Blog

The Summer Studio

Earlier this year I took a deep breath and asked my husband Roo to make some additional changes to our home. The deep breath was necessary because I knew he'd already done more to improve the structure we bought in 2008 than one could reasonably expect from anyone. Hadn't I already sent him off too many days in the middle of winter to work in the unsightly, unheated mess of the renovation-in-process?

But, as always, Roo saw the necessity I'd so persuasively laid out for him. If I'm going to offer artists a workshop experience, I had suggested, there needs to be a large enough space for them to work in. That's how he came to be spending endless hours sawing up all the wood leftover from the renovation project that had been stored in our garage. And, overseeing the installation of insulation and sheet rock, and, finally, meticulously, applying trim (made of the leftover wood) to the built-in shoe rack in the custom-designed wet area, and taking care of many other finish details.

Once the garage was sparkling with it's new interior white walls, I seized on the notion of using the space not only for the Open Studio Workshops, but also for my own summer studio. After all, I'd been longing for a place to explore painting larger, more abstract pieces and, now, here it was. It was a gift that, once the weather warmed, I could open the garage doors and have as much light pouring into the studio as any artist's heart could desire. And, as an additional bonus, since I've started working there, all the activity inside the garage has acted as a sort of magnet, attracting anyone who wants to watch me work.

And work I have! The new space has inspired more creative expression than I realized I had in me. The series of largish, abstracted paintings I've called "Jewelscapes" continues to unfold. A commission for one 36" x 48" inspired a total of three bold works. The image above captures me and a couple of glimpses of the new work in the Summer Studio. One of new pieces is 48" x 60," as large as any painting I've made to date. I've set my sights on something even larger than that, if I can get it done before November 1 (when we have to get our cars off the streets to make room for snowplows). But, no, I'm not aiming to go large enough for ArtPrize, at least not this year. And, while  this summer fling with abstraction may continue as a long term relationship, I'm not planning to abandon the representational thread of my art. Wait and see!

By the way, one more Open Studio Workshop is scheduled this summer in this newly created, creative space. The theme of this 4-day art immersion experience, is "Stop making excuses; start making art!" This workshop will be held August 25-28 and, after this, I'm not planning to offer any other workshops in Frankfort until next June. If you're interested in learning more, click here. There are 3 spaces left, so please let me know as soon as possible if you think you'd like to participate.

Roo has more or less recovered from this most recent project. He's been married to me long enough to know that while it seems impossible to improve on the garage/studio, this is likely not the end of my creative imaginings. And, thanks to Roo, in time, these too will likely manifest.

Thanks for your eyes on my work!

Ellie