Art Studio Re-Arrange: An Instagram Journey.

Okay, so I got my first DSLR camera last fall. While I have gotten the hang of shooting outdoors and in bright light, my inside photos, well, completely suck. For lack of a better description. I hate using the flash because it blows out the color and creates such harsh shadows. I love shooting in aperture mode, but my inside pictures are always blurry and I am way too lazy to use a tripod. I am trying so hard to figure out how to shoot Christmas lights and get the result that I want; my studio is filled to the brim with them. I rearranged things in here one random Friday night about two weeks ago... Like I was up until 3am because I was moving a 10,000 lbs bookcase and reinstalling shelves into new walls. I wanted to take pictures of my new space tonight with the lights all lit up (Okay honestly I had to turn my AC down to 69 because of all the heat the lights generate. That's not a lie.) but was disappointed with my blurry, yellow pictures. So I used my trusty old iPhone (no really, I may be the last person on the planet who still has the 3GS) and Instagram, because at least now the crappy quality is excusable.

I seriously love Christmas lights, or any type of string lights or lanterns in general. Don't know why. I think that half of my electric bill is due to the hours I spend in my studio with everything plugged in.

Changed the wall my workspace was on. Now my window (the only little one in the room) is to my right instead of behind me. I like being able to see the sun.

Such a mess. I have a lot of mediums (media??) and varnishes and glues and solvents. And Crayola crayons from lord knows when.

My $10 fake tree that I got at the thrift store: one of my all-time favorite purchases.

Bought a United States map last fall (took me a while to find one... because who sells maps anymore?? Thanks AAA.) and highlighted in yellow my ideal cross-country road trip. I will take this one day. Every time I see the map on the wall it's a reminder to work hard, because this is one goal that I want badly.

Vintage bubble lights. I don't know why I think they are so incredibly cool. But I do. 

So that's my little slice of heaven. One of the most amazing feelings for me is to walk in the door when I get home from work, say hi to the kitties, and come in here and plus everything in. It's almost symbolic; it gets the creativity flowing and kills the stress that I build up during the work day. I have also been getting back into running lately - crazy! I used to be so good about going almost every day, then got a job as the bar manager of a Mexican restaurant a few years back and ate for free... and gained 25 lbs. Damn you, chicken quesadillas. Now working a desk job and pretty much sitting for 8 hours a day doesn't help either. I actually just signed up for the Columbus half marathon in October... I must be nuts! But it's great to have goals. And I have found that any day that involves art and running sums up to a good day when I'm laying in bed at the end of the night. Okay, time to stop rambling and start arting.