‘I completely lost it on her. That chaos was my system’: Austin artist kicks out her sister, Vanessa, after she reorganizes her studio without asking, messing up her creative system and wrecking her workflow

Advertisement
  • AITJ for kicking my sister out after she "reorganized" my art studio?

    Female artist wearing overalls and glasses standing in a bright art studio with paintbrushes, palette, and colorful abstract paintings around her
  • I'm 29F, live alone in a converted warehouse space in Austin. Half of it is my living area, half is my art studio where I do commissions and my own work.
  • It's messy but I know where everything is. My sister Vanessa is 33F, super Type A personality, works in corporate something.
  • She's been staying with me for two weeks because her apartment flooded and she's waiting on repairs.
  • I get home from running errands yesterday and immediately know something's wrong. My studio smells like cleaning products.
  • Female artist wearing paint-splattered overalls squatting barefoot in a bright studio, surrounded by abstract paintings on the floor
  • I walk in and everything is different. All my paints are organized by color in labeled bins.
  • My brushes are sorted by size in jars. My reference photos that were pinned to the wall in a specific layout are now in a binder with plastic sleeves.
  • The clay sculptures I was working on are lined up on a shelf. My sketch pile is gone.
  • I ask Vanessa what the hell happened and she's all proud, says she spent six hours "fixing" my workspace as a thank you for letting her stay.
  • Says she couldn't understand how I got anything done in that chaos. I completely lost it on her.
  • Female artist in denim overalls standing thoughtfully in a bright art studio surrounded by easels, abstract paintings, and paint supplies
  • That chaos was my system. The sketches she organized and put in a drawer? Those were sorted by project and now I don't know what goes where.
  • The reference photos in the binder? I had them arranged specifically for the piece I'm working on and now that visual relationship is gone.
  • The clay sculptures she moved? They're in different humidity now and one is already cracking. She starts crying saying she was just trying to help and I'm being ungrateful.
  • I told her she needed to leave and stay somewhere else. She's been blowing up my phone from our mom's house calling me an asshole.
  • My mom says I overreacted and Vanessa meant well. My friend Diego says my reaction was fair because she messed with my work without asking.
  • I don't know. Maybe I should've just thanked her and fixed it quietly? But I have a commission due Friday and I can't find half my materials now.
  • AITJ?
  • OP Temporary-Hunter8337 I should probably mention that Vanessa has always been like this with my stuff. When we were kids she used to reorganize my room when I was at school because she didn't like how it looked. My parents always made me thank her for "helping." Also the clay sculpture that's cracking? It's for a commission that's paying $800. I might be able to fix it but I'm not sure yet. If I can't I have to restart from scratch and I'm not gonna make my deadline. My mom keeps texting that f
  • FryOneFatManic Being stressed about her apartment doesn't give Vanessa the right to rearrange someone else's space. I bet this is all about control, given the history of ignoring boundaries.
  • Ok_Professional6307 NTJ. Vanessa is a huge jerk. She didn't do anything to help you, she ruined your work. She is a control freak who has to have everything her way. Your mom didn't do Vanessa any favors by making you thank her for "helping" when you were younger, all she did was make Vanessa feel entitled to do whatever she wanted with other people's belongings. Tell your mom that since "family helps family" she can pay you for the $800 statue that your sister ruined, because that would help yo
  • FreeReflection5259 I thought we learned not to touch other ppls stuff in kindergarten she was wayyyy out of line
  • Dollypuggle Control, nothing more, nothing less.
  • Jen5872 NTJ. When most people want to say thank you for some favor they take you to dinner or give you flowers. They don't screw around with your space. "No, Sis. I'm not grateful that you cost me time and money by wrecking the commissioned sculpture I was working on. I will likely miss my deadline now and lose the $800 commission. I'm not grateful that you rearranged my reference pictures and sketches that I had in a specific order. Im not grateful that I have to go searching for my supplies th
  • AskComprehensive 5210 NTJ. She didn't "help," she sabotaged your work. There's a massive difference between tidying shared living spaces and touching someone's professional workspace without permission. Your sister has a history of boundary issues with your stuff and your parents enable it. The fact that you might lose an $800 commission because she decided to play interior designer with your studio? That's not helping, that's actively harming your livelihood. You don't owe someone gratitude for
  • Right_Cucumber5775 I'd actually bill her for the cracked pot, and lost time for you. Tell sis, look, you overstepped a lot, and now there are actually financial consequences for this. She had no business touching anything in your work studio. And this is the cost of doing so.
  • Livid-Age-2259 She messed with your livelihood. You can give her grace but, most of all, you need to get your studio back into a productive state.
  • RJack151 NTJ. You do not rearrange anything when you are a guest without asking first.

Tags

Scroll Down For The Next Article