CCGW member Carla Kaiser recommends...

We like to spread the news when we come across a book or video that we find helpful or inspiring, especially when it's relevant to artists. There is an awesome DVD produced by PBS, available at the Fulton County Public Library System and it's called Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern, a regular contributor to "O" The Oprah Magazine.

I'm not going to lie, y'all. When I first popped in the DVD, I busted out laughing because it totally seemed like a Saturday Night Live parody. But I soon noticed that Julie Morgenstern radiates a genuine passion for her work not unlike how the members of our co-op feel about our clay and glass work. Seriously. The woman is passionate about organization. She loves what she does. And its contagious.

A lot of artists have day jobs, families, physical fitness goals or active social lives and I don't know about anybody else, but sometimes I feel guilty or selfish when I leave it all behind and head to the studio. If I did all those things I "should" be doing, I'd never make it to the studio to create anything.

Morgenstern addresses this issue. She says we must first determine what is truly important to us, and organize our time and our space accordingly. She said we must be patient with ourselves when we are in a state of transition, such as moving, new job, new marriage, new baby, new divorce...whatever. She says that during times like this it is actually unproductive to try to organize because we are in a transformational phase where our lives are changing rapidly. She said its better to wait till things settle down.

Anyway, after watching this DVD I felt empowered to make the choices and actions that will point me in the direction of being organized. I even cleaned out my locker at the co-op!

We are still working on the details of getting our gallery hours officially established, but one of us is usually there by 10:30-ish on Saturday mornings. By the way, our neighbor Stone Soup Kitchen has awesome weekend brunch. And our other neighbor The Urban Gardener has an amazing selection of plants and gardening supplies.

We will have our website updated soon with all the new class schedules and photos of the new space and our work. Stay tuned, and don't forget to come to the studio and introduce yourself!