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I have now been a soft sculpture artist for 6 years and in that time I have noticed my eyes deteriorate. I now wear glasses and I'm always moaning about not having enough natural light.
I wondered if other artists had experienced the same, and if they have created any work spaces outside their home to have access to more natural light. I do use daylight bulbs but they aren't the same as the real thing.
Any creative ideas would be appreciated 
I have the same problem. I have got some special glasses which are set at the correct distance for sewing now. That might be the problem. Most reading glasses are set for a different focal length. My optician measured how far away I hold my sewing ( and the distance to my clients head when I was hairdressing..i had hairdressing ones too) and set the length accordingly. That said I have varifocals now for reading , sewing and the middle distance ( shopping, computer etc. )they are fab. Distance is fine... for driving....tv... and day to day I dont need specs... but sewing constantly has made my near vision seriously deteriorate...so much so that I cant see the food on my plate properly these days...which is no bad thing if you see the dinners I dish up!
I also had a daylight lamp initially for SAD...but I didnt have SAD..it was depression...but the lamp was very handy for dark evenings when I wanted to work...but I have sold it now. I am ok with my specs!
desertmountainbearWow, glad to see it is not only me. My vision has gotten very bad, well only my close vision. I am like you Jenny, I can't see across the table, but driving is good. I did go to the eye doctor a couple of years ago. I was totally disappointed. I thought the hundreds I paid for my glasses did not work better than the ones I bought off the shelf. So now I am back to off the shelf. I wear them slid down my nose, not the most attractive look.
I have a separate pair that I wear while sewing, very high number 3.25 I think. And I do use an Ott light on a stand. It is one that I can push up and down. I push it down almost into my lap and sew right underneath it. I use a lot of dark fabric and it is the only way I would ever be able to sew it.
Chaska, MinnesotaI had special l glasses made up too, like Jenny. I have bifocals for distance and reading but the reading part of the glasses is not adequate for sewing. It was blurry when sewing tiny stitches. so I can watch tv and still look down to sew, I had my optician write a prescription for hobby glasses where the bottom part are magnifiers and the top part are my regular prescription for distance. that way I can sew and watch tv comfortably at the same time.
I understand Ott lighting is good for crafting. I have not tried it but maybe some of our teddy bear friends could comment on this brand.
I have astigmatism so off the shelf doesnt work for me. I was paying £400+ for varifocals till a man on Coventry market told me that the guy who has a stall there used to work for the health service and does them really cheap. So last time I got my test done at my usual place and took the prescription to him. i got a pair of Ray-Ban frames, with varifocal lenses for £140...which is really good!
desertmountainbearI like my Ott light very much. The reason though is that it is not hot. I practically have it sitting in my lap when I sew. I think any bright light on a movable arm would work well. I don't care about the full spectrum or that it is good for seeing true color, I do not use it for that. I just need to be able to put that light on the stitches.
Sometimes I sit in bed and knit, and I use my reading light. I just hook it onto the front of my nightgown and beam that light right on the stitches, it works surprising well. It is also a whole lot cheaper.
TC Folk OriginalsWell, I'm sorry to say I have to join this "sightless" group!!!!! Unfortunately, old age as well as close work affects the eyes, and I have to join the "old age" group as well!!!! I swear by my Ott lights (notice plural) and I also have a Maglight (huge magnifier on a large swing arm with 2 day bright lights) over my machine/work station and I use this for both really close up work as well as just extra lighting. I have had my eyes checked and the doctor told me that all I really need is off the shelf readers. So I have a few pair in every room of my house from 1.25 all the way up to 2.75. Sometimes it gets a bit confusing with all those different strengths, so I end up grabbing what is closest to hand and go for it! But I must say, I seem to be in a pretty good group here!
Jenny.... I too am starting to see blurred food on my plate.
Joanne ..... knitting in bed with a light hooked onto your nightgown
I did buy a small summerhouse this year so I could sit out in the garden and sew even when it's windy, and that does help.
I do dream of having a studio in the garden with big windows and roof lights... well I can dream.
I suppose it is just one of the many side effects from sewing. It does make me think a bit about the future though and taking care of my eyes. I find I do so much sitting around, because of sewing, buy I do try and balance it with some exercise. Sewing is a very sedentary occupation though.
Yep, I've got to join you lot too! I follow in the foot steps of Jenny as I too have to wear varifocals but not all the time. I have noticed recently that the bottom section of the lenses is not good enough - maybe the strength needs upping as I am struggling a little to thread the needle 
All my sewing is done at night while watching TV but I do have good lighting - it's all a bit of a bummer really! Sitting around too much Shelly is known as 'bear makers or in your case rabbit makers bum'!
Past Time BearsI am fortunate to have huge 'picture' window to work in front of - so I try to do all my close work in the daytime. Also have an Ott light and an overhead florescent light. Of course at my age, I use drugstore readers for any close work, also. An odd circumstance is that as I've aged, my distance vision has improved.
desertmountainbearThelma, you make me laugh. I have readers all over the house. It does not matter though, I am always loosing them. I also have a magnifier on my Ott light. Thankfully I only need to use it if I need to open seams of something very small.
I forgot to mention that when I am sitting in bed with a light hooked on to me knitting. I am knitting for my dolls, using thread and 0000 needles. I would be in real trouble if I needed that kind of light to be knitting for a human.
