by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life |
It was a dark and stormy day, this day before the day before Christmas. Or the day after the day after the solstice, however you want to look at it. The wind was HOWLING, like it was coming to getcha, the rain was sheeting sideways and then the power went out. A cold, blustery, sucky kind of day.
But with four skylights, three walls of windows and the foresight to warm the place up early, Studio Grande didn’t need no stinkin’ power.
So I painted.
And scribbled.
And ended up with layers and layers of background on three canvases. Three canvases ready and waiting. But you only see two here. Trust me, there are three.
Sometime during the afternoon the power came back on. Sometime during the evening I reminded Mr. Spouse about leftover chili in the fridge he could nuke when he got hungry. Sometime around 8:30 I wandered back home, had an apple and cheese, some tea and Christmas cookies and stretched out alongside Mr. Spouse on the sofa.
We watched the reflection of the Christmas tree lights on the blank screen of the TV. Chatted about this and that. Precious Man Dog (AKA Bean) traveled along the top of the sofa cushions, climbed across Mr. Spouse and squeezed in between us. Sophie came from the other direction, crawled over me and began chewing on her brother. They wrestled atop us before spilling down to the floor.
All things considered, it was a very nice day.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Ponies, Studio |
Doesn’t everyone have one?
Her name is Jasmine June. A lovely name. But the kids used to call her Mom’s Hairy Ass. And this week I spent a lot of time scratching MHA in that special spot right between the shoulder blades, the place that no amount of tree rubbing can satisfy. It went a long way towards taking her mind off her hurt.
She had an abscess in her hoof. Not the first, probably not the last. I knew when I adopted her over a dozen years ago she had bad feet. Just part of who she is, I guess.
She spent the week hobbling around on three legs, or lying down. Obviously in a lot of pain. But pain meds don’t relieve an abscess…don’t even touch it… and the vet couldn’t relieve it either. It wasn’t organized enough. He did as much hackin’ ‘n hewin’ as he could, packed the hoof with a poultice, made a duct tape bootie and asked if I had anyone to help me when it came time to change the dressing. Which was fairly often.
Well, it turns out I didn’t have anyone to help me. So I decided to do it by myself. And I did. Just walked up to her in the paddock and did it right there out in the open, without tying her or anything. She could’ve hobbled away if she wanted. She could’ve given me a decent kick. But she didn’t.
You have to know Jasmine to know what a miracle this is.
She’s a donkey. ‘Nuf said. But this week, she was a princess. She knew, despite her pain and the annoying things I was doing to her foot, she KNEW I was helping her. And she co-operated 100%.
She’s much better today. Looks like things came to a head. YAY!
Even if my hands will never smell the same…
And now…news from the studio.
This weekend Mr. Spouse made stairs to nowhere. In a few weeks they’ll connect with the sidewalk that will lead to the door.
Eventually, maybe even this week, I’ll begin packing up the construction debris.
I’ve been playing with art journaling lately. Fun. fun. fun stuff!
And as for the new! improved! Studio Grande, well, it’s beginning to look like a place where art is made.
YAY!!!
Back in a few days, my best beloved sweetums! Now go out and make some art. Or hug someone. Better yet, do both!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Life, Studio |
It rained hard enough last night for the power to go out. Poured throughout the day today. Snow. Hail. Going to keep on going like that for another 24 hours.
Welcome to April.
When I came home from work tonight the first thing I did was check the studio. The new studio, Studio-Grande-under-construction. Even though the sky was opening up like some fanatical end-of-the-world-scenario, it was dry inside. DRY!!! Not a puddle in sight. No drips. No buckets. No horse shavings strewn around the floor to sop up the puddles.
It. Was. DRY.
Oh, what a difference a roof makes.
I went inside and savored it. Walked around feeling the space that for the first time did NOT include some reminder of the outdoors. A space that completely sheltered me from the elements. The air was cold but it wasn’t moving, wasn’t blowing in through cracks. The rain was on the other side of the windows. It smelled like lumber in there. And cold concrete, if there is such a smell.
Each phase of the construction has filled me with a sense of gratitude. Because this place is being created to honor my creativity. It’s my space to paint and spill and celebrate whatever it is inside me that HAS to make things.
And I’m so grateful for the love that’s gone into this place. For Mama, who left me the money to finance the construction. For Mr. Spouse, who also has the need to create and has taken this project beyond what I first envisioned.
This weekend we’ll put up the insulation. Weekend after that, the sheetrock. There’ll be cabinets to assemble, concrete countertops to pour. If all goes as planned, I’ll be in there in early June.
And I can’t wait! Got a business to get up and running. Painting. Teaching. Marketing. Letting my light shine.
It’s about time.
