My Kitchen Table Is My Studio

Abby Glassenberg posted a photo of her work space, her kitchen table covered with legal pads and her laptop. The shot was taken at night and wasn’t styled to be “Pinterest perfect”. The first comment asked, “Where is your inspiration?” Her response and thoughts on the imagined requirement of inspiring studio space are worth a read. What stuck with me most from the entire piece was her closing statement: 

“If [you] believe you need inspiration, or a beautiful space, or just the right environment in order to make creative work, you’ll never begin.”

I often imagine my perfect studio. The room is always well lit and bright thanks to big windows with a lovely view. There are shelves and cupboards for yarn, fiber, books, and every possible tool. There’s a desk for writing/getting lost on the internet and a drawing table with a parallel bar. The remaining wall space is covered in art, including this Alpacalypse! print I’ve already squirreled away. I’ve got the space for every creative thing, both work and hobby, that I could ever want to do. 

Here’s the thing though, it’ll be years before I have anything remotely like the space in my imagination. That Alpacalypse! print is rolled up in a tube waiting for a place on an imaginary studio wall. Like Abby, I do most of my work at the kitchen table. It’s covered in yarn, notions, paper, and notebooks by the end of the day. My supplies are stashed wherever there’s room for them. As much as I want that studio because I have the far-flung idea that it’ll just make working so much easier, I don’t have the luxury of waiting. I have to make and do and challenge myself now for my own sanity. If I don’t, that far off in the future studio won’t need to exist at all. 

There's a bike in my spinning nook too.

While churning out these words, some of which came easier than others, I’ve realized how silly it is to put a print away for a studio wall that hasn’t been built. I’m getting it out, putting it in a frame, and finding a spot for it now. Also, while that imagined studio would be amazing, all I really need is somewhere to keep my supplies in one easily accessible spot. Wandering the apartment and shuffling boxes to look for one specific thing is already old. I can get shelves and keep working from the kitchen table.