A CREATIVE SPACE

This post is part of Water Cooler Wednesday's (Randy Elrod's Cultural Watercooler Blog Carnival)

Welcome to my office... If I had known you were stopping by I would have cleaned up.

Seriously, how many of us have a space where we can be creative and be the artists we are called to be. In my years of service to the church I've had several kinds of offices. My first one was a closet--really. Then it was a Sunday school room. The next one was a bedroom in an old house that the church rented. After that it became pretty standard--the office complex. In all of these spaces I just accepted the decor, lighting and such as given and worked with it.

Not until I helped build the office plans for our new church in the Metroplex did I really stop to think about the space that I would be spending most of my life in. I had to make the most of a space that was 10'X12' with 12' ceilings. You know what they say, if you can't build out, build up. And so I did. I put shelves all the way around the top of the room and down the wall. I got so much merchandise (books) in there, it was very cozy. And to top it off, I told them no overhead lights! Yep--no overhead lights--only lamps.

Which brings me to my current space. It's an old narrow space in the office complex. Orignially meant for that part time Minister of Youth who only came in for the weekends, it is only 9X12 with a 9' ceiling. I painted it...yep! That was a no-no when I got here because everything was hospital white. I didn't think I could live in it. So I painted it a neutral tone color. And for lights--yep, I had them take out the overhead lights again. I have 7 lamps in the office including an old street lamp that we've used for a prop. You can see more pictures here

Some things I love about my office:

1. It's Unique---no other office is like it. It reflects my love of different things. You'll find different things that I've collected from years in ministry (photos, gifts, etc) and trips to different countries. It's so unique that they refer to it as the gift shop--because we usually pull props out of it for visuals in worship (ie. the old 5 panel door against my wall) I have my Dad's old Ordination Certificates hanging on the wall (from 1937) and a signed scripture by George Truett (old time Baptist preacher). One of my prized treasures is the Nativity given to me by a former church. It's up all year long in my office. Did I say that I like lamps!!!


2. It smells great..really. I have a candle warmer going at all times... sensory stuff is big to me. People come into the office and they say "what smells good?". It's Jim's office.


3. It is my sanctuary--I retreat from the world in here. With good music, good coffee and some time with God--I could stay in here for days.

Some things I don't like about my office:

1. It's not big enough. I know if I got rid of a bunch of stuff it would seem bigger--but that would have to be a BUNCH of stuff. Plus as you know in Worship Arts Ministry, things just pile up in every corner, especially in the seasons.


2. I don't have a comfortable sitting/ work area. In one of my offices I had a small love seat. It was great to move away from the desk and work or read or visit, but no such luck in subsequent offices. In the office I built I had an 8' foot window--so I built a bench underneath. I could easily fit 4 people on that bench for a meeting.


3. It's not secluded enough-- I can hear every conversation in the outer office.


4. It doesn't have a Keyboard in it. I have to go to the worship center to play out sequences or songs for planning. It would be great to have one handy to do that.

So--make your space your own creative space. Mine has been called the Den of Tranquility--laughingly posted by one of our maintenence people. I call it home!