TC Folk OriginalsOMG Joanne!!!! I can't even see needles this small with my strongest readers, let alone the thread (I call it thread because yarn can't be this small)!!! When I knit, the bigger the needles and the bulkier the yarn the better! Okay, so I admit to doing some small stuff every now and then with the needles on the end of my nose and under the magnifier!!!! I'm afraid I can't knit in bed - I'm one of those fortunate people who fall asleep in about 30 seconds. I'd wake up in the middle of the night tangled in yarn with needles poking me in my side!!!!!!! As for readers all over the house, when I can no longer find them, I just go to the kitchen counter where there will be 6 or 7 pairs all hanging around!
I have often wondered about the ' of the shelf glasses'. As this is my first pair, I thought it best to buy them from the optician. I have seen glasses for a few pounds with the same magnification strength but wondered if there really is a difference in the quality. Does anyone know ? I know it is the frames where most of the cost is but I could do with a spare pair just in case.
Where I work also has a low ceiling and when I put my glasses on my head I then have a habit of scuffing them on the ceiling. They have quite a few scratches on them 
If anyone has a knowledge if it's ok to buy cheap readers I would be grateful to know.
desertmountainbearAll I can say to this is. I Love My Cheap Readers! I have lots of them, and I have my expensive prescription ones. I also have an astigmatism, and I can say in all honesty for seeing close there is no difference.
Past Time BearsIn my opinion - yes - the 'drugstore' readers work very well for me. I also have several pairs of them and keep one pair in my purse when I'm out . . . might have to read a price tag or restaurant menu.
Well I have found that the off the shelf ones are fine for emergencies...I have a pair that I use in the sunshine which are tinted ...but because I need a varifocal lens you can't get those off the shelf. The optician I go to told me there is no difference in a plain reading lens and that off the shelf ones are totally fine. So if I idn't need a lens that does for both close up and middle distance I wouldn't bother with prescription lenses. I think the opticians rip you off. But I don't know how I would manage without my varifocals as now ...they are wonderful and have changed my life for the better. Before that I had 3 pairs which I had to keep swapping so I could see my sewing, reading and shopping. Drove me nuts.
GermanyI always have glasses. Already as a child.
I must always have one of the optician. Somewhere else there are not them. Yes, it is expensive, but what should I do? With me the glasses are the main portion of the costs.
Yesterday I got my first varifocals . I become not younger also.
It is a new feeling and today I will work my little bear. The last time was not so amusing it. Headaches and tears in the eyes.
Persevere with the varifocals...it takes about a week to become accustomed to them then your brain starts to automatically switch between the different areas on the lens with ease and you dont even notice you are doing it. I forget I have mine in now. I even get in the shower without realising I am wearing them!
GermanyI must practice. But I see already much better. I do not have headaches.... like with the old glasses any more. Now I probably need an Anti wrinkle cream. Had always closed the mouth tight the eyes to see. 
I see the folds now also better. 
GermanyI must practice. But I see already much better. I do not have headaches.... like with the old glasses any more. Now I probably need an Anti wrinkle cream. I had pinched the eyes I see the folds now also better.
Thanks, I will definitely get a few more pairs then.......I can keep some in my sewing bag then, and upstairs etc .......
There's no doubt a combination of close work and 'maturing' plays havoc with your eyesight, 
After years of 20/20 vision, I now have a pair of glasses with a split prescription for computer use and close work .. I think they are called secretary lenses or something like that ... they aren't bi-focal with a line across the lens, there's no line, so they just look like ordinary glasses. I've had them for about two or three years I think and can't manage without them now. In fact, I've just been for an appointment and am about to have to shell out for a new pair with stronger prescription - owwwwwweeee!!!! On the plus side though, I still have 20/20 vision for distance, so I guess I'm not totally clapped out just yet! :lol:
For my bear-making, I have to wear my specs, work by a large window and use a daylight lamp. As for eating my dinner ... with my cooking it's probably best not to see too clearly! 
Newcastle, OntarioHmm, I have trifocals and to be honest, when I'm making my bears, reading a book or on the computer, I see the best, when I take my glasses off. I've worn glasses since I was 9 years old and my eyes have changed so much over the years. I still need them for longer distances, but my problem is, when I take them off and don't remember where I left them, I can't see well enough to find them lol!
Haha...that's the funny thing ...you need your glasses to find your glasses!
Here's a poem by Ogden Nash called 'Peekaboo, I almost see you'
Middle-aged life is merry, and I love to lead it,
But there comes a day when your eyes are all right but your arm
isn't long enough to hold the telephone book where you can read it,
And your friends get jocular, so you go to the oculist,
And of all your friends he is the joculist,
So over his facetiousness let us skim,
Only noting that he has been waiting for you ever since you said
Good evening to his grandfather clock under the impression
that it was him,
And you look at his chart and it says SHRDLU QWERTYOP, and
you say Well, why SHRDNTLU QWERTYOP? and he says one
set of glasses won't do.
You need two.
One for reading Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason and Keats's
"Endymion" with,
And the other for walking around without saying Hello to strange
wymion with.
So you spend your time taking off your seeing glasses to put on
your reading glasses, and then remembering that your reading
glasses are upstairs or in the car,
And then you can't find your seeing glasses again because without
them on you can't see where they are.
Enough of such misshaps, they would try the patience of an ox,
I prefer to forget both pairs of glasses and pass my declining
years saluting strange women and grandfather clocks.
Miser BearsMy eyesight used to be really good, but over the last 2 years its deteriorated something terrible >:
