I had my "The Studio is Open" sign out on the landing yesterday, and a few Lonely Wanderers made the trek upstairs to see it. Perhaps I need to put out a disclaimer: "No paintings of loons and canoes; sorry!" The distress was palpable; I can only imagine the inner conversations ("It said it was an art studio. There are no paintings of birch trees or anything that looks like something! I don't know; I don't think this is really art...oh, but she does have peppermints in a bowl. I'll just take one, say thank you, and head out now....")
Perhaps I'll consider the peppermints a participatory installation piece....
The Studio: a funky gift shop and gallery created by Melissa McCarthy, artist and bon vivant. 50 Canal Street, Laconia NH. 603.455.8008. Regular hours Wednesday - Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-3. Special events monthly; see calendar for updates. Every Tuesday at The Studio Local Outbreak, a great music program records live - check out http://ipmnation.com/local-outbreak for information!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Process
A full sheet of Rives BFK and a 15 year old niece can go a long way toward detaching one from product. Haven't enjoyed working for the sake of working like that in a long time...and ended up with a mixed-media drawing I really like. It is an interesting realization that the end result of good process can be more satisfying that a pre-conceived notion of what the end result should be. It also feels like one of those lessons that I will need to keep learning....
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Jiffy Pop
I think I am going to make Jiffy Pop the unofficial sponsor of The Studio. Nothing happens until you shake things up a little and the results are delicious! In thinking about the way I'd like to approach things, that's really my goal: to shake things up a bit.
I told a friend, "I don't want to pull the rug out from under people, just rearrange the furniture a little".
I told a friend, "I don't want to pull the rug out from under people, just rearrange the furniture a little".
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Two months almost already
Tuesday, August 18th will mark the two month anniversary of physically taking possession of my studio. It was the day I handed over the signed lease and a check with a lot of numbers on it and got, in exchange, the keys (two; one for the standard lock on the front door, and the other for the padlock - padlock!? - on the heavy industrial door) and a world of permission and possibility. My generous, wonderful landlord allowed me to use the space "rent free" for the remainder of June, beginning the lease in earnest on July 1st. Since I had told my prior landlord that I would be out by July 1st, what ensued was a frenzy of what is best described as major schleppage. Stuff down the stairs from the old space, into the car (or cars, depending on how successful I'd been enlisting friends and family), across town, then up the two flights to the new space...hot, sweaty, rewarding work, but work nonetheless.
So, I was moved, but not moved in. July was the month for arranging, rearranging, packing back up, unpacking, hanging, taking down, drilling, swearing, and walking miles back and forth, back and forth. Does this sound like a complaint? It shouldn't; my old space was about a 10th the size of the new, and I couldn't back up without hitting my head on the sloped ceiling. In The Studio I can run laps, should I desire, and couldn't hit my head on the ceiling if I tried...unless I really tried, and involved a trampoline, or perhaps a bungee cord.
Now August is half over and I find myself making inroads toward making art again, tiny inroads toward working large, and tinier inroads still toward making the space available to others who might like to use it, creating an alternative to the status quo in my little corner of the world.
Blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda, and so on and so forth, and so it goes: I'll keep you posted. Toodle-pip! xo
So, I was moved, but not moved in. July was the month for arranging, rearranging, packing back up, unpacking, hanging, taking down, drilling, swearing, and walking miles back and forth, back and forth. Does this sound like a complaint? It shouldn't; my old space was about a 10th the size of the new, and I couldn't back up without hitting my head on the sloped ceiling. In The Studio I can run laps, should I desire, and couldn't hit my head on the ceiling if I tried...unless I really tried, and involved a trampoline, or perhaps a bungee cord.
Now August is half over and I find myself making inroads toward making art again, tiny inroads toward working large, and tinier inroads still toward making the space available to others who might like to use it, creating an alternative to the status quo in my little corner of the world.
Blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda, and so on and so forth, and so it goes: I'll keep you posted. Toodle-pip! xo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)