In My Studio: At Home

Even though I have my larger and beautiful public art studio, I've kept my studio at home in one of the spare bedrooms. I removed a lot of furniture and collage materials and supplies and took them to the new studio -- but things just seem to keep multiplying and accumulating here at the home studio so it keeps evolving. I like having a place where I can assemble my jewelry and solder without worrying about the fumes, and a place to create some journal pages when the mood strikes. It's slowly evolving into some semblance of....me and my creative spirit. Things Take Time.

The Evolution of an Art Studio: First Day!!!

Kentucky Girl Designs New Studio

What a day! What a week! They say that moving is the third most stressful event in a person's life (death, divorce I think rank 1st and 2nd, but don't quote me). I have to agree that it is most challenging. First off, my driver almost tore down the front yard fence with the moving van! Second, my other helper didn't show up. Tracking her down by phone, she was hiking over an hour away and had totally forgotten she was suppose to help! Thirdly, my husband was in a totally grumpy mood and not too pleased about the aforementioned circumstances. Oh brother! What can you do except keep moving? Which is what I did. In the long run, the move only took 3 hours. After he surrendered the van's keys, my moving buddy was totally focused and professional. My husband loved the new studio and had some good ideas on arrangement. My girlfriend showed up in the afternoon and helped me sort out the jumble of stuff and furniture -- and she wasn't worn out (like I was) from the packing and hauling. So it's a good thing she showed up late cause she could bull on through the boxes and art supplies. So despite the rough spots, things worked out well. And at the end of the day as I was finishing up my final touches, I looked through the big windows at the back of my studio that look into a leafy green tree and a courtyard. The soft California evening light highlighted the leaves a golden yellow. I looked around at my studio and thought, a new period of creating has begun in my life. I wonder where it will take me?

The Evolution of an Art Studio: Manifesting a Dream

All Ready for Kentucky Girl Designs to Move In

At the end of this month I will be moving into my new art studio at the Hamilton Arts Center in Novato, CA. This is a BIG step for me on both a personal as well as business level. When I started working with creative business coach Jennifer Lee of Artizen Coaching this past April, one of my future goals was to have a public studio in an artist's community by late 2012. Didn't seem unreasonable. What was unreasonable was that it manifested within a month of setting my goals. I had visited the center at an open studios event and talked to my friend Jill Culver (Soul Portraits -- check her out) who had a studio there. Within a week she called me and said call the realtor because a studio had come available.
Wow! That was fast! But I thought -- what's the harm in just looking. Well, I looked at the space and the most wonderful feeling came over me -- I saw myself in it, creating art, holding workshops, and selling my jewelry. But this couldn't be happening now. It was too unreasonable. I wasn't even generating income in the present moment. Unrealistic. So I sat on the fence for about 3 weeks, then told the realtor that I just couldn't do it right now. But at the same time I couldn't shake the feeling of the rightness of this step forward, so I got out the word to artists that I might be looking for a space to share, or for they to share this one with me. In a matter of weeks I found someone, recontacted the realtor; applied for, qualified and signed a lease; paid the first and last rent; got insurance; lost my co-renter; and decided to go for it anyway. Why not? Why not now? It's kind of exciting to see the development...if I fail I fail. If I take off with my mane in the wind over the cliff I might just sprout wings and fly!