slice of life tuesday :: work

This is my desk. I am spending a lot of time at this desk these days. It’s not perfect. I see the mess, stacks of paper, the extraneous wires and cords. But this is a slice of my life right now. And there’s beauty to be found here.

I always love peeking into other people’s homes and seeing their work spaces and studios, so I thought I’d share what my slice of life looks like this Tuesday:

1. “Live What You Love” letterpress print from Hijirik Studio. This has been my motto this year.
2. The world.
3. Pretty folders. I love color (if you couldn’t tell) and manila folders depress me. If I’m going to have to be organized, I might as well use things that I’ll like to look at every day.
4. The nifty fifty. My fave lens.
5. Sour apple blow pop, courtesy of White House Custom Color (my photo lab). They include a blow pop or Tootsie Pop with every delivery, which I think is a nice touch and comes in handy when I’m having a sugar craving.
6. Stack of papers, waiting to be sorted. Every time I get through a stack, another one appears. I guess this is proof that I’m officially a grown-up.
7. My beloved iPhone.
8. Hand-painted kitchen table, re-purposed to use as a desk. I bought it from a friend for about $40 when I moved to Seattle and was living in a studio apartment. I needed something that could double as a kitchen table/desk. I love how big it is and of course, I love that it is colorful.
9. My beloved MacBook. Where the magic happens. 
10. Speaker for listening to music. I gotta have music or I’ll go insane!
11. My hard drives. I have two, but will soon run out of space again. It may be time to graduate to a bigger system.
12. Mini inspiration board with postcard I bought at the Rodin museum in Paris, photo taken by the incomparable Lisa Field-Elliot (a.k.a. Doorways Traveler), and photo I tore out of a magazine of a chartreuse cottage surrounded by a garden of greens and pinks (my future home).
13. Garden with Sunflowers by Gustav Klimt. It looks a lot like the photo of my future home.
14. My sweetheart.
15. Funky lamp. I work with this light on and the overhead glary light off. 
16. A watercolor I did years ago. I just realized it looks a lot like the photo of my future home and the Klimt print. I’m starting to notice a theme…
17. Green pen holder and all-around “crap-cepticle”. I look at it and see mess, but within it is a scroll that was given to me on Valentine’s Day a few years ago that reads:

Love is a Magic Ray

- Khalil Gibran

Love is a magic ray
emitted from the burning core
of the soul
and illuminating
the surrounding earth.

It enables us
to perceive life
as a beautiful dream
between one awakening
and another.

I sit here now, reading the comments on yesterday’s post, planning the Slice of Life Project, looking out at the sunshiny autumn day. As I look at these things, I am full of gratitude.

This week, turn the lens on your work spaces, studios, desks, creative nooks. Find what is special or interesting about your work space, even if it is cluttered, messy, and imperfect. Dig beneath the surface and find something of beauty.

Slice of Life Tuesday is a weekly feature in which I provide a little inspiration and a gentle nudge, encouraging you to find the beauty in your everyday life. Slice of Life Tuesday is for everyone, no matter what kind of camera you have or your skill level. You are invited to share your Slice of Life photos on your blog or join the Slice of Life Tuesday Flickr Group.