Before and After a New Studio Space

Hello Friends!

I've been on a bit of a break for awhile. The end of my school year brought a new round of part time work and, thankfully, a new batch of orders over at my Delicate Utility shop on Etsy. It's been a busy, busy, month. So, I'm very happy to be looking forward to our first summer vacation abroad in just a few weeks. Before we go away though there's much to do, and a few things to catch up on.

The most recent news is that I got a new studio. I'm still in my same building with Chashama atThe Brooklyn Army Terminal, but I have two new wonderful additions.

What's that....a door! I'd forgotten how much I miss a bit of privacy when I'm working. The biggest thing is just not being distracted by noise over my walls or from people passing by.

Next great thing about this space....

A WINDOW!!!!! Oh, how I have missed natural light! Big bonus that it's paned, warehouse glass which I love, and have a fondness for since my professional New York life always takes me to industrial spaces.

I can finally have plants again! This was a gift from my friend Julia.

 I think I'll call her Lady Viola.

The only, and really only, negative about this new studio is that it's small. About half the size of my old space, in fact. However, what I lost in length and width I gained in height. Up, up, up those torsos go to the ceiling for storage. It's somewhat reminiscent of my college studio where I had torsos crowding the walls hanging two high when possible.

But, I love this space so much, I'm ready to find an upswing to any detail. The bonus of a smaller space is that it forces you to get organized! Check out my new shelves, no more boxes all over the floor!

I spent most of last Wednesday getting the space ready to move into. I gave it a fresh coat of bright white flat paint, no odor low VOC's by Behr. It was a big job going up and down the ladder countless times, so I definitely appreciated not getting a paint buzz!

Here it is all finished before moving everything in...

Most of the weekend was spent at the studio, and it was oh so pleasant. A big switch from sitting under the glow of fluorescent lights having no sense for what time of day it is. I am much, much happier.

Here's to more artwork!

Have a great week everyone.

The Studio

Life after moving is far better than life during moving.

This is what I'm trying to remind myself of when I get frustrated searching in vain for items at home or in the studio, or when I get led on a tangent by having the light diminish in the kitchen at 4:30pm so that I'm straining my eyes to see my laptop and then I think, I might as well just go and hang the light above the table to remedy the situation, but then I remember that we couldn't find the spare light bulb last time we tried to hang it, so I go searching in the hall closet, for said bulb,  only to then reorganize the entire closet as I attempt to get to the box I think might contain the lightbulb but instead has the c-hook which I could use to hang the lamp. Alas, no bulb, so no hung light fixture, and an hour and a half later I just bring my laptop to the living room where we do have adequate lighting. At least the closet got organized.

Moving home and studio in the same month is not the ideal but that's what happened around here. In honor of the new spaces I've included some shots of the studio to give you a sense of where I'm hanging out (when I can get there) these days. Having an open studio within just weeks of moving in gave me the incentive to get some work up on the walls. My studio is in a Chashama work space, and they do a great job of supporting and organizing artists- I like them a lot.

My mannequin greeters. I feel like they need names. Any suggestions?

Looking towards the back wall and my work table (the messy end of the room)

The torso line up, it's so nice to see them hanging together again!

The front wall, opposite of my greeters

The view from my work desk

The space is a great size for me currently and has plenty of room for me to create and store my larger pieces, something our old apartment couldn't really provide. It will be interesting to see how the work progresses now that I have more room to move around. 

Next time I'll tell you about my new pals the BAT Cat Gang- I'm a fan and I'm sure you'll get a kick out of them too. Thanks for visiting my space with me!