Studio Becoming Downright SPACIOUS!!!

Seven Boxes, Three Bags, and Two Chairs Later - STUDIO SPACE!!

My mom ain't a genius for nothin' you know.  She puts it to good use on my behalf all the time! 

My garbage container is full, and there's a dump run in my future. 

Besides getting rid of a bunch of STUFF that even my imaginative and creative mind couldn't think of any use for in any future that I can foresee, I rearranged more of my stuff. 

When I get used to remembering where things ARE instead of where they USED to be, it's gonna be great! 

NEXT!!! Work Space In My Studio!



After a consult with my mom, the verdict was that I need to be making space in my studio, which is filled to the gills with STUFF. 

 

Mom said I should throw some of it away but I reminded her that it's all supplies and I will need them - just as I'm right now using some supplies that I've had put away for years without touching them. 

 

As I go through everything, there will be stuff that I WILL toss, if it's beyond using any more; I have already been doing that. 

 

ANYWAY ... my immediate task was to clear off one of my old work tables so I might be able to actually USE it.

 

 

Indeed.

I know it doesn't look like much, but the fact that I can see the top of it is a breakthrough. 

This is one of my old work tables.  It has had most of my rough cut large works covering it for a long time, making it absolutely unavailable for me to use as a work area. 

Having been busy earlier this year rearranging things so as to make some space out in the porch, I HAVE space out there! 

Not quite as much space now, but the flat pieces stacked up don't really take up much room.  I just piled them all on top of the big angels!

So I have another work station in my studio!

As soon as I get the STUFF that surrounds it cleared away enough for me to get at it, I will have another work station in my studio! 

SIGH ... 

Still, progress is progress! 

I'll strip and refinish this one, get all that old paint and whatever off of it, and it will be good to go!

Working On The new Kitchen Floor - FUN!

 

Just for the FUN of it!

After this photo I got a lot more red squares of various sizes painted on the white kitchen floor!  It's not finished yet but I have a good start on it. 

 

If I don't like it when it's done, I'll just paint over the whole works and try something else. 

 

 





*Laughing*

I reckon I can try it this way for a while, see what I think, and take it from there!

NOTE ABOUT THIS BLOG

All of the posts beyond this point were taken from my main blog (shielabranson.blogspot.com)
as I sorted them out from the rest of that hodgepodge. 

They began in October or early November of 2011 - I moved back into my Studio House on Thanksgiving Weekend of 2011. 

I like having them all in one place; it gives me a sense of perspective when I feel as though I have accomplished so little.

Go About It In An Orderly Fashion

I ran into a dear friend at the post office and asked him if he thinks I'm too old to have a life, as in a REAL life, not just a job and home, work and sleep, ad nauseum. 

As we walked to our respective vehicles on packed snow and ice, I told him, "I think I want to expand my horizons, you know?"

He responded that he thought that was a great idea, paused as he was getting into his vehicle, and added, "Just go about it in an orderly fashion!" 

I answered, "Well you know me!  I always do!" and let go with a big belly laugh because he does know me and I NEVER do, apparently. 

Even so, there is almost always a method to my madness, which I cleverly conceal behind seemingly random and irrational behaviors. 

For instance, at the moment I am in the process of essentially giving away my 'good' house so that I can move half a block away into my 'tumble down cottage', which is quite truthfully a literal wreck of a place.  It's one of those apparently irrational behaviors that reinforce the idea that I am indeed a bonified lunatic. 

Explaining the method behind this madness here on my blog is not likely to blow my cover, as nobody even knows about it, let alone reads it! 

Nobody knows about me giving my house away except a few people at work (one of whom is the buyer) and none of them are confidants of any of my family or people who know me here in my Small Town USA.  The first indication they'll have is when they see my furniture being carted halfway down the block to my studio and the buyer's furniture being carted across the street into my house.  Since all three places are right on Main Street in the first block as you come into town, it's likely to be noticed by all and sundry.  We might get a couple of comments but more people will just shake their heads, maybe smile, and drive on by.  That's just the way it is.  People get used to the strangest things around here and don't bother themselves about it. 

