No more studio updates until

mid-week of next week (hopefully)...for me, its from the bed, to the bathroom, to the computer...i have bronchitis and am trying to by-pass another stay in the hospital...at least i can catch up on the blogs, even find some new ones, and read some online news sources...

i read that the studio issue by CPS will hit the stands April 1st...this gives me something to really look forward to when i'm back up and out...i get such a kick out of going into Borders to pick up my magazines.  i also ordered (in a state of physical lethargy but mental aerobics) a book on setting up a quilt studio which i hope is worth the salt...i can't recall the name of it now and am not feeling inclined to go check it. 

peace.

Ebb and Flow of Studio Set-up

It has been ebb and flow...it seems like so little has been done but I just uploaded new photos to the Make A Way photo album and reflecting on the behind the scenes stories, there has been a huge amount of work performed mostly by others and as much as I can do also.  Toward the end of last week I had to take 2 days of bedrest and I'm in that mode again today.  My father purchased some anti-fatigue mats and I went back to Lowes to purchase another set...I'm realizing that basic work functions must include ergonomical comfort.  Peter ordered a chair from Overstock.com for my sewing chair...I purchased some daylight bulbs from Lowes, and adjustable height tables from Costco.  Later this evening my youngest son and his friend will move in a comfy tv chair and ottoman I found on Craigslist...I had intended to wait on this but it was such a great chair going for dirt cheap that I didn't want to pass on it. We'll pick it up this evening. I've made a request on Freecycle for ceiling tiles but so far no replies, but I've managed to unload a coffee grinder and a round banquet table to other freecyclers.

The funny thing that has kept me chuckling when I'm in the basement is that my mother's ironing board is actually a wood one...an old wood one.  I've seen these when I'm browsing at the 2nd hand shops but didn't realize that my mother still uses one!  You can see it in the photos across from the tv.

Conjuction Function

It was rainy and cooler yesterday when they applied the one-coat epoxy on the floor so a longer drying time was needed.  They will return tomorrow and either apply another coat since I had 2 gallons of left over paint or go ahead and move the stuff into the storage room, whichever I decide.  But I'm eager to get it up and functioning and not sure if another coat is really needed. There is a storage room that runs the width of the basement behind the wall in this photo and much of what will be kept will go in there.  If I was a planner and organizer I would measure the wall and floor space against the items I'll be moving in...but I'm neither a planner or organizer so I'll move it in and then decide. 

For basic functioning I'll need an anti-fatigue mat to stand on and some daylight bulbs...I will be scouring the 2nd hand stores and craigslist for a comfortable chair and rugs.  All the comments sharing in my excitement for this space to work in are very much appreciated.   

My arms are outstretched to hold all my blessings

This is the half of the basement that I'll set up in...there is a little more space behind me where I'm standing to take this photo.  When they stopped for the day, the panelling was primed and painted and the floor was washed and etched.  Tomorrow they will prime and paint the floor.  The next 2 weeks will be spent moving my stuff in.  Doing this instead of renting studio space sporadically is a much better use of the grant funding I received.  I'll get to work much more committedly!

Making A Way

To get some idea of where I'm starting from with the basement, take a peak at the 7 photos I've uploaded in the photo album, Making A Way, located in the side bar.

My oldest son is suppose to refer someone who does hauling and painting...I'm antsy, excited, anxious.

It was there all the while

My parent's house has been and continues to be a station of transition for many in our family and is continuing to be for her grand-daughter and great-grand-daugther, the latter who is inseperable from my Mama's lap.  Mama has never been a cooing-cawing type of grandmother and if anything a serious pragmatism has always characterized her but this one great-grand daughter has her wrapped around her finger...talk about mellowing with age. 

Sunday we were there for dinner and basketball games (hey, i'm not a sports fan, but i can play along) and it hit me, not that it hasn't before, but not with such resolve that this would be a great solution...i'm going to set up a studio in their basement! Yesyesyes! its a good size basement and the only activity that takes place is laundry down there.  It is stuck in early 70's remodel job that Daddy never finished and has a cave like quality because the panelling is dark but Mama said she didn't care what I did with it (talk about mellowing with age)...so I'm going to paint everything white including the concrete floor...but first I have to move out large items that are stored there including an old upright piano (a throwback to my piano lessons) a 60's stereo console (a throwback to my parent's parties where I first heard jazz and blues) a couch and other cast-off furniture pieces...the biggest challenge will be not to get sentimental by the memories that all the items will elicit and be tempted to keep them.  I'm going to craigslist the console stereo and the piano, prolly for free for pick-up.  I've already starting looking for organizational stuff and mats to buffer the impact of the concrete floor.   I'm going to take before and after photos but have set the date for it to be completed by the end of May.  I'm still going to take my daily month long art retreat in April simply because I desperately need it!