastination.  Honestly I haven’t met anyone who procrastination was good for in the long run…but in the short term, sometimes I think it can be a good thing.  Right now though I find myself severely procrastinating beginning the work to move.  I procrastinate when I am totally overwhelmed and right now, that’s how I feel.  I don’t know where to begin in theory but in reality I’m avoiding DOING what I need to.

My list doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter because a lot of what I’ve accomplished so far is invisible stuff!  Like making phone calls, sending emails, researching, running errands…today though I’m beginning with the deep cleaning we need to do to get the house ready for showing.  Cleaning is usually a good place for me to begin when I’m feeling overwhelmed, it’s physically demanding, task oriented and has visible results!  I know for some people cleaning is a reason for procrastination.  For me though, I’d rather start whatever big job I have to do with a clean slate, so cleaning helps me get motivated.  I’m not saying I love it just that I know what to do to get myself going.

Sure, I’d rather be sitting outside enjoying the remaining days of summer but alas…too much to do and the weather today has turned decidedly fall like today!  I did take a little break today from all the moving madness to swing by my garden and pick a few tomatoes, tomatillos, sunflowers and pull a few weeds.  The garden isn’t done yet, summer isn’t over yet and we are where we are for the moment.  In the midst of the chaos of moving I am making a promise to myself to stop, procrastinate a little (as needed) and enjoy the last of the time we have living where we are.  The packing and moving will get done!

What tricks do you have to motivate yourself when you find your in a procrastination zone?

Related articles

At Work in the Studio With::Penland Artists

by Filed Under: Art, Inspiration & Education, Photography 56 Comments

For quite some time now I’ve been contemplating how to merge my love of art and design and my passion for organization.  While I was away at Penland I found a little seed that’s germinated and has been pushing it’s way slowly to the surface.  In that wonderful nurturing and creative environment I spent a lot of time walking around and observing other artists, their “studio” (albeit temporary for most) spaces and the work being created.  One particular evening we were visiting the Resident artists studio’s and the idea really struck me to start a blog interview series with artists about their sense of or lack of organizational skills and how that affects their work.

Above and Below::Studio space of Jewelry Artist Jeong Ju Lee

Above and Below::Studio space of Daniel Marinelli

Below::Studio space of Textile Artist and Weaver Robin Johnston

Today I’m bringing you the introduction to this new series.  I can’t promise how frequently I will be doing interviews, much of that depends upon who I’ve come across and their willingness to share their organization or lack of.  For many artists and creative types being organized is just not a big priority and often staying organized is a struggle.  Revealing this to the world may not be something many artists are willing to share.   So many people continue to feel embarassed or asshamed about being disorganized but I am here to say that EVERYONE struggles with organization in some area of their life (or has in the past).

Above and Below::Studio space and workshop of Woodworker Tom Shields

Upon speaking with many artists though I’ve come to realize that for all of us there is a cycle to the way we work.  We carve out a space, gather the materials we think we might need to begin and we dig in.  For some creators they need to end each work day (or session) with a bit of re-organizing and tidying up.  Others will continue to work right along side the ever growing piles of detritus, materials, abandoned projects, dishes, tools and whatever else accumulates.   Some artists can go days, weeks or months before they feel the need to stop and tidy up again.  What prompts this action?  Is it the completion of a big project or a feeling of distraction or getting stuck?

Above and Below:: Iron Forging workshop

Above and Below:: Woodworking workshop and workbenches of student artists

I wonder for each of us, how does the order or chaos of our working environment impact the artwork we create?  When you look at someone’s artwork is there any clue as to their working methods?  Could you venture to guess if they are organized or dis-organized?  How does our environment help or hinder our creations as artists?  These are all questions I am interested in exploring further as we meet other artists and discuss their working methods, see behind the scenes into their working spaces and perhaps learn some organizing tips from some of them.

Above and Below:: Metal Casting studio workbenches of student artists and the instructor

Above and Below::Studio workspace of Bookmaking student artists

Above and Below::Studio work spaces of Letterpress student artists

Above and Below:: Studio work spaces of Encaustic student artists and instructor

As I wandered from studio to studio observing and speaking with artists about how they work and taking photographs I found that most of the time people tried to tidy up when I asked if I could photograph them and or their spaces.  “No” I said, I want to capture you the way you really work.  I really appreciate the willingness of all these artist to allow me to share their working spaces with you here.

Above:: studio workspace of fellow surface design artist Kathleen Bennett Bastis

Call to action::If you are an artist and feel you are particularly organized or dis-organized and want to share your working practices and space I’d love you to comment here or email me.

