For years now I have dreamed of having a loft studio with white walls that were covered with art hanging all around me. The art was both my own and others, whatever brought me joy. I would look at the studios in warehouses that artists lived in and envied the space and high ceilings and big windows. I followed many artists who live in New York City or Paris and dreamed I would someday have such a place.

A few weeks ago I visited a friend of mine who lives in a condominium in Toronto. She has an extensive art collection and has several gallery walls displaying the artwork in her living room and down the hallways. One of the rooms in her place is dedicated to creating her own art. She can go in there and play to her hearts desire. When she wants to take a break she can walk out of the room, close the “mess” behind her and step back into her quiet and calm living room/art gallery. I am inspired by what she is creating and how she set herself up to honour her love of art. She recently retired so has more time and energy to dedicate to it now.

I live in a small 500 square foot studio apartment — not the big warehouse studio I dreamed of still it is a studio and I love it. The ceilings are quite high and the walls are painted white. I have two chairs, a table and a bed as well as a bookcase and a desk. The galley kitchen is small and serves its purpose. The walls are my gallery. How lucky am I.

A while back I wrote about how I had shifted my furniture around in my studio to create more of a flow for me to do my own art. My first love is collage art. I had done several pieces and boxed them away. When I settled into life in southern Ontario I started exploring and playing with watercolours. That is what I am using now. I worked with acrylics for many years when I lived in Victoria, BC and then gave all my art supplies away and sold or gave away my paintings when I moved back east. I only saved one which is pictured here. Titled “Memory Garden”.

I must confess I have not done any artwork for over two years. In all the confusion and upheaval with moving three times in two years I simply did not have the energy or inspiration. This past month I decided to sign up for a couple of art classes to help kick start my artistic desires. I have taken two classes now and have three to go. I am in the flow of my creative energy once again.

This week I took out a box of artwork that I had done a few years ago. I was surprised to see how much I had created. My friend who lives in Toronto stopped by, saw some of what I had done and said to me “You need to frame these and hang them on your walls”. That is all the encouragement I needed. Another friend had all kinds of frames that she was not using and offered me to come by and take what I needed. What a gift!

So this past weekend I continued to transform my place into the studio/gallery I dreamed of for so long. I framed several pieces of my own art and hung them on the wall or placed them on shelves. The bright colours take me to my happy place. I am inspired and energized now to keep painting and also do my collage work.

I decided to set up a second table that is plastic and use it for my work table along side my dining table. I can leave my materials all set up for as long as I want to. It is after all my artist studio now.

What I have learned in this process is that even when things seem too much to handle finding that creative force within helps to ease the pain. There is so much harsh reality to face in the world today and sometimes it literally makes me sick to my stomach. Then out of nowhere I feel a piece of writing or a painting come to me and I feel the desire if not the need to bring it to the page.

So as we contemplate our place in all the turmoil let’s keep in mind that we can still find beauty in the world. When we are home alone or with others we can also create it. I hope dear reader, that you find your creative endeavours make your heart sing. There is nothing like seeing the fruits of your labour come into focus.