We spent the morning building this awesome work table. AND, we earned loads of good karma for upcycling! The table top is an old piece of formica counter top that was used on a kitchen island so both sides are rounded. We covered it in canvas which took Forever. Eternity. Tedious. But it is perfect! The canvas will keep the clay from sticking and the formica won't suck moisture out of the clay - it is a perfect marriage! A lot of the wood was actually 2x4 studs from a wall we took out in the studio. The shelf is made from the door that was in the wall we knocked down.
Once the table was complete, I painted for a while... or until I ran out of paint. Then I made my way to the glaze ingredients shelves. There are a lot of dangerous chemicals on these shelves and the plastic bags are hard to see. They fall over and off the shelves and when I am mixing glazes they are a pain in the rump to get in and out of. I decided to transfer my materials to airtight plastic storage and labeled everything with my P-touch. It is so much easier to see what I have and I feel like it is so much more secure. I discovered during this process that I had double bought several chemicals because I couldn't find anything before.
BEFORE
AFTER
Finally, I'll show something that is almost embarrassing. As I said before, I am happy in clutter a long time, but when I decide to get organized, I tend to go a little overboard... hence the P-touch labeler. On all of my glaze buckets, I have a huge label. I type up the formula in Word and create a table. The first two columns are the glaze formula. The next column is what is takes to make 5 gallons, then 1/2 a bucket, and finally a test batch. This label goes on test batches of glaze, full buckets, and anything else glaze lands in. I know it is a little bit crazy, but I always know where my glaze formulas are!
6 comments:
Getting organized feels great -congrats on your new work table and glaze organization. I got my best man to make me a shipping table today with slots for tissue, newsprint, and boxes sorted by size. Monday I load it all up -I can't wait!! Silly, huh?!?
Wow - it's looking good - I could take lessons from you!
Its exciting starting in a fresh studio space, making a home for everything from the get-go. Will make a world of difference to your productivity. Love the use of recycled parts for your table.
I started a studio organization project last year and abandoned it part way through - this gives me incentive to get back to it! Love your glaze labeling system...no more searching through piles of paper for that one that your wrote all the calculations on.
Sounds like this was a big project. With organization I find the work in the front end. Once every item has a home the time savings is amazing.
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