by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Today I walked up and down the hill carrying arty stuff. From the old studio to the new. It was hot but I had a job to do (she says like a superhero).
Mostly though, I was…distracted. By this. And that. And those over there. Bright shiny things. Cardboard. Tree roots. No matter. It was all more interesting, more entertaining, than trudging up and down a 6% grade in the HEAT, I said it was hot, didn’t I? lugging huge panels and paintings and all manner of arty tools.
6% doesn’t sound like much to me, although Mr. Spouse assures me that’s an impressive number for highway engineers. I’m going to bump it up to, oh, let’s say 75% just so you know I’m really serious about this.
It was steep. And distracting. Because there was a car in the driveway and I decided I needed to go somewhere. Anywhere. So I did.
Then I came home and the studio still hadn’t unpacked itself.
We were not getting off to a good start. So I abandoned the job for just a few hours minutes tending to the social media part of the biz. Because that’s important. And I was only checking FaceBook for the stats.
Two hours later…damn you, FaceBook!…I climbed onto the countertops, Mr. Spouse’s concrete countertops, pounded nails in the walls and learned two things. Concrete countertops are not for kneeling, no matter how young your knees are. And mine aren’t. And two: Pencils, nails, hammers are always just out of reach. Or hiding behind something. Or under something. Or mysteriously transported to the other side of the universe because of something to do with theoretical physics and Science Friday.
Blame it on NPR.
Make that three things: This is going to take longer than I thought. But it WILL be worth it.
And it’s going to be hotter tomorrow.
Now here’s a photo of my feet. On the way home, done for the day. Tired little tootsies now being licked by the dog.
And tomorrow I get to do it all over again. But it’s going to be soooo worth it.
Oh, and if you haven’t seen my new blog yet, BIG BOLD BEAUTIFUL YES!!! check it out.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Studio |
Once upon a time, like back in March when it was on sale, I bought an easel. A multi-angle solid beechwood sucker that can hold up to a 4 x 7.5 foot canvas. I bought it for the new studio.
But the studio wasn’t ready. The easel stayed in its box in the front hall waiting for the day I would put my brave on…and put it together.
I read the reviews. I knew what to expect…a great easel with the worst, absolutely without a doubt the WORST. Instructions. Ever.
But it was on sale.
Uh-huh. And probably with good reason.
I suppose in the back of my mind I thought Mr. Easel (he’s too manly to be anything but a mister) would magically assemble himself. That one day I’d wake up and he’d be sitting there in all his glory with the easel version of a come hither smile. We would make beautiful art together.
Didn’t happen.
So today I put my brave on.
It began as I was moving supplies from the old studio. I’d been ignoring the elephant in the room, the drafting table. The real deal HUGE thing I bought used years ago. I have no memory of how we got that into the studio. And I didn’t have a clue how we were going to get it out. Not without gouging walls, tearing off door frames and getting a divorce.
And then there was the matter of getting it through the new! improved! Studio Grande’s round red hobbit door.
That’s when I did the brave thing. I took it apart. There were lots of screws. And nuts. And washers. I took it all apart, bagged the hardware, labeled everything. Then I carried it, piece by piece, up to the new studio where I put it back together with a little bit of help from DearDaughter. Did all this while Mr. Spouse was running errands
Wasn’t he surprised.
I figured after that the easel would be a piece of cake.
What the hell do I know?????
Mr. Easel’s name is now Effing E. Because so far he’s proven to be a TOTAL pain in the ass. Hours and hours and hours of my time, of DearDaughter’s time, some token time by Mr. Spouse who was busy doing other things…and Effing E was still NOT 100% put together by the end of the first day.
But after a good night’s sleep, Effing E co-operated and went together. Although Mr. Spouse informs me someone stripped some screws. Which he will replace for me, umm…someday.
EE is now in the studio, which is still not completely moved into. I spent some time getting to know him today… and I’m thinking he just might be worth all the hassel.
Smiley face emoticon here.
Oh, in case you haven’t heard, I’ve got a second blog up and running. Big Bold Beautiful YES!!!. You can check it out here.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Studio |
Oh my Sweetums…I know you’re waiting eagerly to see the photos of the new studio that I promised would be here today.
But they’re not.
It’s for your own good. Really. I would hate for you to pass out from the shock of it. Or worse yet, gag on your coffee and spit it all over the keyboard. Oh no, can’t have that now, can we?
So you’ll have to trust me. Right now the new! improved! Studio Grande is being moved into. Which means it’s a mess. Chaos. Boxes of art supplies stacked willy nilly, like something from an episode of Hoarders.
But I do have something to show you. Something SO COOL, so ESSENTIAL for an art studio I don’t know how I ever got along without it.
I was in IKEA. In the kitchen area. I don’t get there too often, it’s well over an hour away. But that’s where we bought the studio cabinets. So while Mr. Spouse was doing boring math things with the helper man, I wandered around, within hollerin’ distance in case he needed me.
Wandered into the place where all the kitchen carts are and found THIS!
Like it wants to hang out next to the easel, you know. Standing right there with paints. Brushes. Water. Hooks from the top shelf for things to hang from. Things like towels. Or containers that hold brushes. Three shelves for art supplies. Wheels only on the front. Or is it the back? Whatever. It’s easy to move but won’t roll away.
But it’s the top shelf that’s the kicker. It’s really a drawer. And the top is reversible. Flip it over, line it with shiny paper or glass and you’ve got the perfect palette.
Is this COOL or what?
And the best thing is it was UNDER thirty bucks. Okay, a penny under but UNDER. One whole cent. But still, it’s way cheaper than something like this would be in an art supply store.
And it was easy to assemble. You can read all about it here.
Meanwhile I’m going to keep plugging away at the move. Got a day job and the weather is cookin’, so it’s slower than I thought. But I’ll keep posting photos and maybe, just maybe, I’ll be in and painting by early next week.
