Virginia Woolf said every woman should have a 'room of her own.' I, of course, have my studio, and I feel very fortunate to have that work space. But I admit that I claim more rooms than that one as 'my own' (though I am occasionally willing to share with my dear husband and pet family members.)
The room I actually spend the most of my time in, especially in the cold of winter, is my sitting room. Before moving into this house, I had never had a sitting room. I had living rooms and family rooms, but those are for the whole family and guests to 'live in' and do 'family things' in. My sitting room is upstairs, off the bedrooms, and so is not really accessible to guests. It is the warmest and brightest room in the house. It has a small cozy fireplace, and a bright window, which frequently is where to find Gus, soaking up the southern winter sun, on his perch over the warmth of the radiator.
The sitting room has a comfy big Morris chair that my husband made, and a hide-a-bed sofa (where grandchildren sleep when they visit.) The big chair is where I practice my guitar. The sofa is where I do almost anything else that I can do while 'sitting.' It is where I sort through songbooks and plan Sunday music for church, so there is often a pile of hymnals on the sofa. It is where I sketch and write in my journal, so they are always at one end of the sofa. It is often where I catch up with email, Facebook, and Words with Friends on my iPad. It is where I do my Yoga, and where I keep an eye on the world outside my window. My husband often complains that there is no place for him to sit in the sitting room, because of all the things I have going on there. (I promise that is not intentional.... not usually, anyway.)
Today, I have moved my small Mirrix loom from the studio to the warmth and fire of the sitting room, and I am working on the tapestry for the ATA small tapestry exhibit. You can see that I have just barely begun the piece. I am just now taking a break, because I am trying to keep my already aching back from further damage. So, I weave for 45 minutes, then do something else for a bit, before going back to weave again. I just have time on this break to brew a cup of hot tea, then back to the sitting room I will go.... to sit.... and today, to weave.
2 comments:
It is a relief to hear that I am not the only one that has a tendency to procure rooms. My husband claims that I have taken over all the free space with my work and that he has no place left. I guess in some way that is a true statement. I do envy your sitting room. We only have a big dining/living room for all. I took over a small guest room for my sewing since we really hardly ever have guests and when we do I can clean up. So much easier leaving my messy projects out and shutting the door rather than trying to clean them up all the time.
I do have a tiny studio, and we have talked of building a bigger one, but I like being in the house, especially when the kids are home. Maybe when we don't need the space and the kids are out of the house, I will have a space to go to! Ha, ha, maybe not.
I often dream of having an 'outside the house studio', but I know I wouldn't work as well there. I work best in fits and starts, so the distractions of being at home give me productive things to accomplish during those necessary brain- and body-pauses from work.
At least this is what I tell myself!
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