a work in progress

The studio tour has been tremendously fun for me. Lots of people have come. It has been a pleasure for me to talk about my work and I am very excited to see people being inspired by my space. It looks like my Studio Play Days will fill up quickly with folks who want to make messes in my space. Yes! Sparkly, sticky, ooey-gooey messes make me happy. I’m looking forward to hosting these events. Today is off to a slow, but pleasant start. The wind is rustling the leaves, the pileated woodpecker is calling, and Ella Fitzgerald sings about the still of the night.

Last night was the Reception for the studio tour at the Library Annex. That is an incredibly beautiful space and such a gift for our community. I really liked being in that room and meeting some other artists in my town. Each of artists the participating in the tour brought one piece of their work to display. I took my still life painting titled kiss, which you can see at the top of this photo. As you can also see, it was a lively event and a pleasant way to kick off the studio tour.

Sherry and I had fun with our cameras, taking simultaneous shots of one another while the photographer from the Patriot Herald looks surprised. she’s really nice and I’ve been fortunate to have her cover my work in the past. It a shame I’m so lame with names anymore.

This morning, I placed the signs, hung a banner over the path to the studio and began catching up on all the work I have let go while completing construction. I enjoyed having lots of visitors to the studio and I even managed to get my schedule planned and printed up for this year’s studio events. I’ll post more about that another time, for now, you can see the schedule on my website, kathrynsemolic.com.

I’m several days behind in getting this post up, but I am determined to show each step of this project through to the end. This picture shows much of the studio with the art on the walls, although you cannot make out any of the paintings or how they are arranged. I am happy to tell you that the interior is now complete and that I have been working away in it all day long. Last night my friend, Martin, finished installing the desk. I’ll post photos of this awesomely beautiful and functional item later. It is amazing and I have found it to be perfect as I worked at the computer and did some printing today. It also served as a pretty good checkout station for purchases during today’s studio tour event. I must say how wonderful it is to be away from the house while working and also to be so close that I can easily cart the computer and so forth back and forth each day. I LOVE THIS STUDIO SPACE AND ALL THE POSITIVE INFLUENCES IT HAS ON ALL AREAS OF MY LIFE!

This space is inspiring and I feel so lucky to have a room of my own. I will be able to GO to work. As you can see, in the pictures above, this studio is my happy place and I have enjoyed getting everything organized. I still need to cut a sheet of plywood and make my new desk and adjust the mirrors over the front door but I am all set up to paint. One big bonus is the strain this is taking off the overcrowded house. I have repainted the sunroom, my former studio, and am eager to see how much easier it will be to keep house once there is less clutter about.

I am slowly moving my furnishings and supplies from my former studio in the sunroom to my new detached studio out back. Although I have two paintings burning in my mind to get busy with, I feel I need to take my time so as not to mess up the absolute beauty of this room. I also must save room to dance away from my painting as I work.

There are just a few exterior items left to complete this project and oddly enough, I will be sad to clean up the construction area and bring an end to this adventure. I am already thinking of my next construction projects and projects I will dream of and probably never do. I am definitely at my happiest when learning something new or coming up with new solutions.

I went to a meeting tonight with the other artists participating in the Eureka Springs Studio Tour next weekend. Everyone is bringing treats for the guests to enjoy at the reception Thursday night. I am looking forward to seeing the work brought by each of the artists and getting to know them a bit more. I’ll post more about the tour as it approaches. In the meantime, I’m going to finish moving in and work on those big eyed girl paintings I’ve been thinking about.

The trim is fantastic! I love it! Martin is amazingly skilled and so much fun to work with. Lucky opportunities are never overlooked. This trim evolved into a really tidy work of art. It is rather boat like, and if you know Martin, you know he brings the sensibility of a dutch sailor to all he does. I love the picture window and the view it frames. The back door cleaned up amazingly well with a sanding and stain. Martin’s craftsmanship was the crowning touch.

Here is a detail of the trim from the other window.

Once the white cove molding went up to the ceiling I decided I had to repaint the walls a much brighter white. Cheap white paint looks like old socks in need of a good bleaching. This picture shows the newly white walls and the white floor, which thanks to Martin, is all joined together with biscuits and appears nearly seamless. I had my own ideas about the floor some of which worked and some that was not good enough. The really cool trim at the base of the wall was made from the scraps from trimming the window and door. If this were a home remodeling blog, I’d go into all that sort of stuff more, but I am really ready to move in and get back to the business of creating and selling art.

Martin pulled in a minute ago to attach the floor trim he made this morning. All that remains after that is the trim around the sliding glass doors, finishing up the mirror installation in the header above the big door, installing one gable vent, and trimming the outside. I need to get back to work!

In this photo you can see that I finished the taping and mudding of the drywall, painted the walls, and whitewashed the ceiling. I wanted the wood grain to show through the ceiling, but needed to get rid of the yellow cast it gave the room. I mixed some leftover white semi gloss latex with three different clear acrylic mediums/varnishes, and threw in a bit of iridescent medium mixed with water to help it be more reflective. It took 2 coats to get it worked into all the grooves and evenly applied, but the mixture had just enough sheen to keep the light bouncing around without top coating.

I’m still working on the mirror insets for the header over the door, staining the trim and figuring out how to do the floor. Martin brought over his excellent level today and it took me quite a while to realize he was loaning it to me. I’m pretty slow when I first wake up! It will be very helpful to me as I layer pieces of rubber to level the floor and maybe even give a little extra bounce. Martin will be coming back later this week with some more wood for the trim which he will cut. I will then stain it before it is installed. I’m pretty messy with the stain and don’t want to mar my nice new white walls. I think getting the cove molding up to the ceiling will make a big impact and I’m considering using the same thing where the bottom of the wall meets the concrete perimeter wall. I’ve reached the stage of making some compromises in the interest of wrapping things up quickly so I can get back to work.

Tomorrow I need to pick up some more supplies in a nearby town, ship out a little mixed media piece, and drive my godson to school, so I’ll have a much needed break and hopefully regain the feeling in my hands. I think I will also go to the glass shop because I give up cutting my own mirror and have not given up on the idea of a porthole window. I even framed a little box support for it in the wall already.