Above:: studio work space of my instructor Jason Pollen;>)

Related articles

Thoughtful Thursday::Running Away or Moving Forward?

by Filed Under: Uncategorized 1 Comment

I let the cat partially out of the bag in a previous post so it’s time to let it all the way out.  Mr. Powers and I have made a BIG life decision to move, out of the state and sometime in the next 3-6 months!  We have been thinking about moving for a year and a half at least now.  Each time we go on vacation we look at the housing market, talk to people about what it’s like to live there and consider the possibilities.  Some of our friends and family have probably heard our ruminations about moving to their town and have been let down by the wolf cry…but none of those places have felt right and we always had a major reason why it wasn’t the place for us.  The following are some of the things we have taken into consideration as we’ve made our decision:

  • Do we know anyone that lives here?  Friends, family or both?
  • Have we visited more than once and if so why?
  • What’s the weather like? I tend towards SAD so can’t deal with soggy or freezing or dreary long winters.
  • Oceans and Mountains are a plus!
  • West coast, not in our budget and we want to be close to family mostly on the East Coast.
  • Don’t land lock me, I’m not a mid-westerner.
  • Decent economy, colleges, tourism and other industry nearby.
  • Lower cost of living (and lower taxes a plus).
  • Not too small of a town, not to big of a city…looking for just the right size.
  • The South has it’s appeal, we’ve lived in various locations and liked the slower pace.

So, based upon the above did you figure it out?  We have decided upon Charleston, SC!  We’ve been there many times over the past 12 years or so and many times we have said to each other that we would love to live there.  It’s finally time, after considering numerous locations mostly in NY, PA and NC we finally made our decision about a month ago.  I have to say that going to Penland and experiencing a break was the final catalyst!

I’m ready for a little more of this!

Frankly, we never thought we would move back to the DC metro area but the almighty dollar and a promising job made us change our tune and I certainly don’t regret it!  Being back in the DC area has given me the chance to reconnect with old friends, spend time with family, visit New England, NYC (a lot since my brother lives there and my former job took me there for business) and generally appreciate the wonderful diversity of culture here.  BUT, we just don’t feel we “fit” here an  longer, isn’t that strange for someone who was raised here?  I’ve tried to find my tribe, really I have searched but they are not here!  After having lived in various other locations and now having returned to the place I was mostly raised I feel it’s time to move forward.

“When your reasons to move forward outweigh your excuses for staying put, you will move forward.”-Ralph Marston

When I tell people now that we are moving I always get the inevitable question “oh did you or your husband get a job there”…NO!  Each move we have made over the past 17 years has been for either a job or school.  For the first time in our adult life we are making a decision based purely upon freedom of choice.  It is so liberating that I think everyone aught to do it once in their lives!

I’ve thought long and hard about weather we could make it work here and if we are just running away but I can honestly say now that we are not.  We haven’t “Failed” at anything but we’ve made certain choices and in order to continue to live those choices we need to move forward, to a different location.  It’s that darn simple!  I am soooo excited about this big change.  It is scary, moving to a new place, moving a fledgling business and my husband’s construction business but it’s going to be worth it.

We have good friends who live in Charleston and right down the road in Savannah too.  Mr. Powers parents spend their summers not too far away (close enough for weekend visits but not close enough for daily drop in’s).  I love the ocean, it soothes my soul!  I miss the slower more relaxed pace of the south (my Daddy’s from Bamma I must have inherited some southern genes).  We don’t have our date fixed yet but the family and friends have been told and so far seem supportive!  Over the next few months we will be doing some serious downsizing and I’m beyond ready for this!  We will be selling, giving and throwing stuff away.  Loosing the extra baggage is going to feel great.  I’ll be posting about the process of moving, making choices to get rid of things and how it feels as we go.  I hope you will continue to stop in to see where we are and how it’s going.  If you happen to be one of my clients reading this, have no worries, together we will come up with a strategy to transition you to another organizer or continue to work with me long distance (via Skype, phone or internet consulting and coaching).  Moving is pretty major but when it’s moving forward there’s nothing to feel but excitement!

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” Henry David Thoreau

 

info@hkpowerstudio.com
[office] 240-778-2804 *area code must be dialed/no text

Legal Disclaimer

Creatively Organized Spaces by HKpowerStudio Inc. is not qualified to give legal, tax, accounting, financial, medical, or therapeutic advice, and any services, content or products are solely provided for informational purposes only.

Search Blog by Popular Catetories

Seach Blog by date