Rearranging the Creative Workspace

Stories and art to renew your sanctuary.

For the audio version of this letter, click the play button above.▶️

Being Back

The Gregorian calendar norm is clashing with my dormant vibes right now. I get it’s January 23^rd as I write this letter, but Nature still says, “It’s the cozy Winter phase, girl.”

I’ve been treating the last few weeks since Yule as a reset and a time to focus on backend work. Honestly, that’ll probably be the intention and method to the madness until the Equinox.

I can share more in a moment, but before then, go grab yourself a mug of something delicious.

Image description: Two steaming mugs of hot beverages sit on a windowsill with a blurred autumn background.

The Trifecta of Workspaces

I will fully admit that my creativity felt stifled by the odd flow in this space. It’s less than 150 square feet, with a funky diagonal wall, so it means the spatial layout and organization is a nice little puzzle. Granted, I am eternally grateful to even have a space, because I’ve worked on a floor, dining table, or moved a drafting table around apartments, in the past.

Sure, it was good enough for setting up a table for painting in here, but after increasing my supplies over the last couple of months—I’ll tell you why in upcoming letters—it was driving me a little bananas.

Luckily, I had an old island butcherblock top to repurpose and now it has sturdy legs on it. And, ta da! My nook has three stations: for painting and drawing, sewing, and admin. I’m also proud of this new, sturdy AF, table because not only is it solid, but I stained the legs a vivid green. Scrumptious.

Image description: A row of four butterflies, of various colors and patterns, are arranged against a white background in tints of green, gold, and darker patches of black and blue.

Feeling Good About the Change

There are some bonuses to rearranging a workspace every once in a while:

• You get to go through supplies, accessories, processes, and even inspirational pieces, to figure out how (or if) they’re useful now.

• The energetic flow changes. What might’ve felt stagnant has a fresh look or feel, and each precious square foot has a renewed purpose.

• Finally, you get to assess the entire nook from not only a creative perspective, but a business perspective. What works, what doesn’t, why, and then you tweak.

I’m excited to use the new space as-is, once things are completely organized. When rearranging both horizontally and vertically, there’s a plethora of feelings or thoughts, from “meh,” to panic, to “Where am I going to put this?… And this?… And what about this?” It’s a process.

I think there’s a fine line between constantly rearranging things, or life, because we’re scared of doing something unknown vs. finding what’s aligned and works for us. That being said, no one can tell us how to operate. Yes, suggestions can be useful, but in the end, it also helps to go with our gut.

Once my sewing machine returns from The Land of Servicing, I’ll be back at it. The rag quilts I talked about in the last letter, pre-Yule, were a beefy project, and I didn’t want to carry lint, dust, or anything problematic, into what I’m creating from here on out.

I can pretty much guarantee that this work setup will lead to a higher success rate. Bring on the new, while releasing the old.

I hope you have a beautiful Imbolc and I’ll chat with you soon~

Virginia

Identities: she/her, lesbian, sapphic
MSW/CSW-PIP

www.femininesagewisdom.com