For years I have fancied myself an artist, I’m not, but I want to be.  I can’t paint,  I can’t draw, I don’t photograph well, but I can do a number of things well, just nothing that would count as an artist.  I can cook a pretty good meal, every day of the week, on a Camp Chef.  I can craft well, not my own ideas, but I’m pretty good at embellishing others.  I love to make handmade cards, but my friends have to come up with the ideas first, I just know how to improve them.  I can sew, kind of, I can crochet, kind of.  I used to embroider and tole paint a lot, then I had kids.  I can put together a room that looks good, I can decorate for an event, I can create party favors, but still, I’m not an artist, I am a crafter.

So, surprisingly, when I told Big that I want an art studio when we finally land in one place, he didn’t bat an eye.  “Good idea,” he said.  I wonder what he knows that I don’t.  My latest obsession is found art, salvage art, upcycling.  What ever you want to call it, I am obsessed with re-purposing household goods.  There are a ton of things out there that have uses other than what they were intended for and my goal is to figure it out.  In my “house” we use a ping-pong net to hold the books on the bookshelves; we used iron pipes and couplers to create a pot/pan rack for the wall; we use mason jars for everything; we have old bus seats in our living room, but it’s not enough.

I picked up a book at my latest book store called “The Salvage Studio.”  In it, they show great ideas on how to truly re-purpose stuff that is old and outdated, from baby cribs to trophies; lamps to forks, I really want to do this.  I want to go wander through a thrift store or an antique shop and see what I could do with all the items in there.  I can’t actually buy anything, or work on a project because I have no room and no storage, but I’m hoping this might be my calling, finally an artistic side that I can actually use.  This isn’t a new obsession, but it is one that is nudging me hard right now.  I so wish I had a workshop….maybe someday.