#reverb12 Day 7: What will you take with you?

What's the one thing you want to take with you into 2013?


There are a lot of things I want to take with me into the new year. I have explored many new types of art and have enjoyed setting up not just one but 4 studios to work in because of that exploration. I now have a sewing studio with a nice comfortable place to sit and read, draw or just watch the birds that like to play at my window. That is where I get many of my new ideas for art projects or sewing projects. It is where I can work on the computer and put together the necessary project list for my classes I take or teach. It is a place where I can watch new 'how to' videos. It is a place to daydream and sometimes I even do some sewing there.

My other indoor studio is what my hubby calls my 'project room'. Here is where I store my myriad of art supplies, my fabric for sewing, my ephemera I have collected over the years and has a window that lets in wonderful light and a lovely view of my garden with some of the yard art visible I have a tall table in there with a comfortable stool with a back so I can work sitting or standing. I have a smaller table as a secondary work space, shelves to store all my hundreds of books, books are a weakness of mine, and stacked file holders for my art and sewing magazines, another weakness right up there with books.
One night, actually it was the wee hours of the morning, when I was trying to burn the edges of pages that had encaustic wax on them and I feared I would set the smoke alarm off I had an idea to set up a 'smelly' studio. I created it on one side of the garage for the work I like to do that creates a smell and smoke/fumes I do not want in the house, like burning fabric or paper and many other smelly projects. This is where I have done most of all my yard art and where I work with Ellen when she comes for an 'art retreat' since we do a lot of smelly or messy work.

And my favorite is my 'redneck studio'. I took the name from Ellen since she had a red neck studio first. She called her's that because it was a space on the side of her garage where the dog house sat. She worked on top of the dog house when she needed a table. I loved the idea of it so created my own with a piece of out door plywood on top of a set of saw horses. It is where I do my really heavy duty messy stuff like with concrete.This winter we hope to add a dry sink out there so I can use it to clean when working instead of up against the house with the garden hose.

So I will be taking all of my studios and supplies with me into the new year but the thing I will cherish the most and take with me are the relationships I have formed with new and old friends and the companionship of my wonderful husband who supports me to the utmost in all I endeavor to do. He is my biggest helper, supporter and fan and loves  everything I do. I can't even imagine life without him. Here is a poem I wrote in 2007 dedicated to him. It is so appropriate.

My Life, My Friend, My Love 

You are my reason for living,
my reason for taking a breath.
I made a promise to love you,
until we part in death.

Together we built a good life,
here on God's green earth.
Respecting each other's privacy,
knowing what each is worth. 

We have become one together,
reading the other's mind.
Memories we share over the years,
these are the ties that bind.

I will always love you
You are my very best friend 
If ever you would leave me 
my heart would never mend

You are my reason for living,
you are the reason I breathe.
I will love you always,
until the end of my days.

Darlene Sperber