Welcome to my new studio!
When we returned from our summer travels, about 10 days ago, our kids decided that they wanted to start sharing a bedroom. Jasper has had a small Ikea bunk bed for a while, but since we had three bedrooms (which is unusual for NYC) we had decided to give both Jasper and Carys their own rooms. Then, unprompted, Carys decided that she wanted to start sleeping on the top bunk in Jasper's room so we are just going with it...and they are so cute and excited about bunking together each night.
Sooooooo...... mama decided to jump at the chance to finally have her own studio room! I can hardly believe it but, welcome to my new studio space. I've just completed moving things into Carys's old room so please excuse the mess, the organizing has been slow going.
I've had so many studio spaces over my years in New York, some big, some small, some shared with a bunch of other artists, some for me alone, some in sketchy neighborhoods, in warehouses....oh so many. But I just love love love having my studio in our home, it feels so special, intimate and easy with reminders of the closeness of my family all around.
The only problem really (and it wasn't that much of a problem) was that since space is of the essence here in our house, my studio was crowded into a corner of our bedroom.
It's true, for the past couple of years I have made all of my paintings, and run my shop, out of our bedroom, and truly enjoyed it. That is not to say that it doesn't feel so good to have my own room again, oh yes it does! It feels like such a windfall because I just really didn't expect to have this space so soon.
The timing is so right as I have a few projects on my plate, including my next show at Swallow that I am preparing for in November, the Gowanus artists Open Studio Tour that Frank and I do every year over at the warehouse space that Frank and I used to share, and getting my shop ready for the holiday season (can it really be approaching already?!).
The air is feeling crisper, the days are getting shorter, and I am thrilled to be settling into this new space, trying it on, fluffing my feathers and making some work!
I've got a few paintings that were in the works before all of our August travels that I'm very excited to start sharing once I get myself organized, you can see a few of them floating around on the desk and walls in the above picture.
I definitely feel like I'm getting back into the grove.