Play date for the grown-ups




Give me your...cast off glass tchochkes and epoxy?  Pamela is incapable of taking a bad picture, even when she's clowning. 

  When I was a little kid, I wanted a play room.  I imagined it would be filled with all the fabulous plastic toys my friends had, and I did not.  Having some taste, I also imagined it would have a beautiful, ornate puppet theater with hand carved marionettes, a ballet barre and mirror (with about an acre of wide open floor for dancing), and a collection of art glass kaleidoscopes.  The other half of the room would have all the art supplies sold at Ryder Brothers Stationery, The Idea Shoppe, Baker Printing and Lithography, and the basement of Levinger's Drug Store, all combined.  (I never did dream small.)  Alas, my parents did not own a mansion with one wing devoted entirely to my amusement.  Oh, wait, did I include the mermaid pool with waterfall and grotto?  Yeah, well, I didn't have that either.

Now that I'm a grown-up, I still don't live in a mansion, but I do have a play room (the back parlour turned art studio), a dance room (the master bedroom turned home gym, including ballet barre and mirror), and I am in the process of officially turning the dining room into a second dedicated art space, since I do more fun crafting than fine dining.  I used to jokingly call it the studio annex, but who am I kidding?  Most days there is at least one project overflowing onto the dining table, and a second table in the corner is a permanent art journaling station.  Rather than having a dining room that converts to art space, I'm setting it up as art space that looks like, and can function as, a dining room.

Although the room already has a buffet, I needed more storage for art materials, so I relocated the piano to the livingroom, and moved this dresser down from the bedroom. 

It worked perfectly this Saturday, when I had the fun of hosting an art day for a handful of my grown-up friends.  I invited them to bring a project to work on, or to poke around in my supplies and books, and find something to try.  I promised a big pot of soup on the stove, and all the instruction I could provide.  Three rules:  Keep your shoes on (to keep your socks clean, and your tootsies safe from fallen objects); Don't eat anything I serve if you don't like it (or I might serve it to you again); and No children under 18 (so the grown-ups will play, instead of helping the kids). 



Cat is planning to add a beaded glass fringe "skirt", and arms made of glass Christmas drops to her garden lady.  She's also planning to cook the soup for January's gathering.  Mm-mm good!

 The idea started a couple of months ago, with Cat, who admired a stacked glass garden sculpture of a woman at the Jordan Art Festival, and wanted to hire me to teach her how to make one.  Another friend chimed in then, and a few others have mentioned wanting to try this craft or that, but not wanting to invest in a bunch of supplies for a hobby they may not really take up.  Thus, our Second Saturday Studio Club was formed.  I provide the space and materials, and a pot of soup, and they bring nibbles to share if they want.  I don't charge for instruction, as this is a gathering of friends, not a business venture.  To keep me stocked on the essentials, anyone who uses a large quantity of something that I didn't acquire for free, pitches a few bucks into the kitty.




We ran out of epoxy before Mary got her garden spire glued, and in fact the design morphed into something even prettier than this, so I'll show you that next month.

  We had a blast.  A few of the gals had last minute things come up and couldn't make it, but those that did were already planning next month's project an hour into this one.  Most of them followed Cat's lead on the glass sculpture, though Darla chose to start a china mosaic table top, to be used as a Christmas decoration.  Most of the others are planning to try mosaic next month. 



Darla made a good start on her mosaic project.  While they can go quickly, if you just want a random patchwork look, something like this Christmas tree, with bead garland, takes a little longer to design and execute.

 I had thought I would work on something myself, but instead spent the time assisting, advising, trouble shooting, digging for materials, and locating the soup ladle.  I wouldn't have had it any other way.  It was so much fun helping them with their creations!  Besides, I get to make stuff in my play room practically every day...in all my play rooms...my whole house full of play rooms...including the one in which I am in the process of sculpting a water sprite, stepping out from a mural of a grotto ( I had honestly forgotten until just this moment that this was a childhood wish...love that)! 

Dream big, dearhearts, and don't forget to notice when your fondest wishes come true!  My blessings are great, and I am grateful.

Want help rethinking the spaces in your home to better suit your lifestyle?  I offer interior design consultation for this sort of thing, along with splashing paint in artistic ways.  You can chek out my portfolio and the information about hiring me on my website at theartofthehome.com.

Questions or comments?  You can leave them here by clicking on the word "comments" below, or email me at dawnmariedelara@gmail.com.