Processfest Day 1

[jjtaylor]

It's the first day of processfest ! Share your creative process.

Today's prompt: Where do you create? What does your work space look like?

Tell us all the details. Take pictures if you'd like. And I don't want to hear any diminishing comments like "It's just a desk" or "It's just my computer." It's not JUST anything. It's yours, and we are hungry creators who want to know everything about how other creators work. Have more than one creative space? Share them all!



To participate, share your contribution in the prompt post for the day, and if you'd like, link back to this community in your own space.

What you want to share doesn't fit the prompt? Don't worry, link to it anyway! All that matters in the end is that we keep talking about how we do what we do - and that we keep creating.

Comments

[pennyplainknits]

This is my work space for podfic



(including the cat!)

I'd rather be comfy and the head mic allows me to sit on the sofa to record, rather than sit at a table (as I'd need to with a standing mic). I read off my iPad so i put the laptop on the floor.

For writing, my work space is pretty much anywhere- I write in a notebooks, longhand, so often it's the train, or the lunch room at work, or, in summer, outside in the garden.

[jjtaylor]

That looks so cozy!!

[pennyplainknits]

It is! It makes such a difference being able to record on the sofa, I had such bad neck aches when I had to record at the dining table

[turlough]

All work spaces should include a cat :-)

[jelazakazone]

For quilting, I have a whole huge room with shelves, and a table for cutting, and my machine is in a cabinet. I like to have my laptop on the cabinet while I'm sewing so I can "watch" something. In this picture, I've got a mug of tea too. I also have a design wall so I can play with things as I go.

[jjtaylor]

What an awesome space!!

[jelazakazone]

I am insanely spoiled. I don't have a way to take a picture of the whole room, but it's great because I can have friends over and still have room to work. I love to collaborate and work alongside people. I think I need a couch or a Murphy bed, but haven't figured out how to get one in this space ... yet :D

[reflectedeve]

My work space can usually be any quiet, comfortable spot (access to hot beverages and a flat surface preferable) where I can hole up with my laptop, headphones, and sketchbook for long hours at a time. I value portable tools; over the years, between being an off-campus college student on a very residential campus, and commuting around a city, it always helped to be able to work wherever I could catch some spare time. While I appreciate the idea of a dedicated work space, and did regularly use a studio space during part of my time at grad school ... ultimately it hasn't seemed necessary. I can usually "create" that sense of a work space with the right elements and tools.

I greatly prefer cafes for doing things like writing and brainstorming; something about the public, bustling space is energizing (without being too distracting, since the other patrons are generally strangers and I can be alone in the crowd). I like drawing in them sometimes too, although sometimes to properly get into the kind of groove where I can work for hours (comics take so long!), I'm more comfortable in my own home, with podfic or a tv show marathoning in the background. And sometimes I need to take a lot of embarrassing reference photos of myself, so that requires privacy! ;)

Maybe I'll post a picture of my favorite cafe later (I've been drawing there off and on for twelve years!) I think I'm going there to get a few things done after work. Meanwhile, I've just moved into a new apartment, so I don't have my home workspace set up yet. I inherited a small drawing table (the kind that tilts diagonally) from a classmate when I moved back down from Vermont. I've never used one before, but I want to give it a try, because I have a tendency to hunch too much! I have it set up right against the back window of my little bedroom, which gets gorgeous afternoon light and looks out onto the neighbors' pretty backyard. I'll hang a selection of original artwork (mostly by friends) right above it and prop my laptop nearby.

... but I need a desk chair, so for now I've been working on my bed, just spreading everything out over the comforter. Laptop, sketchbook, Bristol, pens & pencils, reference materials, etc etc, and a mug of tea.

[jjtaylor]

Yay portability!

[jjtaylor]

My creative creating space: http://jjtaylor.dreamwidth.org/423506.html

[jelazakazone]

Oooh, that is a really lovely space. I am still working on putting my stamp on my room. Still working on a proper name (currently thinking of it as the Fab Lab, but not totally settled on that either), still working on decorating the walls, although at the moment I have 13 art quilts on my design wall, so it doesn't exactly feel empty:)) I want to get some of those wall stickers. Having the laptop and space heater have been really helpful for me. I love having internet access in my creative space :D

[ampersandjay]

Looks like such a great space to MAKE things in! I would love to one day have a dedicated spot, though I would probably just end up staking out a couch cushion anyway

[reflectedeve]

Jealous forever. :)

[mistresscurvy]

I create basically anywhere I can use either my iPhone or gdocs (although I will also write in a text program on my laptop in locations where I don't have wifi). I write on my phone on the subway most days, especially when I'm in the middle of a story, and then either at work on my work computer or wherever I bring my laptop. I love writing on trains, there's something about having a finite amount of time and limited internet access that makes it easier for me to focus. If I'm at home, I usually write on my couch, with my back up against one arm of the couch and my legs outstretched in front of me.

I would love to have a space that's designated for writing and writing only, but I also really value being able to write in multiple locations, because it means that when I have ideas or get pieces of dialogue in my brain, I don't have to wait to write it out, I can just start. But creating a space that's JUST for writing is definitely on my wishlist, because I also want to carve out a dedicated daily practice of writing, rather than just writing when inspired.

[reflectedeve]

Mmm, yes, writing on the go! I used to have my best inspirational moments on (subway) trains ... although once or twice, when I was standing up amidst the press of rush-hour traffic, I had to dive off at a random station so I could go scribble things down. ;)

Maybe the ideal is to have both that kind of on-the-go practice and the dedicated space/practice. Inspiration and discipline both!

