Nearly nine weeks ago, I began to pack up my office where I work and my studio where I create things. Our fireplace malfunctioned over the winter and left a layer of soot on our walls and carpet…to get things clean again, I needed to pack and store the contents of the two rooms.
I knew the upheaval was an opportunity to lighten my load…I sure wouldn’t do any of this for fun. I keep a “stash” of fabric, paper, beads, fibers, and lots more. Handling everything was a good reminder of what I have. I employed the Marie Kondo concept about letting go of items that don’t bring me joy (editor’s note: I find joy in all kinds of stuff.)
My studio in use 
The bleak, packed studio
Life went on over the course of these 9 weeks, but it was a different way to live. With all my creative materials put away, I often felt sad and stressed. It was also apparent how much I rely on visual reminders…for me, out of sight is truly out of mind.
After the last work crew finished, I furiously carted my treasures up the stairs and reassembled my creative space as fast as I could make it functional. It’s not completely finished, but enough so that I can find things and work in the space again. With a little spontaneous puttering, a new project started to form last night…an altered journal, starting from a Daytimer cover I found at the Salvation Army:
I’m grateful to have my space back, yet I know that the disruption has caused a re-shuffle. Inevitably, some projects that were on the top of mind two months ago will be lost or “aged” before I see them again. Other ideas that were buried may re-surface and be bumped to the front. I am newly aware of how much I’m a passenger in this creative journey, when most of the time I think I am driving.