Getting There

It's getting there.
Slowly, but surely, I'm learning the new ways of the new studio.
It had been too long since I last made beads. What was it, a month, or more?
Well before the Bead Cruise (don't forget early bird registration for returning cruisers opens at noon today!), that's for sure.
I have some new ideas stirring that I want to bring to life. Beads are definitely required.
So the studio was christened yesterday and my first beads here have been made.
Nothing fancy. The learning curve coming back to the flame after so many weeks is a steep one.
I am eager to get in this morning and see how things worked out. There are a couple of pretty cabochons (or should I say Kabochons) waiting for me.
Who knows? Maybe I'll have a few new goodies to post on my website by the end of the week... we'll see.

At Sunrise

Yesterday, one of my projects had me quite literally banging my head against a table in frustration and lack of inspiration. The beads just weren't speaking to me, so I had to walk away. I couldn't ignore it for long though, deadlines are deadlines after all. So, in light of kids that did not want to be dragged to the studio for the fourth day in a row, I made my way to work in the wee morning hours, alone for the first time, before anyone was awake. I'm oh so very glad I did. Not only did I find the inspiration I needed to finish my project, I witnessed my space glow in the most brilliant of ways. The honey colored hues only lasted for a new minutes before the sun moved past that magical angle that sets off colors like these. It totally filled me up, eased the tension in my shoulders, and made me relax a bit. I needed that. All I had on my plate for this week seems so much more manageable now. It's all getting done. Phew.   

Insta-studio Love

Oh how quickly I'm learning what a challenge those bright windows are going to be when it comes to taking studio photos. I haven't really taken the time yet to shoot with my Nikon much, but if the struggles my iPhone is having is any indication of what's to come, it should be quite the learning experience. So much light pours in that everything not in the light looks pitch black, even though the room is quite bright. I'm babbling though. I can do some research on this photographic situation when I'm better settled and past my deadlines.

In the short time that Lauren and I spent at the new studio yesterday, I just had to set up my lampworking station. It was all I could think about and I think it was my heart and mind's way of saying what they truly want to be focused on. It's especially obvious when you know that all these pending deadlines this week are finished jewelry related, not lampworking, and I have yet to set up the jewelry stuff. EEK! I hope to get more time for set up today and start to tackle a project or two. A proper studio tour is definitely on hold for a bit, but I'm getting there.

cartwheels

Yippee! Yes! Yahoo!

The studio remodel is 99% complete (who knew the window was smashed under that paper and the glass needs to be replaced?), I have the keys, and all my goodies have been moved from #307 to #348. Thank heavens for a husband that realized my stress level was reaching its limit. After about a half dozen frantic calls to him at work, he took the afternoon off and we got it all done. Naturally, there is still plenty more to do. Everything is piled willy nilly here and there and I still need to settle on a furniture layout. But at least I'm in there and I can start nesting and setting up. This long narrow space is going to be a challenge after having a squatty square one. I do love it though!

And, hmmm... I wonder how it would look with my twinkle lights all tacked to the black wall instead of painting it white?

ps... I did not tell her to make that face! It was a pleasant surprise when I loaded the photos up to my computer. Told ya she is a character. AND, if you want to add cool frames to your photos in Photoshop, check out this stripey set from Brandi Hussey at http://www.brandigirlblog.com/.

Cranky Color

Yesterday, I was cranky. The kind of cranky that is caused by nothing going the way it was planned. I had woken up with a very clear vision for the day and all the energy I needed to make it all happen. Then, my middle child woke up with a head cold and didn't want to go to school. It threw a nasty wrench in my plans, lemme tell ya. Not that I don't want to be there for my kids when they are sick, mind you. It's just I have been dealing with sick kids for days and days and days now. My house, it would seem, is a cesspool of disease and germs. Ugh, Yuck, Gross! I girl can only take so much before crankity crank crankness sets in.

I was so cranky I tweeted "argh. i have no idea what to do with myself today now that i'm stuck home again. for once, i'm in no mood to clean. i'm pouting." Oh yes, a great deal of pouting was happening. Along with my crankiness. I don't know about you, but when I wake up with a vision, and I can't act on it and make it a reality, I can't think of anything else in the whole wide world I want to do. Nothing. Zip. Nada, Zilch. Thankfully, I have friends that can think for me! Lindsey reminded me of what I did one of the last times I was in this kind of mood... that I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-myself-mood...  seek the "Color of the Day". Last time I found A Lion's Share of Brown. When I checked yesterday's color of the day, it was Cherry Tomato. My mood greatly improved.