As for the method behind the madness, to get back to the point here, that has to do with being ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to get through a Dakota Winter. 

In this case, the factor under consideration is 'happiness'. 

If I'm going to make it through this Dakota Winter intact I'm going to need every vestive of an edge that I can find and hang on to.  For me, the peace and serenity that envelopes me at my studio is more than a vestige of an edge; it's vital, a necessity.  I barely made it through the last couple of winters.  The prospect of this one frightens me in an elemental way.  The long dark of a Dakota Winter must be countered with something more powerful than a listless and vague hope for survival.  While the instinct for survival is a force in and of itself, it is not undauntable.  Dakota Winters are bloody well DAUNTING. 

Happiness is perhaps the most powerful weapon at our disposal with which to battle forces beyond our control.  Part of my edge right now is knowing what I need to do and, perhaps more important, the ability to DO it.  The studio is haunted; I'd much rather be haunted than daunted, so part of Plan A is for me to put that haunting to good use and exorcise the daunting darkness of this Dakota Winter.  That's the happiness factor. 

It's not that I'm UNhappy here at my 'good' house.  It's that I'm MORE COMPLETELY happy at my studio, and I'm going to be needing that feeling of serenity with which the studio is haunted.  It's a tool I want, and need, to put to use this winter. 

Hence giving my 'good' house away to a young mother with two little ones.  I was in her boat once upon a time and God saw fit to bless my little family with a home of our own - the studio.  I've kept it all these years, empty for a good many of them, and perhaps this is the reason.  Perhaps it's another turn of the wheel as things come full circle.  Who am I to question the mysterious ways of things?  All I know is that it feels right, it feels good, and that's enough to guide me. 

There are other parts of Plan A which are also parts of every other plan of any letter of the alphabet.  These are the tea and vitamins, sleep and eat patterns, using my brain (what's left of it) to the best of my ability, etc. 

The thing is that all the parts have to fit together right or nothing will work right. 

The factor that concerns me at the moment is the sleep/eat factor. 

Because I have to work some nights at my job, and 3-11 pm on other days, my systems are all mixed up.  I can't do nights only (which would presumably provide a stable schedule) because I can't get my systems to settle into that schedule.  For months I tried doing nights only.  It didn't work.  The schedule person at work then finally gave me SOME 3-11 shifts, but with the nights still mixed into the equation.  That definitely does NOT work.  My systems are so screwed up and confused I can't think straight half the time and the other half of the time I'm either sleeping or feel comatose. 

I hate to be the one to break the news here, but THAT is not LIFE.  It's barely survival.  If I've been barely surviving my scheudule during the good part of the Dakota year, what does that say about my chances during the long dark of a Dakota Winter? 

See what I mean? 

As soon as my friend with the little ones says the word (the word is 'yes'), I can get my things and myself moved, removing that stressor completely from the equation and replacing it with its antithesis.  Out with worry and stress, in with peace and serenity - for both of us as a matter of fact.  Well, I'm not sure how much peace and serenity she's liable to have with two little kids running around, but they're darned sure to enjoy the running room and playing room.  At any rate, both of us will be getting what we want and what else really matters?  It's a win-win. 

As soon as I'm sure this house is going into caring and loving hands, and my stuff and I are securely settled in the studio, I can address the work schedule issue. 

It may well be that the happiness factor of the studio will balance the negative of the schedule.  Plus the fact that I do have a Plan B ready to implement on a moment's notice may well provide the needed incentive for the scheduling person to get me off nights, in which case Plan A will work wonderfully well. 

At this point I'm willing to give it my best shot, with the stipulation that if my best shot proves to be insufficient I'll go immediately to Plan B. 

So that's where it stands at the moment.  The next few days will have a lot to say I believe. 

If that's not an orderly fashion I don't know what is.

