Score!

I'm back into a studio again and loving EVERY minute of it. It's the same studio I had 2 years ago. If feels like 10 years. A lot has changed in the last two... It's 310 in the Lathrop Buiding on 2nd Avenue. Three days a week isn't enough... I was surprised to find out on Friday that I can pick up the wireless from TVC. Which means that I should probably incorporate a few more blog entries while I'm in there. I usually think "I should write this down" and then forget about it by that evening or else I just get busy with family life, so having my laptop in the studio might alleviate that. It could also be a distraction, too.

Things are different this time. The simple fact that I'm in the studio during daylight hours makes the place seem very different than it did the first go around. I'm in a much better headspace too. Although I wish I could spend every day in there, it's probably a good thing that I'm still teaching 2 days a week. Being in isolation isn't good for me. I get weird and a little frantic, desperate is maybe the word. I go into some sort of psychic free fall, which can be productive or dangerous depending on the day. My friend Jill (what do you think dear?) spent some time with me this summer in my studio at home while I completed work for the New Horizons exhibit. That was a superb arrangement. She wrote while I painted and although our time was punctuated with conversation, it was mostly quiet. We both managed to get work done while still getting the social payoff. I should invite writers in there more often I think. My friend Lisa Janout (another stellar poet) is coming to visit on Monday so maybe I can talk her into some tandem creativity.

I've noticed that in the last two years I've become more aware of my process and so the arrangement of my workspace is much more useful. I still need an easel, but you can see the table over in the far corner... that houses all of my paints and brushes (and flowers I've been using for a still life). The shelf on the left hand side contains mediums, gesso, and cleaning supplies as well as a few other things. What you can't see in the photo is the stacks of painting supports and canvases that are calling my name even as we speak. Also, there is a small nook at the right that has stacks of recycled canvases. And behind me, next to the door, is a printmaking station with all of my woodcuts, ink, brayers, and whatnot. I took this picture while I was in the middle of a few things, so it looks a little messier than it really is. My point being that everything has a place now and organization reigns.

Now for that easel...