Friday, January 15, 2016

Movable Walls

Some of you have asked about my movable walls.  I got this idea from Melinda Tidwell, whose work I adore.  She has a new website that is the inspiration for the re-design of my gallery site.  THANKS, Melinda!

You start with wire shelving racks, which I actually got on Amazon.  I got the ones that are 48" wide, 72" high, and 18" deep, WITH casters (wheels). 
These are easy to assemble if you have two people working on it.
Then you fasten a partial sheet of homosote,  which is a sheet of material that is similar to drywall, but much more porous, easy to stick push pins into.  It comes in 4'x8' sheets.  I used one sheet and used a 4'x4' piece on each wall.  I primed both sides before mounting.

Here is the second movable wall.  I did not tack paper over the lower part, as I did in the other one, so you can see how easily you have access to shelves beneath.  I used bolts and large washers to attach the homosote to the shelving unit.

Each unit has five big, deep shelves.

A view of the other side.
Two of these units plus a large easel are plenty for me.  As you can see, my studio has knee walls and slanted ceiling, so wall space is limited.  Hope this explains adequately.

20 comments:

  1. Great idea to have storage and block some clutter at the same time. I like having everything I can in the studio on casters. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  2. Great idea, just what I need, thanks!

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  3. Prompt and to the point. Thank you. Very helpful as all of your posts.

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  4. Thanks. I wanted to know more & you provided it!

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  5. How did you attach the homosote to the shelving? By any chance do you know the exact homosote product you used? They produce multiple products and I don't know which one you are referring to. I have tried to explore the idea of using homosote before but could not figure out which product it is people use. Thanks so much for this info!!!

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  6. How did you attach the homosote to the shelving? By any chance do you know the exact homosote product you used? They produce multiple products and I don't know which one you are referring to. I have tried to explore the idea of using homosote before but could not figure out which product it is people use. Thanks so much for this info!!!

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    1. Go to your local building supply place and look at the homosote. Tell them what it's for, and they will get you the right product. 4'x8' sheets, gray-ish brown, about 5/8" thick. Bolts, washers. Drill holes in homosote, stick bolts through, attach w/ nuts and use big washers.

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  8. Thanks so much for the info, it's a great idea!

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  9. It's a terrific idea, even for a bigger studio.

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  10. I got several sets of those shelves years ago from Sam's Club. They have been moved around the state, to the basement, the garage, and around the house. With the exception of the trip around the state I've always moved them totally full (well, had to take a few things off the top shelf to make sure things didn't bang into doorways) by simply pushing them ahead of me - no muss no fuss and they're still very stable. One is in my studio now and when I have a bigger group I just roll that into the next room along with my handy dandy Harbor Freight rolling tool cabinet (http://www.harborfreight.com/11-drawer-roller-cabinet-67421.html) and in 5 minutes I have a new area. Uh oh. I guess the secret is out. I am a sucker for good storage solutions. They make me blather on.

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  11. nice! thanks for sharing the details. i am going to see if they have shorter versions. my art space is in the basement of my house built in 1880 - people were shorter then.

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  12. Oh dear, now I have moveable wall envy. Happy New Year Jane. Looking forward to taking another of your downloadable online courses. They are terrific!
    Best, Beverly

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  13. Thanks so much for all that you share with us, Jane. You are an amazing resource!

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  14. Hi Jane
    I am wondering if you work on the vertical?
    I have only seen you work horizontally.
    I think this is a fantastic idea to have a working space as well as storage!
    It also allows a place to hang work to view from a distance as well as photograph it.
    I thank you for your old online workshops. Every time I think it would be fun to participate in a workshop, they are always full, so having some available as old ones is great.
    I really appreciate the sharing you are doing. I am pursuing the lessons in the extreme composition workshop you offered. Thanks again, I am sure I will purchase or participate in others as they become available.

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  15. Fantastic idea Jane! Thanks for sharing everything you share... it helps all of our creativity!

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  16. Great idea, Jane! I have a rack like that now. I use it to store my jewelry supplies as I no longer make jewelry. I could now use this rack for painting the way you do. Thank you for sharing! So happy!

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  17. Love this idea so much! And I'm so enjoying your online and downloadable workshops. One question...how do you attach your substrate to the homosote "wall"?

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I have had some spam comments lately, advertising of stupid stuff. So I am moderating comments until I can figure out a better way to prevent spam. THANKS!