Hello fellow creatives,
I am a grateful artist and designer and after spending the majority of my career (so far) painting murals, home accessories and furniture, I needed to rethink my back breaking work process for the health of my body. Now that my focus is on surface design and creating art for licensing on products and textiles, I might have gone the other extreme and could have become more sedentary.
About 6 months ago, I was in a slight panic. I knew I was
going to be working from my home studio again (which I was thrilled about) but
I also knew that the type of work I was going to be doing could destroy my
back, neck and shoulders if I wasn’t smart about my workplace setup. With a
history of chronic back issues from my years of painting murals, I have become hyper
vigilant about making decisions that support my body.
My first thought was that maybe I needed a new chair. I
began researching ergonomic chairs and even put some feelers out for good
referrals. There were some very helpful recommendations but all were way out of
my price range and some didn’t seem much better than what I already had. I
looked into some accessories that you can use with your existing chair and they
seemed like a nice entry-level option but there was something that was
nagging me. It was the thought of sitting for hours, even in a special chair or
with using a back-saving prop. My intuition told me there must be another way.
I switched my focus to investigating “alternative seating”
options. This included large inflated balls, knee rest models and saddle chairs.
The inflated ball had really helped when I was pregnant but didn’t work so well
with the back issues I had years later.
We also have two cats that thought it was their toy. The knee rest model
seemed like it might end up causing pressure issues in other areas and were
also expensive for the better models. The saddle chair peaked my interest and I
could see ending up with one at some point but it still didn’t seem like the
right option for now as it would still be sitting.
Hmm, no solution. Then, I listened to my intuition.
For my back and neck issues, sitting for long periods
is bad news. Really the worst thing I can do.
Standing and movement throughout the day are good. The other thought I
had was, maybe it’s not so black and white. Maybe I need a combination of
standing AND sitting in my workday. Since I had the sitting part pretty well
covered, I moved on to new research for a standing workspace.
In my situation, I found that the most time I spent doing
something was working on my computer. I also found that I had the worst seated
posture while working on my computer…double whammy. That was what I chose to
focus on for my standing work area.
In my early searching I got a bit discouraged because most
of the pre-made standing desks were expensive and not very attractive. They
also didn’t provide enough surface space for the tools of my trade. I did find several
options for a contraption that would go on top of your existing desk to convert
it to a standing desk, which I thought was kind of brilliant. The drawback was
that without knowing if using a standing workspace would work for me, I didn’t
want to shell out $500-$600.
I thought, “I’m crafty and resourceful, maybe I can rig
something temporary to see if I like the setup”...and that’s what I did.
This is my first configuration, using some scrap wood and
closet storage shelves on top of my existing desk. Not pretty but functional
enough for me to get an idea.
I researched the suggested measurements for ergonomic levels
for each electronic item and tweaked them a bit to fit my needs. If you Google
“measurements for a standing desk” a bunch of diagrams will come up with
suggestions on monitor distance and angle, keyboard height, etc… I found that
those were a great base to begin with and then I was able to make changes that
suited me personally.
One of the challenges I found for setting up this kind of
workspace for an artist was that I needed a space for my drawing tablet along
with my keyboard and mouse. How would I fit everything and be able to use it
all without having to move it each time or reach too far and cause strain. I found by having two levels I could
store the tablet on the bottom level when I was primarily using the keyboard.
Then when I brought the tablet up to draw, the keyboard slid back behind it on
the same level and was still usable. Another option I thought of was to get a
smaller keyboard and a different mouse but I really like the two that I have,
so this set up has worked for me.
How I used this first generation set-up.
For artwork done by hand, sketching, drawing, etc…I sit at
my desk. If I feel I need to, I set a timer to get up and move every 45 minutes
because if I am into something, hours and hours can go by in the blink of an
eye. My back is not happy when that happens and it shows me how unhappy it is
when I go to stand up!
For digital artwork, editing photos, using Photoshop,
posting to sites, etc…I use the standing desk area. It did take a little
getting used to at first. Drawing on my tablet felt awkward while standing but
that quickly changed. Now it feels like what I have always done. I feel
stronger and like my posture has gone back to what it was pre-computer slouch.
I also move more in general. If I have music playing, I find myself dancing or swaying. Sometimes I inadvertently stand in "tree" pose while I draw. I stretch and bend while I wait for pages to load. I hydrate more! I might have even lost some weight because of it. I appreciate sitting more too. Now it is like a welcome respite instead of an anchor. It feels like my body has developed a rhythm. It just sort of flows between the two stations.
There are other changes I made and accessories I have added
to my work arsenal and I will share them in the next post. As well as my current, updated set-up.
Stay tuned!
Let me know about your work set-up in the comments!
Pam
