Construction

For Larger Work

For Smaller Work

There is nothing more satisfying than the concretization of an idea. Especially if it works. I had no storage in my garage for my canvases and my completed paintings so I envisioned a unit something similar to the one in my former studio. To begin with I thought perhaps it does not need to be as large, after all two artists were using it. As I laid the two by fours on the floor I realized that the four foot lengths did not feel right. Listening to the Spirit within I suggested six feet. Nope… O.K. Eight feet. That means I would buy more lumber. Taking a guesstimate I came home with five two by fours and five one by twos. With the scrap I already had I cut the appropriate lengths for the supports above the cooler/cupboard and made the main storage area six feet high. I was very glad I had bought some two inch screws too. The four and three inch size were definitely overkill when working with the half inch of the one by twos. Yes. A one by two is really a half by one and a half. A two by four is really one and a half by three and a half. It did not used to be that way. Among the one by twos there was a very special example of how important it is to pick out one’s own lumber…. It actually twisted in five different directions. I used it too where I did not need to be particularly accurate (it is screwed into the ceiling to support the crossbeams). I am not a gifted carpenter but I am very thankful for the skills I do possess. They allow me the freedom to do as I please without the expense of hiring someone with more knowledge. In any case, my storage unit is standing and strong awaiting its precious cargo. One more step in the process done. Let’s celebrate!

Home Stretch

Look at all the space! And the light! Now that I have full spectrum bulbs in my ceiling the garage is beginning to feel more like a studio. I love the openness. My cubbyholes for still-life settings are gone but not abandoned. I replaced them with a portable unit which can be set up anytime and in any direction (better light control). As you can see there is still a lot of decluttering…. selective recycling to do and the storage units have not been built yet but there is room. The recycling/garbage people must be wondering what on earth hit this place. We put out five or six bags each every week. It feels a whole lot lighter. Not to mention all the other boxes that we have recently moved to my daughter’s new place. The attic is much less encumbered. Once the new construction is complete we can begin in earnest to move my old studio into my new studio. Then the real challenge presents itself: where will it all go? Ah yes, I forgot! Look at all the space!

Getting Empty

Change. Everything changes. Perhaps that is why so many of us go to such lengths to keep things “just as they always were”. I went into my studio and began to put large canvases back into their original plastic bags. I packed a few more boxes and did my last creative thing in this space: I set up some charts for the Guild to which I belong. It will not take long to empty the shelves, drawers and horizontal expanses. The delay is at the other end where we have “a lot of work to do”. In the meantime I can do some mourning. “Inspirations” has been a wonderful place in which to paint and share. I so enjoyed the freedom of the openness, the possibility of keeping things organized, the quiet corners in which to read, write and create in other ways. I loved the light. Even without the windows there was light. I loved the pegboard which made it easy to hang pictures in progress, paintings for sale, ideas in incubation. Now it is getting empty, no longer mine, less and less intimate. Time to move on. What has the change brought? Many gifts. I have often thought how much more convenient it would be to have all my stuff in one location. True the office is still in the house but everything else will be in the garage. I will no longer buy two of one item. I have a lifetime supply of full spectrum bulbs. Rent will be a thing of the past, the space will be mine for as long as I want it. It will be cozy, everything within easy reach. My students will enjoy sharing the area and seeing first hand my latest endeavours. We will inspire one another. So “Inspirations” will continue, inspired and inspiring.

Mary

Mary Before

Mary After

I did some painting this week! Mary is done. Maybe. As I was applying the isolation coat I noticed the blue in the hair. It may need just one more glaze of burnt sienna. I will think about it. Before I add the varnish. Martin was filling boxes and emptying others as I was doing the painting. Several recycling bags stood at the door. I had decided canning is not going to be part of my life anymore. One easy decision. As the shelves became more visible I took a break and rearranged things a little. Martin was wondering if progress had been made, after all, the horizontal spaces were just as full as they had been… I assured him that, yes indeed, progress had been made. I must admit there is some more decluttering in order, among the seashells. I love seashells. They are not so easy to let go. Perhaps a few rocks, leaves and vases could follow suit. I might run out of jars…. Hold on there. It is not as if we are going to stop eating. There will be other jars. Decluttering. What to keep? What to toss? What to send on? It feels so good once the decision has been made. There are other decisions in the offing as well. The new storage unit for large canvases will be built. Martin asked, “Where?” I pointed to the west side of the garage. He sighed, shook his head and said, “We have a lot of work to do.” I agree. We have a lot of work to do and this is Christmas week. So let us put some seating in the living room, plug in the tree and make merry. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone.  

