I Steal It For a Reason

I admit it.  I steal things...from my own kitchen that is and from around my own house. Sometimes I return them, really.


In a world filled with gadgets and goodies, the kitchen tools I have appear to be more useful in my art studio than in my kitchen (where I do not like to spend much time).  I can find a double use for many items that are found objects right inside my own home. They often end up staying in the studio for my use instead of what they are really intended for in purpose.

If you are an artist or creative person you already have a natural tendency to look around and imagine items to be of multiple uses.  Your imagination never seems to stop and your ideas become helpful in producing your art.  These adaptions can make your work more appealing, produced more effectively, or even created more uniquely. 

A creative person naturally has many supplies on hand based on their art form or certain pet projects.  When specific supplies are not readily available, too expensive or just not worth it to own...imagination kicks into high gear.  Creative people are inventive people.   They often ask themselves how they can get a specific job done in a more interesting way.  They wonder, how they can put a spin on a project at hand and make it unique.

One way that I obtain unique tools, and resources needed for a project is by raiding garage, kitchen and other more unexpected places around my own home.  There are treasures I have found and tools yet to be discovered that could have a double use in the art studio.  I have discovered useful supplies in storage containers, children's toy boxes, junk drawers, husband's tool box, or in plain sight.



Food processor- for chopping up dry clay!



The large knitting needle for example is a tool that I stole from myself (another project) but, it serves me better as a clay smoother .  I just need a different one now as the tool I need to knit with yarn.  I use bamboo skewer sticks from kebabs for piercing holes into my raw beads for a stringing hole.  The recent gem acquired from the kitchen was the food processor.  I have now confiscated that for use in conditioning dry clay to bring it back to pliable standards.  The cutting board was long gone once I discovered I used it more in the studio than the kitchen anyway.  The pasta machine- although it is a staple item for the clay artist to use on a daily basis, was first taken from a kitchen and now we all use it to remove air bubbles from clay. These type adaptions are making my life easier.



At the moment, I am in the process of gathering items of use with great textures.  Because I will be starting a new item line and will be exploring and incorporating many different types of textures in my upcoming projects, the hunt around my home is becoming more intense.  So far, I have gathered many small treasures.  I think I will start a "texture box" for all of my little found treasures.  Are you ready to look around for double duty objects that can help your creativity grow?