Friday things

This week has me running here to there. Here are a few bits of my day:

Very delicious veggie hotdogs that I made for Paul and I today, titled “Japanese Egg Dog”

A sculpture that I started, but it dried out so I had to change gears…I lopped off its head and got in some texture. I’m excited to see what happens next. I have an idea, but we’ll see.

This one will not leave me alone today. I love her completely but she only wants me to pet her when I am at the computer… Sometimes! (her name…but also her nature.)

Frantically trying to fit in the last two episodes of Amaya Gurpide’s "The Narrative Language in Drawing” course before the 1st. It has been such a great course and I am excited to try out some of the things she has talked about.

In the bag

Or rather, in the tool roll. As an artist I love to see other artists’ studios, tools and materials. I think there is so much to be learned from what people use to make things.

So, here is a sneak peek at the tools I use to create my work.

This is The Sendak Artist Roll by Peg and Awl, which I’ve had for years and years. It is well loved, very used and stands up to all I put it through.

I used to use a plain canvas brush roll I got from Pearl but was always looking for something that felt more “me”, (and also would stand up to how rough I can be on things.) This continues to do the trick!

I have it organized into sections, the first being practical items: a pencil, a micron pen, a small ruler, a Sharpie (!), and tweezers.

This area contains the workhorses of my tools: a pointed wooden tool for when I need more precision, a smaller rounded wooden tool (which has touched nearly every piece I’ve ever made) and a larger wooden tool, and 3 takes of varying shapes and sizes. I love that the rakes are double sided with a different shape on each side, as the different shapes are better suited to different parts of sculptures.

These are the metal tools: 3 double sided metal tools with different tips for various textures, the wooden handle able is a fettling knife which is helpful for trimming things, a plaster tool (which is also helpful when working with wax), a smaller sort of spatula and a clay tool with a flat point. Each of these tools can but used in many ways but I always seem to use them when getting into creating textures.

This secret pocket has a cuticle trimmer in it and I use this to trim rubber mold edges.

Lastly the front pocket has a clay wire (used for cutting clay off the block) and a serrated rib (a thin piece of metal which rides over the surface of the clay.)

Studio Update

I loved my little desk corner of my home studio. It got me through teaching online during at 4 different schools during a pandemic and became a place to display all my favorite little things. However, it required putting on mental blinders, because if you stepped back….

…this is what you got. Exposed heating duct which dripped condensation in the summer…all over my desk. An uncovered, uninsulated wall, which leaked cold air in the winter. I am pretty good at managing to work amidst chaos but because all of my studio spaces at home have some desperate need of work that needed to be done, this is where I decided to start.

I took down the fabric “wall” and insulated a bit more. We were going to build this out into a cabinet or something but I decided I’d rather just have the blank wall space.

Once the wall was whole-ish again, I started to build out the soffit and then began the spackling process.

While working on that wall, I also decided to include the bay window where I sculpt. This has been various forms of casting and/or sculpting areas but recently I’ve been working at a table on the left side because the light is so beautiful. The right side is usually some weird pile of plaster or molds or random unidentifiable chaos.

I decided to paint this nook black and will eventually gold leaf the tiny fancy ceiling, but another day… I included this chair that I love but we had no great place for and perhaps my favorite thing of all, a tiny table for my coffee in the morning. (On a recent job site for a commission, I saw these tiny brass drink tables and became obsessed. Now I have my own tiny brass drink table…for fanciness.)

And while I’m still in the process of resetting my desk and all my favorite things, I am so happy to not have giant holes in the walls all around me. It so true that the space around you can greatly affect how you feel and this already feels so great. As I get older I am (slowly) learning the lessons of what to do first before settling into a space, rather than just working around things. Anyway, here’s to making new things in the studio!

Studio // Work in Progress... (Like drywall...not art)

Looking back through images of studios past (HERE and on my old blog) always has me a bit nostalgic… Spaces where we create can be magical, and I always wanted that for each space I’ve had as a studio.

My old studio on Amber Street 2008 - 2012 (ish?)

My current studio(s) have been utilitarian since we’ve moved in… I’ve made my spaces within them but am battling one leaky corner and another wall that never quite became a real wall. This month I’m trying my best to tie up all my loose ends in the space and make it feel like my studio…and not just the room in the house that I’m allowed to make messy.

Here’s some process so far:

Before: Fake fabric wall while I decided whether to build this out as cabinets or leave it a wall. Exposed duct work. Hot mess.

Getting closer… Walling in the walls. Building a soffit for the ductwork.

Drywall. We are already beyond this initial ugly phase but I don’t have any updated photos. I love spackling but hate sanding.

I think making a space your own is so important to the creative process. It sounds a little woo woo but if you feel happy and comfortable in a space, of course it will be easier to create there. I’m also looking forward to getting some online classes filmed in here once I’m done but more on that soon.