[gorgeousnerd]

My creating space! It's about a third of my bedroom, but also wherever I choose to be.

[ampersandjay]

My writing space is pretty much wherever my laptop is, which 99% of the time is sitting on the couch (which is now Christmafied. Hooray for more twinkles). I sometimes sit at the desk or kitchen table when I'm doing Serious Writing that requires Sitting Upright, but the vast majority of my work gets done curled up on the couch with some food or drink on the coffee table in easy reach.

My work space...

[k_a_webb]

Sorry it's a bit late. http://moonwolf.dreamwidth.org/73664.html

[piscaria]

Hope it's okay that I'm coming in late!

Once upon a time, my husband and I lived in a four-bedroom house in eastern Washington, where I had the entire basement as a creative space. Then we had a number of difficult conversations, hammering out exactly what it was we wanted to get out of life. As a result, we donated most of our crap and moved across the state to a one-bedroom apartment in the Seattle area. Instead of a basement, I have this desk, which I share with my husband (I keep slipping up and referring to it as my desk, which shows how well that's working . . .)




I'm trying to get better about clearing my stuff off when I'm not actually using it, but I'm not there yet. Not at all. You can see that I have my computer, mic, pop filter, incense burner, and water bottle on the desk, even though I'm actually not writing or podficcing at the moment. For shame. The sunlamp on the left side of the desk usually hangs out on the printer, but I had to set it on the desk to scan something earlier. The messy bookshelves split the long, rectangular room into two distinct spaces, the office area and the den. Blocking off the space like that made the apartment feel a lot more functional. It also gives any overnight guests who camp out on our couch a bit more privacy. The piece of paper hanging above the desk is a list my husband made of qualities he wants and does not want in a potential job. Since we moved the desk to this area, I have been resisting the urge to take it down and hang up the collection of artwork I'm used to having above the desk (you can see some of that artwork hanging out on our bookshelf). But since I am such a space hog about the desk itself, I think I should at least let him have his list on the wall.

If I need a lot of space, which I often do for work, I spread out on the dining room table instead. My aunt gave it to us, and we refinished it before we moved here, stripping off the dark stain so that we'd have something that would fit in the bright, modern apartment we live in now. This table is great for a small space because the sides can fold up or down. Most of the time, we have them both down since there are only the two of us, but it's handy to be able to pull one of them up when I need more room. This is where I do most of my sewing or crafting. I got tired of fighting with my cat over who got to sit in my chair, so I pulled an extra one over for him.



Aside from space, the other advantage of working at the table is the view. We've got a great view of the harbor and the bay.

[alba17]

OMG, that view! I'm dying. Also, cute kittie. :)

[alba17]

I found out about this from jelazakazone and I thought it sounded fun and interesting. Here's my post showing my work spaces.

[dira]

My workspace: http://dira.dreamwidth.org/679396.html

[ilthit]

Writing:
- At the library, on my laptop. When I really need to focus, the library is the best place. My favourite is the Töölö library. It's far enough away from everything to be quiet during the days. There's always a seat available in the second floor, by the windows that open to an equally quiet park. There's a lot that goes into making it the perfect place, aside from availability, view, and lack of crowds: the desks are set far enough apart that you have privacy; your back is never facing a corridor where people move behind your back; the seat is neither uncomfortable nor so comfortable you'll get sleepy; the view from the checkout desk to your desk is blocked; it's not a "reading area" so nobody cares if you bring snacks; there's nothing so interesting outside that you'd feel like taking a break and going window-shopping, for example. It's perfect, and I only wish it was closer to where I live. They'll start renovating it next summer, so I'll have to find a new favourite, but the downstairs of the biology campus library does also have some quiet nooks, and I've managed to create a private bubble even inside the cavernous modern nonsense that is the university's central library. The trick is to treat the ridiculous flat sofa like a mattress: kick off your shoes, sit cross-legged, and balance the laptop on your calves like you would in your own bed.
- In my own bed, cross-legged, like I am right now.
- In the living room, on the sofa.
- If I can't go to the library and really need to focus: kitchen table. The chair is uncomfortable enough to keep me alert when I'm not really feeling up to writing, but must.
- If I'm really fired up: Everywhere I can get to a keyboard, including commute, coffee shops (which I usually judge too noisy), at work.
- I use Scrivener to compose and store university-related texts, which I export and (depending on assignment) edit to look prettier on LibreOffice (or Word if I want headings that will translate to .doc, but then I need to use the uni PC lab). I have not made the transition to Scrivener when it comes to fiction, and still prefer to compose short stories on LibreOffice and then store them on Scrivener. This is the opposite of how you're supposed to use Scrivener, but it works for me. And Scivener is RIDICULOUSLY EXCELLENT for university notes and assignments, because there's a single search button for all your material, and you can switch between notes, compare, split screen - so good!

Drawing or crafting (sewing plushies or, as a new addition, knitting):
- On the living room sofa, with a show in my ears via earbuds. I'm so hard of hearing that I need to watch the screen (to get the context or read lips/subtitles) unless I am wearing the earbuds.
- Kitchen table - but this is only for crafting that requires a flat surface at that stage, or (traditional) painting.
- I keep my needles and some other sewing necessities in a small cardboard box I can take with me on the commute, with a larger stay-at-home box which is ALWAYS in disarray, and a bag of scraps, and a pile of fabrics. Since knitting started to happen, I have a yarn basket. They're all stored on one shelf in the living room cupboard. There's another shelf for candle-making stuff, which is a new hobby shared with my partner.
- I keep my "art stuff" - papers, pens, paints, etc. - on a smaller shelf in the living room bookcase cupboard. This is also where my partner's clay has ended up.