It works!  Just need to figure out some more things.  The whole dropcloth/vinyl thing I got going on on the floor is a temporary solution, and I really need to figure out a better, long-term plan.  It’s coming to me.    Probably gonna move that tufted bench to where I’m standing, as I always want to sit down when I stand back.   I originally was gonna paint in another part of this studio, to the right behind that funky step wall, but I ended up using some of that area for my painting storage, since there’s no windows in that area, and realized that the front, the storefront area, would serve a much better painting area.  By having my area divided, it’s kinda nice that I don’t really have to store anything in this area, and can simply use it to paint.  All my tools are in the other room too.   Still it’s small and intimate.  I feel like I’m in a little dollhouse.

One neat thing about my area, is I’m walking distance from a florist, who incidentally throws away lovely bouquets that I’m more than happy to rescue…

It feels soooo good to have walking room.  I really never thought it would or could happen.  I can’t say I’m totally done with everything I want to do, but at least now the space is functional and I can actually start to do some of the other things I want to do, like photograph art, get them on Etsy, and also paint and make things.  The ultimate would be if I could teach classes here, but I am still figuring that part out.  If I had a few more feet in my front room, it would be a no-brainer.  I’m just trying to figure out exactly how many students I can fit and what size the table needs to be.  I have to build the table to be custom-sized and I just have wanted to take a little break from the saw.  Ok…lunch!

Every free day around here seems like one project after another.  One day, everything will be set up, and then it will be time to move again…..ha!  Hopefully not.  At least I have my little helper….

I have to get REALLY creative with storage, so this ordinary table (holds my palette) I decided to add shelving and casters, so I flipped it upside down, screwed the sheathing board to create a base (I had the board laying around, had to cut to fit with a jigsaw and thought I’d lose my foot the whole time) then screwed the casters (IKEA), flipped it over and added a shelf half way up.  The middle shelf part I am not going to screw down, that way each plank is removable, which seems to open up more possibilities.  That negative space under a table is like prime real estate around here, so every little square inch of space needs to be well-thought.

I got all these nifty little scraps of wood from my brother’s cabinet making shop, like cherry and other hardwoods, so I thought I’d glue some pieces together to make a cool shelf.  Why do I like shelves so much?  What is it with me and shelves?

Oh and you can see my new table!  Well it is really a hollow door from Lowe’s.  This idea I owe to my dad.  He used doors as workbenches and well it was a stinking great idea!  Pricing out table tops at Ikea and such, per square inch, a door is the way to go.  Home Depot only had the composite white door, and I really wanted wood/luan, and low and behold Lowe’s had it.  After a couple sprays with water sealant spray, it’s ready for crafty time.  Nice!

I haven’t written on here for so long, I feel like I forgot how!  I’ll try.  So I have a new place, and I have just been thrust into the role of making it suitable and functional, and seriously have spent almost every waking second that I’m not teaching at the HBAC and not working for MovieWeb, and not enjoying dinners with my beau, I have been here building sh*t.  So here is a little rundown.

Here is the new studio!  It is of course still a mess, and there is a long way to go, but so far it’s working out.  The one thing I’m at a loss for is storage in this place, so that has been what I have been focusing on.

I had to build another storage for paintings, and since I filled this one up in about five minutes, it looks like I’m heading back to Home Depot for more wood to make another one.  Definitely cheaper than IKEA to make one yourself, gets you more shelves for less money, and all I used tool wise was a jigsaw, a small nail gun, and a drill. Oh the drill.

The GORM at IKEA was my inspiration, but I sort of wanted it more tailored for my needs, so I designed one taller to utilize the fact that I have 9 foot ceilings and use the whole 8 foot 2 x 2’s.  Also wanted something not super deep as I wanted more floor space.  So I came up with this:

As you can see, it’s stuffed!  Please take the paint brush out of my hand and tell me that I can’t paint anymore until I sell some of these.  It’s seriously ridiculous.  The shop is getting an update soon!

Before I even started this I had to take care of normal everyday parts of the place, like the kitchen.  Here is a still from a video I took when I first looked at the place.  I have been so caught up in making this place functional, I really didn’t take good “Before” photos.  Thankfully Brian caught this video with his phone.

I just had to make this place more me, and also, because of the cramped space, I had to get creative with ways to store things.  Let’s just say I have pretty much moved in to Home Depot.

I made this table after measuring the right dimensions for that little space, and tried to give myself more room.  Especially for food.  It’s not so much that this place is small, as much as it is that the place has not ONE single closet.  Imagine your life with no closet space….I mean NO closet space.  My clothes you ask?  Oh that is another post…

Well now that I kind of have a leg up on this place, and am starting to feel unpacked, expect to hear more from me.  Meanwhile, Merry Christmas!

We went to Target for simple, everyday human being items and got totally caught up in the necessity for some new pumpkin lights, purple and orange Halloween lights, spiderweb dishes…Wait!  What did we come for again?  Holidays are clever in that they keep happening. Around the corner is another one.  And each one has its assortment of goods and foods and stuffs. 

But really, how can you not indulge in the magic and fantasies that transforms an ordinary, routine-filled day into a day of flying witches, glowing pumpkins, and never-ending streams of candy? A day where it’s encouraged to don a mask, to masquerade your identity with a garish glimpse into your alter ego. A day where cartoon characters and demons and pregnant nuns unexpectedly mingle and socialize. A day where you let your children knock on stranger’s doors and ask for candy. A day that is an excuse to do something wild and crazy, as if a get out of jail free card for you to be who you really want to be, or at lease as absurd as you want to be. How do you explain Halloween to an alien? Kinda like that!