Time to Reinvent - a New Studio and StencilGirl Project

 Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by my little (recently quite quiet) creative corner!

Today's post is not just  a kind of update on my creative journey that has come to a sort of halt last autumn but also an invite over to the StencilGirl Talk blog, where I am sharing a new project (slowly getting back into the saddle it seems) and tutorial but also a short video tour around my new studio in my new countryside home at Lake Atter! 

We're keeping our Vienna home and my studio there too - so moving in the house and setting up another studio from scratch there is quite a challenge - especially as I need to decide which materials and tools to leave in Vienna and which ones to move to the new studio in the countryside. 

Deciding which of these to take to the house or leave in the flat still is a challenge I need to meet. Generally I find it hard to nail criteria for dividing stash by as it means you need to know first which kind of projects you will prefer to do in one spot and which in the other. But how do you do this without the feeling of limiting down yourself in both places? 

(impressions from the new studio - more details in the video over at StencilGirl's blog)

So far I have come to the conclusion assumption that I will rather do nature-inspired projects in the new countryside studio and focus on Distress and stencil techniques in the city studio...but what to do with the stencils that are nature themed for example?...I think I will have some items that will need to travel in the future. ;) 

 For now I have put together a kind of base equipment that will allow me to tackle a variety of themes and project types with some of my favourite techniques, inks, paints and products, but I also re-discovered items while browsing my stash that I had either forgotten about or that were among my first acquisitions when I started this hobby and got (mentally) replaced by newer ones over the years. I found these were well worth using again - so I hope they will get to be loved again in the new studio. In the last years I slipped into the habit of "needing" - needing to try out this new product or that new technique or theme...which led to some themes or loved items slipping out of focus...some having been real loves of mine. 

I re-discovered a lot of old texture and nature themed stamps that have been accumulating dust in some forgotten corners in my studio. By forgetting about these I also forgot of themes and project types that fuelled my imagination in the first place...and that still do. 

I have also been feeling lately that I've reached a kind of dead-end with my creativity in many ways - maybe that happened because I somehow lost track of the creative path I originally started on but then found myself trying out too many side trails at once and also designers highways where the urge of new high speed impressions replaced in-depth adventures and a journey that would lead to myself rather than to feeding the "needs" artificially created by something quite shallow - something that is ruled by online marketing thoughts and strategies and not needs of a creative spirit. 

So I am quite thankful for the health crises I am struggling with at the moment, as that forces me to think over a lot of things and re-invent myself and the way of how I want to live my creative side. Setting up a new studio in a new home that also brings me a lot of joy and inspiration from the beautiful nature it is surrounded by is the perfect help! 

  

The new project for StencilGirl was done in the Vienna studio though (remember - stencils stay there or will travel with me) - and gladly it was a project that brought back my joy in creating after the long break, too. Just me, myself, the beautiful designs, my favourite DecoArt paints and products and the joy of playing with colours and putting together something new to use in my new studio! 

 I hope you will visit the StencilGirl Talk blog too to take the short studio tour and check out the tutorial for this desk tidy! 

Stay safe!

Claudia

xxx