Stuff: Two Perspectives

We have in our possession two beautiful and inspirational books, which exemplify two radically different approaches to "stuff". One is "A Perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life" by Mary Randolph Carter; the other is Axel Vervoordt's "Wabi Inspirations"

I suspect most of us are living somewhere in the happy medium gray area. The top picture makes my head spin, but the table at the bottom one isn't even being used! Am I right? Put that table to work!

The designer in me craves simplicity, cleanliness and being able to appreciate the integrity and beauty of the objects I live with unvarnished with "stuff". It's also nice to feel like there is room to move around and the place isn't all "junked up" as my Dad would say. You don't want your things to overtake you, and overpower your psyche; which they can. or to put it another way, You don't want the dress to wear you. Too much stuff can make you feel like your drowning; like you can't breathe and your executive can functions grow somewhat diminished.

But the artist in me likes to leave everything out, mostly so I know what I have to work with; and I like to keep all my pencils and pastels out on the table because I'm never really done using them. And I don't want to be. I want them to be there at the ready for when inspiration strikes. Its too tedious to put everything away and pull everything out time and time again. Pff! Then you become more like a trained animal and less like a creator. "The perfectly kept house..." book features a picture of Alexander Calder's studio/workshop and it's a fabulous shot. He's working away, happily surrounded by a storm of visual ephemera of his own creation.

 

Perhaps the solution is to have two spaces - if you can - dedicate one to keep calm and clean where you can relax and breathe like a human being, and the other to the storm of creative assemblage and destruction where you can breathe like an artist. (and leave everything out!)

ciao,

lauren