Speaking about business, be sure to check out my Facebook page, SLPorter, Mixed Media. I’ll be posting a little something there every day. Brief little bits of studio news, new art or something from my classes. Arty Life Lite. And if you like what you see, please do me a great big favor and click the ‘like’ button on the top of the page. I want to get more ‘likes’ than Coca-Cola. I only have 41.something million to go.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Life, Mr. Spouse, Studio |
Rain. OMG, winter has FINALLY ARRIVED.
And Studio Grande-in-progress has HALF a roof. Just half. The other side being nekked plywood. The skylights are in, all four of them. But Mr. Spouse wasn’t sure of the flashing, the stuff that makes them water-tight. With the storm door now open and rain/snow predicted all this week and beyond, he tarpped ’em, Danno. Just to be safe.
The side that has the roof, you know, shingles and stuff, did not leak at all in last night’s rain. That side has been the major leaker in the past so we are very pleased.
But the nekked side has two tarps. Because it leaks. This is the view from the back door of our house.
And this is the hobbit door. It will be painted red. And the bungee cord will be replaced with a real door knob.
There are other things to be done inside, less dramatic as far as photos go but enough to keep us busy since all outside work is on hold until the weather clears. Which could be weeks.
I say us but I really mean Mr. Spouse. It’s my studio but his project.
And I’m not complaining at all.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Family, Life, Mr. Spouse |
A view from the other side.
This weekend I was checking out a blog, Living in the Moment. Oh my sweetums…lo and behold, the subject was about…well, if you’re a regular reader of my Wednesday Random Acts of Art posts, you might have an idea of where I’m going with this.
TA TA–and you’d be RIGHT! Kristne Dubuque Ortega discovered, if not a Random Act of Art, a random act of luvvvv. You can read about it here. Go ahead. Read it RIGHT NOW. Really. Do. I’ll wait. And when you come back we’ll have a talk.
And jump up and down waving our arms and doing backflips because now you KNOW, without a doubt, how COOL it is when someone finds an unexpected little treasure. Something hidden but not quite hidden by a stranger.
Our little Random Acts of Art can make a difference in someone’s day. There, that’s our talk. Now on to business…
We’ll start today with a couple of contributions from sister Marjorie Ellen in Norway.
This first one was left in what normal people call a theater but Norwegians call the movie house. Very civilized, look…flowers. I don’t know the name of the movie. Or if sister M.E. had popcorn. I hope she did. With lots of butter and salt.
This one is extra special. She left it in the mailbox of a friend with a broken heart. I would make all sorts of heart emoticons here but I haven’t figured out how to do that.
Now it’s my turn and I have a confession. I didn’t get out much this week. Had a couple of snow days. Some work from home days. And a whole lot of painting going on down in Studio Grande. I did get some heARTs out but I decided to hide right here around the Porterosa. Because my family deserves love too, right?
The first one was a blatant gift for Mr. Spouse, he who is building the new, improved Studio Grande. A token of my appreciation left on the chop saw. He was honored. Well no, he was perplexed. After all, he couldn’t hammer it, chop it or eat it. But he decided to keep it somewhere special among his tools. So he said. He is a most romantic man. I suspect he’ll find it again in a few weeks, scratch is head and wonder where this came from.
I do so love him.
Now this second one has quite a story behind it. I had a rock in my pocket with the intention of driving into town and making an art drop. I was walking down to the barn, mulling over where I would go for the next random art drop. That’s when I felt the humm. It’s a vibration, really. Starts deep in the bones and resonates out through the soft tissue and then you hear it…angel voices in the wind.
The chimes we hung in the oak grove.
I forgot about the barn and headed down the path to the place where the deer bed down. The place where Mama wanted us to bury her ashes, along with those of my Dad. As I approached the circle of moss covered boulders, the hum I was feeling gave way to the soft gong of the chimes. Slowly, one distinct note at a time. As I stood next to the tree that holds the chimes that hang over the rocks where my parents are, the clapper began dancing in the wind-that-was-not and I KNEW that the right and perfect place for the rock in my pocket was right there. In the fork of the tree.
Because Mama was telling me, hey, why drive all the way into town when you can spread some of the luvvvvvvvvv right here.
So I did. Seems I listen to my mom better now that she’s on the other side.
Those were my Random Acts of Art this week. And Margie from Norway. You got any this week? This is a blog hop for those of you who have some Random Acts of Art you want to share. Click below (above the comments) where it says “you are next…click here to enter” and follow the directions to enter your URL. The link list remains open until Saturday 11:59 Pacific Time, USA. Oh, and remember, this week is when daylight savings begins here in the US. If you don’t have a blog and want to join us next week, send me your photos anytime before Tuesday night and I’ll add them to my post.
Help spread the word! Tell your friends. Click the social share buttons down below. We are spreading the luvvvvv around the world, one arty token at a time.
The more the merrier!
