Dear Reader Annski asked me about the house plans that she spied under the cuttings on my desktop.
I've been meaning to post about this, since I had some Dear Readers thank me so profusely for the tip about tidy gluing.
The 'house plans' are actually old blueprints from my brudder-in-law's engineering firm.
And they serve a wonderful purpose in my studio.
I use a 70" x 30" table for my workdesk.
These blueprints are about 23" x 33".
I remove the (very large) staples that hold the prints together and set them upside down in the center of my workdesk.
That leaves space on both ends of the table for the art supplies I like to keep handy.
The blueprints function like a giant sheet of scrap paper.
I doodle on them.
I make little puddles of glue on them.
I drip bits of paint.
I cut up little pieces of paper.
And when I've created a nice big mess, I roll it all up in the top sheet of paper, toss it out, and voila!
I have a nice clean sheet waiting right underneath it.
I can no longer imagine working without this pad of paper on my desk.
When I got down to my last sheet recently, I called the Prince in a panic.
He called my brudder-in-law, who sent home so many large rolls of plans that Miss Helping Hands (who is working for him this summer) had to have help loading and unloading her car.
Ahhhh.
If you work at a table that can handle these, I strongly suggest buttering up an engineer who is in your circle of friends and snagging some old plans.
Or, if you're in the area, call me.
The little girls who guard my supply have been instructed to share with my friends.
It's recycling.
And it's wonderful.