moving day

This is a view of the catwalk that leads from the very quirky freight elevator (circa 1880) in the pink building in the distance,where there is a loading dock, to our studio space. The movers had to bring everything up and wheel it over on this wooden bridge that may look scary but holds very heavy items. Nonetheless - not a job for the faint of heart! All seven of us are now ensconsed in our shared spaces and everybody is unpacking cartons, stocking shelves, putting up easels and tables -- and we have all brought in chairs. I find that very interesting and in fact, when I get to it, I should photograph everybody's chair: they are all so different. But so are we.

The hot water heater should be installed this week (YaY); someone brought in an old microwave; there is a coffee pot, a place for mugs, and a bulletin board for take-out menus. Claire Baker (not her last name for nothing, says she) made tons of yummy cookies and brought in a tin full, which she left in the common space. Claire works with textiles and her sewing machine was going all day, as she stitched up some splendid tote bags made from vintage fabrics.

It took me most of the day to get set up, and by the time I got organized and dealt with aking arrangements for my mother's discharge from the hospital to a facility where she can get physical therapy, there was about an hour left to play...uh, I mean WORK. One of the social workers asked me for my office number and I told her my cell phone IS my office number: it feels so much better to tell people I am at the office than at home. Why?

Anyway, here is how the office looked today. I can't speak for tomorrow. Standing in the workspace, looking at my 12' of design wall which I hope will be attached to the wall soon so I can cover the pink with white felt. That pink just doesn't do a thing for my work.

Above, standing at the pink wall and looking back: the chair is situated so I can sit and contemplate the wall. My tables are in an L - covered with 40 oz. carpet felt, which is really not enough. I need to go get 3 more pink foam boards and put them under the padding so I have enough to pin through when I stretch my fabrics. They don't really stay put in just the carpet felt - even though it is pretty thick. You can barely see my etching press, which is way at the end of the table, against the wall between the windows. It will be a long time till I get around to using it. My round bridge table was originally a temporary measure but I think I'll keep it and just get a tablecloth for it. It's a good place for eating lunch, a comfortable height for my laptop, and will come in handy for open studios. We will probably have one of those when the weather gets nice - maybe in May. Of course, the couple of things I printed today came out really strangely - and I couldn't even wash them out because of no hot water yet. Here is one of my experiments.

The pieces on the pink wall, above, were there because I needed good light to shoot them with. Here is one of the pieces, which, by the way, I printed at home last night while I was playing "Can this Fabric Be Saved?" I offer two jpgs of the same piece - one shot at home and t'other today in the studio. (I think the studio will be the front area and the office will be the back part of the space: one for lounging and contemplating, the other for putting nose to grindstone). But I digress. This piece, done without any forethought, speaks loudly about the subject that is uppermost in my mind these days. How the subconsious comes through, even when we are not paying attention!

At any rate, it's obvious that A (left) was shot at home and B(right) in my sunny studio. Guess where I'll be taking my pictures from now on.