ORDERLY FASHION ... PLAN A

Already addressed are the preliminary phases of Plan A, namely getting my 'good' house into loving hands that will take care of it and fill it with the laughter of children, and getting my stuff and myself into my studio's serenity and peace.  And with any luck no more night shifts for me at work so my systems can settle into a regular routine that has a modicum of sense to it. 

Once that is completed, hopefully in very short order, Plan A follows its natural progression, which has been in the planning stages for a very long time. 

Basically the plan consists of modifying a 100 year old home into a wheelchair accessible one without compromising its historic integrity.  Let it be a challenge to me. 

One very positive aspect of the plan is that back in the day they built their doors wide and their floor plan is already conducive to chair mobility.  There are no unreachable built in cupboards and no carpets to contend with.  Everything's on one floor too, a serendipitous bonus.  There are laundry hookups in the basement, as well as old wash sink set (although putting in laundry facilities on the main floor will be a pretty simple task); the attic is wide open and a lift in the attic hall will allow access without interfering with the use of the hall.  It may also be possible to install a lift to provide basement access although I haven't really thought that one out all the way yet; it's just a glimmer of an idea, but having access to the entire house would certainly be an asset. 

The beauty of the place is that nothing I want to do to it will in any way change the original floor plans.  A door on the only side of the house that doesn't already have one and a doorway that wasn't there before are the only 'big' changes, and they aren't so very big.  Everything else I plan to  do will be absolutely easily reversible should anyone ever want it back the way it was. 

Plan A's immediate goal is to get me through the long dark of this coming Dakota Winter by providing me with peace and serenity as well as a challenge to my mind and body.  It is also designed to create a sense of satisfaction as the projects develop and progress. 

When I'm not at work or possessed by projects, another of the studio's characteristics will come into play. 

I don't refer to it as my studio for no good reason, you know.  There's something about it that jump-starts creativity.  It's where some of my best pieces have come to life.  It's where I found out I can sculpt a face and still not be able to draw or paint the same face - go figure.  Although I have found that I CAN produce fairly reasonable pieces in other places, I can't WAIT to get back in there and see what's waiting for me to find it!  The anticipation and excitement are heady, a real strength in Plan A.

Wry chuckle ... the pieces that don't turn out to my satisfaction I can just burn in my wood stove and nobody will ever know they even existed! 

There's enough sorting and filing to keep me busy for a good long time, just getting everything situated. 

Then will come the floor treatments, the wall and ceiling treatments, the window treatments. 

Then will come the building of accessible work counters and cupboards as the money accumulates to finance them.  The plans are already done so it's just a matter of doing the building. 

Also on the list is getting my double stainless steel sink set in and plumbed, as well as a walk in shower for the plumbing to-do list. 

Eventually I'm going to want a counter cooktop, but for the time being my regular stove will do fine.  For that matter the little wood stove would do fine for cooking purposes.  I also have table top burners, microwaves, and a big roaster oven so I don't even really need the stove at all but I'll put it in anyway.  The cold cupboard works great during the long dark of Dakota Winters for a refrigerator/freezer, but I'll put the ones I have in anyway. 

IF everything works out and Plan A is a go, by next spring most of the inside projects will be either done or well under way and I can leave them alone and get busy on the outside ones during the most wonderful part of the Dakota Year.  I will be in hog heaven while I'm finishing the roofing, getting the new door put in, and building ramps and decks in between working my 3-11 shifts. 

Having something to look forward to is as important as seeing progress on what you're working on. 

One of the outside projects I want to get under way is building a rock garage for my little pick up truck.  Heaven knows there are plenty of rock piles around that nobody would object to me robbing.  It doesn't have to be a very big garage.  Besides hopefully serving its purpose when I get it done, it will be good practice for a bigger project I have in mind - but that's a part of Plan B so I'm not going to get into it quite yet! 

Plan A, implemented in a duly orderly fashion, will keep me busy enough for quite long enough to get me through the next year!