Pantone's COD



Cherry Tomato, what an unusual color for early April. In the red family, not my usual go to color. I wasn't quite sure I could find any Cherry Tomato when I first started thinking on it. Then, I opened my eyes and started hunting about my house. Oh, it's there all right. Take a look...

Shortly after starting my Cherry Tomato scouting, Andrew decided his cold wasn't so bad and I took him to school. I was able to get those things done I had been hoping to and then some. YEAH! I found lots of Cherry Tomato in the studio, but my camera battery was dead at that point and most of the red was packed away anyhow. Peps, this is a such a good exercise to open up your eyes to the unexpected colors around you. You must try it. Pop over to Pantone's Color Of The Day any time you need a nudge in the right color direction.

While we are on the topic of color, my mood was thrown right back into cranky when I popped into the new studio on my way home later in the afternoon. The painter spray painted the entire window wall BLACK! Black... I mean like black, black. Ceiling black. My studio was suddenly cave like with every bit of sun being sucked into the oblivion of the wall and ceiling. The building manager said they can't put it back to white. I'll have to do it on my own. Sigh, I have SO much other work to do (my latest Color Canvas piece is due next week!). I did not need painting a wall up to a 15ft ceiling on my list. Argh.

At least I was able to get all the measurements I needed to start settling on how the new space with be laid out. Rearranging all those little (to scale) furniture pieces was quite satisfying. Though I'm sure not as satisfying as it will be to finally be in the space.

Packing Up

It's finally starting to really feel like this move is going to happen. Yesterday had me up high on a ladder taking down all those twinkle lights I put up back in January of 2011. As I worked my way around the room, unwrapping them and pulling the staples, it truly felt like I had just put them up. It was only the layers of dust and yellowing of my paper lanterns that showed how much time has passed in this space.

I haven't decided if fifteen months is a long or short time. It is definitely long enough to settle into and love a place. I know you all already know how much I L.O.V.E my studio, but the more I think on it, it isn't that walls and tables and chairs themselves I love. It is having a space that is wholely my own that I love. So, it was with a very eager heart, not a nostalgic or sad one, that I was filling boxes yesterday. I can't wait to set up the new studio and start falling in love with it. 

Soon, people. The move is happening soon.



As of April 2, the floors are finished. Just needs lights, sink, & paint.



This photo was taken by Chelsea Foehr of Delish Glass, my new next door neighbor. She sent it to me via Facebook so I could see the progress. She thought I was home sick. But nope, I was just down the hall. It was later in the day though then when I took my shots. So, you can see the finished floor better.



Progress

Renovations in my new studio were kicked into high gear this week! Lauren *was* feeling better (and was fever free) this morning so, as soon as she was on the bus, I high tailed it right into work to check out the progress. Sadly, right when I found my groove, school called saying Lauren was sick again and I had to go pick her up. UGH.

Before I left though, I snapped a few pictures. Here is a peek at the State of The NEW Studio... then and now.



Feb 14th 2012 - this was back on the first day I laid eyes on the space. Look at the graffiti and hole in the wall on the right!!



Today - Hole and graffiti gone!




Last Friday (March 23rd 2012)  - I painted the door but little else had changed at the time. Drywall wasn't mudded and lots of trash. Remnants of the old drop ceiling were still visible.



Today - walls are mudded and some of the junk has been tossed. The old drop ceiling tracks have been removed and walls repaired.

 

Feb 14th 2012 - nasty sink and water heater, ugh.



Today - new knee wall, water heater and yucky sink are gone.



#348

Sigh, what a week it's been. To say that I have been on a roller coaster would be a HUGE under statement. Andrew had an adverse reaction to a new medication, we hosted a dinner party for a friend, I celebrated a birthday, we enjoyed Valentine's Day, two of my kids have been home sick, I've worked a ton, I've missed a ton of work, and all the while I've been day dreaming about this place. Yes, while all this life has been going on, my mind has been lost in a daydream in a rather dingy, albeit diamond in the rough, of a new studio space.

Remember when I mentioned a few weeks back that I had been hounding the building manager at The Hungerford Building to find me a room with a view? After 4 months of pestering, Friday he stopped by and said "come here, I gotta show ya something". Down the hall and around the corner... almost directly across from the elevator... and right next door to Delish Glass... is #348. The lock is busted, there is a giant hole in the wall, an odd rim of an old drop ceiling clings there still, and dried up spilled something or other is on the floor... but oh, can you see it? Can you see the potential there?

