The Impact of a Well-Organised Art Space on Creativity and Productivity
How Organisation Ideas For Artists Can Help You Create Better Artwork
In many ways, the creative life is, both literally and figuratively, a dream life. Your task as an artist is to imagine and wonder, to experiment and explore, to craft and conjure. And it may seem as if there is very little overlap between the life of the imagination and the life of the ordinary and mundane. It may seem as if the true artist should have very little time for or interest in the more workaday details of life, such as organising a workspace or setting up an efficient storage system.
The reality is designing a smart, orderly art space is one of the surest and most effective ways to maximise your productivity as well as your creativity. We’ll show you why having a well-organised art space matters and offer tips to ensure that your studio is primed for inspiration and efficiency.
The Perks of an Organised Space
Creativity and clutter aren’t necessarily incompatible. Some artists thrive on the challenge and the thrill of drawing order from chaos. Thus, some disorder in your art space may be beneficial, particularly if you find yourself excited and inspired by the stimuli of myriad colours, shapes, and textures surrounding you. There is, however, a point where disorder becomes a distraction and your art space begins to detract from rather than contribute to your work.
Research shows, for example, that cognitive loads are amplified in cluttered spaces, particularly when it comes to processing visual stimuli. When distractor objects are suppressed such as by clearing the space of unnecessary or unhelpful items, the brain can more readily focus its attention on a specified target.
In other words, it can find, process, and recognise the visual input it’s receiving more quickly and with less cognitive effort. In practical terms, this means that you’re going to be able to work more efficiently and with less effort. You’ll optimise your creative flow because the visual space around you will be easier to process, navigate, and utilise.
Organisation Ideas For Artists
Find The Right Environment
When it comes to creating a well-organised and productive art space, the first and most important step is to establish where exactly this environment will be. What’s your vision of the ideal workspace and how can you realistically achieve it? If your budget allows, you may want to invest in some kind of rented art workshop, but an art studio from home is equally as useful. It may be that you need to have an external site to produce really messy and ambitious work, or you may be someone who relies on the convenience of working from home.
There’s no singular space that works for everyone. So don’t be afraid to test out a few options to find the one that makes you feel the most calm, content, and creative. The best organisation ideas for artists are the ones that suit your personal preferences.
Designing The Art Space
Designing the ideal art space can feel overwhelming at first, especially as you dive into the process of sorting and categorising your materials. This is likely where you’ll begin the often difficult task of choosing what to keep and what to discard or donate.
The key to this process lies in determining what items are most useful in bringing your vision for your art to fruition. If an item is not necessary, truly and tangibly impactful in making your artistic vision a reality, get rid of it. The goal is to fill your art space with objects that have a definitive purpose, that contribute meaningfully and directly to your work.
This means that the materials in your art space will consist of the practical tools of your trade and those items that inspire you. As for those objects that have no real practical or artistic benefit for you any longer; it can be donated to enrich someone else’s life. Even seemingly useless items, from old CDs to empty toner cartridges, can be turned to someone’s good by reputable charities with the resources and know-how to meet the need. Make sure to recycle and safely/sensibly dispose of clutter that cannot be repurposed.
Art Storage
For completed art pieces or items that you don’t regularly use; safe and secure storage is a good option. This enables you to declutter your workspace while also creating a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing exhibition space as you display only your best items. When it comes to storing art pieces such as paintings, there are several considerations to bear in mind. You will need a storage space that is climate controlled, ensuring that your pieces are maintained at the appropriate temperature and humidity level. It’s also critical that paintings are secure from pests and shielded from direct sunlight.
Create Designated Zones
In addition to determining your vision for your space and eliminating anything that doesn’t contribute directly to its achievement, it’s also important to create discrete zones in your space. This will maximise the functionality of your space, as you define specified areas for particular tasks and outfit those spaces accordingly.
Workstations
Some artists have very expansive practices that involve a variety of different techniques. To maximise productivity and organisation, there should be certain areas for each of these tasks, if space allows. What this means is that every zone is crafted for optimal utility. You’ll have the tools you need close at hand. All the materials you need to perform a designated task, such as soldering a stained glass project, are close by and well-ordered. Having dedicated workstations removes any interruptions and keeps artists in the flow of making, whilst preserving the tidiness of the studio.
Organised Storage
Perhaps the most important part of creating an organised workspace is utilising proper storage. Once this system is up and running for a decent period of time, you’ll move around your space grabbing what you need without even thinking. Establishing designated storage and work zones is a technique many professional artists use in their own studios to keep the creative juices flowing by ensuring everything they need is close at hand.
Getting Technical
In this great age of digitalisation, it’s probably going to come as no surprise that the digital domain would have an important place in a well-organised art space as well. Whether you work digitally or not; these organisation ideas for artists should extend to your laptop or PC.
Creating digital images of your art or digitialising your financial records, from expenditures to income, can offer immense insight, both commercially and creatively. Best of all, by unleashing the power of machine learning, you can more effectively define and tap into your target market. You can better determine, for instance, who your target client is, what items they are most likely to be interested in, and when they are most likely to buy.
A machine learning tool can help you, for instance, match the right painting or sculpture included in your digital inventory with the most promising buyer on your client list. This not only enables you to increase your sales, but it can also make storage and inventory management easier. Instead of displaying vast numbers of completed works in your art space, you may safely store them offsite, while at the same time reaching out to prospective clients digitally for private exhibitions.
If you’re a digital artist, you’re definitely going to need to organise your digital space. Correctly label your file and folder names so they’re easily accessible, free up storage by deleting unnecessary documents and make sure to back up your data.
The Takeaway
A well-organised art space is more than a luxury. It’s a necessity for any artist seeking to maximise their creativity and productivity. An orderly space makes it easier to focus by calming the mind. On a more practical level, an uncluttered and well-organised area with designated work zones ensures that the materials you need are always at hand. Meanwhile, digitalisation and the enormous power of machine learning enable artists to bolster not only their productivity but also their cost efficiency. So if you’ve been struggling to get into a productive routine of creativity, it might be time to finally organise both your physical and digital space.
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