Turning My Sheshed into an Outdoor Art Studio

Besides my illustration work, I create YardArt for myself and for a local antique shop  (James Seligs Estate Jewelery and Antiques) that consigns my glass plate flowers, totems and other upcycled goodies. I also teach others to create art to personalize their own backyard oasis, as why should all design efforts go into just the interior space of one's home? Tomorrow eve I'll be teaching here: Glass Totem Workshop

My interest in YardArt literally bloomed when we purchased a house with a third of an acre here in Windsor Connecticut. I've spent summers adding area gardens to the fairly blank canvas of a yard. Eventually buying perennials and flowers got expensive, and the labor is intense. Sore muscles convinced me to add something besides flora, something that didn't need watering, or weeding or transplanting or dividing. Pinterest provided the best answer for ideas and if you visit my Pinterest board "Cool and Exciting Garden Ideas" you'll see a plethora of beautiful upcycled DIY projects.

However, this year, my YardArt projects were taking over my studio, our dining room and Solarium as the Sheshed was in a current state of disarray, stuffed with freebie items for future object d'art as well as a dining room set waiting to be painted. It was time to clear out and re-org the Sheshed and turn it into a working outdoor art studio.

The first thing to go was a Craigslist purchase, an awning tent new in box except I took it out to examine it all, got bored and shoved it back into the shed, the tent poles were sprawled everywhere. We asked our neighbors if they could use it, yes they could! Easy peasy. Husband helped me to roll in a kitchen island I painted white that a friend gave me. Next came a Facebook Marketplace find, a white cube storage unit that was taking up space in the house.

Once everything was out and furniture in I divided the 8'x10' space into things to turn into art and items for gardening. The kitchen island is my 'drawing board' I placed my seed bomb making kit, scissors, bowls and minor hardware inside. Wood shutters, deck balusters reside next to it. The cube storage holds glass plate flowers to finish and will house my huge pile of glass gems. The dining set is in the barn now, thus freeing up extra space, I convinced my husband I would paint it before winter so his 'He-Barn' won't be stuck with it. I'm quite pleased with the result and look forward to using my outdoor art studio for some holiday upcyled projects before the cooler temps set in.  Dividing my time between two studios is a luxury I never thought I'd experience. I am grateful.

HELPFUL RESOURCES TO GET YOU STARTED ON YOUR OWN YARDART: Finding objects to upcycle into Yardart is easier than you'd think. I joined the Buy Nothing page for my town on Facebook. Residents wishing to rid themselves of something offer it up on their town's Buy Nothing (town name) page. Also Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity Restore and Savers are a treasure trove for the YardArt artist.  Craigslist is a great alternative, but with Facebook Marketplace's popularity growing, I find myself not checking it as often, Facebook is less anonymous you can check the offer's owner by reading their profile. Your local Garden Club can provide glass vases and perennials at bargain basement prices too. And let's not forget tag and estate sales.

Free planter and Impatiens I recently scored off Buy Nothing Windsor CT FacebookPage