I just got the call a little while ago. My studio (#307) already has a new tenant ready to sign for it. While I'm away teaching on the Bead Cruise, magic will be worked inside these walls. The 15x35ft room will have the walls repaired, new sinks put in, the floors replaced, and a fresh coat of paint will go up. I can't wait to see it when it's finished and start the move!

In all honesty, I had started to contemplate a lot of sad/necessary/scary/unsettling/grown up things over the past few weeks. Not the least of which was possibly moving my studio back home. My brain was trying to do all the practical convincing one does to one's self in such situations... as it does when contemplating things the heart doesn't want to hear or deal with. It told me things like "a brick wall isn't much different than a basement one...", "no one stops and visits you very often down this empty hallway anyway...", "maybe Ron will build something outside at home, like a shed..." and worst of all "it'll save money if you give up the studio". That last one is the real kicker. The one that really ate away at me last week in particular while Ron was getting news that nearly 200 people in his group of 1200 at work were laid off. (Thankfully, he still has his job... at least for now.)

I'm still struggling with those voices. My heart has dealt with a little too much lately, so it is on the tender side... but the day dreams are rebuilding the strength of it. Bringing some reserved excitement back that has been missing. I close my eyes and I can feel the warmth of the sun streaming in from those 3 big windows, I can hear the train whistles in my ears, and it feels right. It's gonna be a good thing.

the view from those big old windows

Some of the Changes

I went to bed last night thinking we might have one more vacation day ahead of us had we gotten the 12 inches of snow the local meteorologists called for. There was no snow though, just bitter bitter cold. So instead of curling up and relaxing a bit longer, a studio day happened. I wasn't really sure what my first official 2012 day in the studio would bring when I woke up this morning. As I sat at the computer, and sent important emails (what are those deadlines dates again), paid bills (like my studio rent!), and then packed for the day (broccoli soup, camera, and sketchbook... check), I knew exactly what would happen... a move.

I have been begging the building manager at The Hungerford, pretty pretty please with a cherry on top, to find me a new space in the building. One that doesn't face a brick wall, that gets some good/better natural light, and is a bit closer to the other artists I visit with in the building (my hallway is rather empty and lonely at times). Two months now of pleading and nothing has opened up. And for some strange reason, apparently, it is poor etiquette on their part to kick someone out of a space just because I want it. So, I got it in my head that if I can't have a new studio, I would treat mine like it is brand new.



I set to work as soon as I unlocked my door. I let that OCD side of me take over and things started getting rearranged. I didn't have a plan, I just started unloading sleeves and clearing tables to push/drag them around. I really don't know why it never occurred to me before. My jewelry desk was in an area that had me using artificial light and my torch table was by the window in the natural light. Hmmm... doesn't it make a bit more sense to put the torch, which in bright natural light causes me to struggle to see the flame, in the area where you need artificial light? And further more, doesn't it make sense to put my jewelry desk by the window in the natural light? Yeah, sometimes I don't have a lot of common sense. Ahem.

As I slid and dragged each piece of furniture into its new place, I swept and scrubbed the floors... Cinderella Style... hands and knees and all... till the water turned black (again and again). And as I washed and organized, I was thinking a lot about the changes I have planned for myself and this blogging place.  These are by no means resolutions of any sort. These are changes I have been feeling brew for some time now. I'm not ready to tell you all of them yet, but one is happening right this minute. My post is happening... at the end of my day, not before it starts. I have been loving the way Heather (Beauty That Moves) has been sharing journal style posts that reflect on her day on her blog. I feel like I have been a little too guarded recently in what I write, though maybe you don't get that feeling. I want to share more about the things I think and do through my day... I think it's a good place to start.

And so far... it feels very right and very good.

Illuminating

Wouldn't you know it... just when I say I have had no studio time, I go and spend a wonderful couple of hours there... not once, but twice, this week. I have been day dreaming for ages about changing up the lighting in the studio. I can't stand the harsh, blinding, blue light that the three gigantic florescent contraptions give off. I have told you on many occasion that I actually work in the dark about 99% of the time, only turning on the one strand of little lights that float around the top of the room. I don't get a lot of natural light, but I get enough if I sit by the window. In fact, I do a lot right by the window. It is my new favorite spot for jewelry photos, as well as my spot to paint, and write, and eat my lunch.

Although the natural window light was working out, I knew I needed more. I can't always be in a cave. Any visitor to the studio has my throwing on the big lights and my heart sinks every time I do it. From the very first day in the studio, I knew I would want paper lanterns. Don't ask me why, I just knew that is what I wanted. (Okay, and maybe a crystal chandelier at some point.) For the past seven months, I have been imagining those featherweight colorful beauties hanging in clusters over my work spaces. One quick search online a few months ago had me thinking it would never happen, that the cost would be higher than my ceilings.

