Spacial Awareness: Finding a house with a studio space is what completely drove our housing search. Since my husband is also an artist, we weren’t just looking for a home with one studio; we were looking for one with two.

Suburban Switch: This neighborhood is really suburban and along with that comes people who have more time to take care of their gardens than I do. I find people’s old hydrangeas and have those around because they make great shapes. I like to keep stuff around that I want to look at and draw.

Blank Space: Since it is a small room, I do need the white space so I can focus. My drawings can be really busy and crowded so the white space is really important to me.

Sentimental Value: My favorite items on my wall are definitely things that are more emotional to me. There is a little picture of my grandmother and a Mother’s Day card from my daughter as well as a drawing she made for me.

Hoard No More: I’m kind of a “stuff” person. Our first Hampden house had bride and groom cake toppers going up the open staircase and I’d say I’ve toned it down a lot. The Christine of 2016 is far stronger than the Christine of the year 2000 as far as my ability to not hold onto everything.

Once Upon A Time: Before being a parent I was in the studio at least five days a week and now if I can get an hour in it’s great. There have been a lot of weeks where that doesn’t happen because the birthday party schedule was just too hectic, but the advantage of a home studio is that I can do 15 minutes here or there.

Mirror Image: My daughter just started spending time with me in the studio in the last three or four months. I can set her up on the floor while I paint and she also will want to paint. It’s great, if I am painting stripes, she will want to paint stripes, too.