My New Studio

The Garage

Today I went into my studio for the first time in a long time and packed up all the paints and liquids that could freeze. I am not sure if the heating will be cut off, I am not sure how bankruptcies and foreclosures work. There is a pile of boxes and pails ready to go sitting at the door. They are headed for the garage. I am so looking forward to keeping the rent! However, there is a small challenge with regard to space… So this is the before picture of our garage, my former teaching space. It will be totally revamped. I am thankful for all the shelving that is available. Emptying it is the first order of business. My wonderful husband is presently choosing boxes he would like to reduce and store elsewhere. Our garage was never a garage. We knew that when we built it. Our vehicles have never graced the threshold. The big double door is just for show. It has always been a space in which to create and share. It used to be that my painting would be put away when my students came. This time it might be that the teaching will take a back seat. In any case a major decluttering is in the offing. It is amazing how much stuff is accumulated over sixteen years. And the statue? Well, that is something else I do. The restoration is just about complete. Done before Christmas. Tomorrow and Thursday will be my last classes before this season’s celebrations as well. It is all in the plan. Tonight I will paint another wall or two before I put my head cold to bed. Who knows? We may even put up a tree.

A bump in the road.

Martin's Office Before

Martin's Office After

I began this morning by giving this entry a title. As it turns out there has been more than one bump in the road yesterday and today. At this point in time I wish I had several back up blogs. I do on occasion but I have used them all lately. Let us just say that recently life has been… interesting… a challenge… an adventure! I joyfully entered my studio yesterday morning and savoured the moment. It had been two weeks. I guess it would have not been quite that long if we were dealing solely with home renovations. Add a new renter for a new condo which needed painting and a daughter moving out of another…. Well, we managed to get things done for Sunday. Monday was glorious, delicious, until the phone call. Sometime during the afternoon I listened to the messages on the phone. One was from a lawyer. I do not often get messages from lawyers so I answered that one immediately. Not good news. I have approximately three weeks to relocate my studio. The business from which I was renting has gone into receivership and I cannot stay. I completely forgot my blog. I left the house to race around the city attending to other unforeseen matters my daughters had asked me to do when Sarah invited us to have dinner with her and we accepted. The evening passed so quickly and I fell into bed late that night. So this morning I sat down and wrote the title to my blog…. The phone rang. Had I forgotten about the medical appointment for which I had promised to be a taxi? Yes. I managed to get to Anna’s place in just over half an hour and she handed me the slip of paper with the doctor’s address on it… the other side of the city. One traffic jam later we were only ten minutes late. Dropping Anna off at work I stopped in to see Sarah; she had called in sick. I spent the major portion of the rest of the day with her, bought a few things and stopped at the studio before I came home. Four men were moving things out. Murals. They had been under the assumption that all had to be moved by tonight…. No. The end of the month maybe. I decided to go home. There is a limit to how much chaos I can handle in one day. I had reached it. And my home renovations? The floor is in. And there is one room done. Martin’s office.

Renovations

My living room

getting better

There is a certain joy in renewal. It is sometimes painful, like getting out of a crouch position after having been there too long, but the stretch and the freedom to move make up for the temporary distress. Renovations are renewing. I have made several tough choices lately. Every choice has a benefit and a price. For me, my choice to stay home and help with the renovations has cost me my studio time. The benefit is that the disruption will be done by Christmas and I will have a brand new house in which to celebrate. Another benefit is the realization that my attitude has transformed what could have been a very trying, unpleasant experience into fun. I especially enjoyed mixing the paint. I bought some mistints and poured them into a laundry tub in which I used to mix salads during my catering days… yes, I have done a lot of different things… I adjusted the colours with the bits of left over paint that were stored in the garage from other projects and added white. I was thankful that the mixing was completed before the new floor went down in the laundry. I got a new pair of shoes out of the mess I created, another benefit! At the moment I am sitting in the middle of my office at my overcrowded desk surrounded by empty walls waiting for some mud and a little paint. The floor is in. I can taste the beginning of the end…. And it is delicious. I am not sure what I will have for you next week; that depends upon the choices I make this week. I do know I will be enjoying the open, clean spaces of my new home!