But, the daydream nagged at me. And... summer boredom set in. Oh wait, you aren't familiar with summer boredom? It's that omg-i-have-too-much-freaking-energy-and-my-house-is-already-clean-and-i-don't-have-anything-to-knit-and-tv-is-stupid-so-let's-surf-the-web-and-mindlessly-shop-for-things-you-don't-really-need-right-now-because-i-am-so-fraking-bored feeling. I am quite convinced it is an actual mental condition listed in the DSM-V. I have suffered from it on several occasions this summer and I have three new dresses, a new sketchbook, some new painting publications, very expensive yarn for a new sweater, and these paper lights to prove it. But, I digress.

I found an awesome place online for these paper lantern lights. It was actually a little too good to be true, and I placed my order with baited breath hoping the package would show up. To my absolute delight, the package did arrive, in under a week, with everything I ordered. Awesome. And the whole kit-n-caboodle, 10 light kits and 10 lanterns with shipping, cost me less than $80. My daydreams often had all different color lanterns, and the company I found had about 20+ colors, but when it can right down to it, I thought less would be more and I went with classic off white for the color. They work, plus, I also figured I could paint polka dots and stripes at any time.

Okay, so I placed the order, it arrived, and then, Lauren and I set out to get the lights hung up. Thanks to all the water pipes on my ceiling, it was a snap. (Worry not, I only hung cords from cold water pipes, not the boiler pipes. I wouldn't want to set the building on fire.) I have a few cords that need to be painted white like the wall and blended in, but other than that, I am over the moon about how it is all coming together. I have four lighted areas, over the couch, over the torch, over the sink, and over the beading table. Each are on their own switch so I can turn on just what I need. (Yee haw! on saving on electricity!)I love the warm glow that the room has now. It is just enough without being more than I can work under. And um, is it wrong that I am already starting to imagine what the place will look like at Christmas time, with even more lights, and a tree?





You see that big blank space on the wall above Lauren? Oh yeah... wait till you see what I am putting there. You are gonna love it.

I Broke Up With The Mess In My Studio...

If I told you I hadn't spent time in my studio for nearly two months, would you believe me? Well, it is true. Early September was the last time I spent any quality time in there. The time was right before ArtBliss when I was banging out kit after kit to be ready to teach. Then, I put about 100lbs of tools and equipment into boxes that were shipped to Washington DC for the event. Just three days after the show, I was in England for a week (which I still haven't finished telling you about, jeesh). I came home to a bit of chaos and finally, finally, as of this week, I can see a the light at the end of the tunnel. Life has the potential to start returning to it's constant shifting state of normal soon.

So... yesterday was the first day in the past month that I haven't had to run to an appointment, set up a meeting, call the doctor's office, or or or... for anyone else. (No, wait, I did run out at lunch to a dr. appt, dang it) Regardless, I decided that yesterday would be THE DAY to get back in my studio. Something had to give in there, every surface was a disaster. Plus, I am still waiting for my oxygen concentrator to be repaired, so, in the meantime, there was some cleaning what needed to get done. I have a lot of mixed feelings about the past few months spent away from the studio. Something I have learned about myself is that even through I am a very open and share-anything-with-anyone kind of person, as a writer, I am extremely introverted. I don't let things out until they have formed into a complete idea. Not a bad thing, it is just that I haven't gotten to a place where I feel I can articulate all the everything in my head right now. Eventually though, I will and we will have a chat, you and I, and all that I have been feeling and thinking.

I can say this... it is good to be back. And just being in that space, that is mine all mine, felt really fantastic.

A BIG thanks to Wendy over at A Girl And Her Brush for the inspiration to do a time lapse video of my day in the studio. If you have a chance, you MUST check out Wendy's work. It so bright and colorful and fun and true.

(ps... I set this video to the Barenaked Ladies song Break Your Heart, ((arguably one of the best break up songs E.V.E.R. and one of my favorites)) but then YouTube said that was infringing on copyright. Sorry Barenaked Ladies! YouTube did an "audioswap" with something not protected.  SO, I have no idea which song plays with this video now. When I see it, it is still BNL. weird.)

Redeeming Qualities

Only took about three solid hours of cleaning to get the studio in shape. I thought it only fitting that it redeem itself today after that horrible display earlier this week. I told you that one wall looked like part of a dungeon! Now, I just need to get that glass desk of mine in order and it'll be time to get that fire lite. And seriously, with a studio temp like that (see kiln temp in last photo)... a fire is quite literally needed, lol.

Happy Wednesday Everyone.