I'm spoiled...Georgie's spoiled too because I've been in the studio working and out of her hair the past several weeks. But the frost is out of the ground and the "workout" has to begin once more.
We're putting a deck entry in front of the building. The ground slopes away pretty fast and it's not an easy walk up into the studio without a better entry.
Right now we're just forming the main platform, then we'll put in the steps, and then work on the ramp.
We just got the ledger, Girder and rafters up and are just beginning the deck boards.
It was a little cold starting this morning, had a slight skiff of snow on the ground and the temps were below freezing...but was out of the wind and pleasant enough in the sun.
Need a new body though. Too creaky and stiff after only a day of carpentry work again!
We promise to at least have the place accessible this week, so feel free to drop by!
It finally warmed and dried enough for Georgie to get into the garden yesterday. She always plants the cool season crops early but was behind schedule this year because we still had frost in the ground a week or so earlier.
Georgie likes to get spinach and lettuce planted first and while preparing the ground, came up with a couple toads. This wasn't surprising - it happens every year. In fact she said to me as she headed for the garden, "I'll tell you when the toads show up".
I have a long tie to toads, raised many from tadpoles when I was a kid. My mother let me raise them in the basement and tolerated my little friends hopping all around the basement floor. I always told Mom they'd "eat the bugs"...and I think she latched on to that promise in order to not discourage me. My first "remembered" wild critter when I was around 2-3 years old was a big fat toad staring back at me from it's hole in the grass in the backyard.
I like to draw and photograph the things that mean something to me; that are close to my heart...that covers an awful lot of "things" but these things aren't always embraced by the art loving public. But no-matter...I do it because I enjoy it!
Watch your step outside this spring and summer - you might make new friends if you do!
It is officially spring on the Tallgrass Prairie now. It is never official until the Pasque Flower blooms, and our first official sighting was Monday evening (the 7th)!
This is also when my itch begins to photograph or paint and follow the native forbs (wildflowers) through the season. I must try harder this year to make the most of what time I can come up with! Sort of a delayed new year's resolution I guess.
Pasque Flowers are like the "Robin" of prairie flowers. All through the winter, when the short daylight and gray cold days get to you, something to look forward to keeps one hopeful and sane. We've been looking forward to the first Pasque Flowers! Now I have to wait for the next snowfall (tomorrow) to come and melt before I can go back and embrace their return with my lens.
Its worth the wait.
The Vernal Equinox finally made it yesterday! I've been telling Georgie for weeks and weeks that it was coming!
Yesterday wasn't just the first day of spring, it was also the first "operative" day in the new studio building. The service provider came out and hooked me up wireless to the system in the studio, so now I'm at work once again.
I kiddingly like to regard "signs" as things of importance. Once we had the internet up in the studio yesterday I checked my business email and found I'd just sold a couple big prints...now is that a good sign or what!? I thought so. The day we moved all the furniture into the building a few weeks back we had good signs too...our first Robin of the year was spotted out the gallery windows and a mature Bald Eagle out the front windows! I thought that was a good sign too!
Its fairly gray and chilly out today but I'm still feeling pretty good about whats going on around us here; the birds are singing and geese are flying up the valley in large flocks, and the Great Blue Herons have returned to the rookery in the valley across the creek from us.
The "Immature American Robin" pencil study above is indicative of a new year of life beginning. I haven't carried that study any further yet but maybe it'll see new life this spring or summer?
Here's an overview on the "business" side of the building. The east end is the office, studio, meeting area, and the beginning of the gallery.
On to the west end is the gallery aisle...I will admit I can't hang much on the south side (window side), but I'm still making use of the space, with picture lights and hanging work between each window.
The long tables in the center hold work as well as being used for possible gatherings. My intent has been to build a primitive style plank table for the center of the gallery aisle space...that will be a summer or fall project I suspect.
We have more display work to do also, more work for this spring or summer?
I love the sliding barn door we made to separate the gallery from the shop area! The space back there is still being worked on, but basically is the framing, mating, printing, storage, etc, space.
We still have to hang the light out front and build a small deck for easy access to the building. We want it to have decent steps and a wheel chair accessible ramp. It won't be a big deck, but is more for function of access since the east end of the building is a fairly hefty step up from the ground sloping down hill in front of the building. Another project for this spring; need to get the frost out of the ground here first!
We'll be working on all these small details as time allows and will announce our first open house down the road. Hope you can come!
Here's a couple more shots of the Studio/Gallery space. Georgie and I have already had a nice evening meal there (conference table), and found it to be a very pleasant place in the winter. I'm wondering how the heating/cooling system will handle the summer heat?
The couch is a good seating space in the front gallery for just relaxing or conversation. I'll admit to giving it the "nap test" yesterday...turned on a little low music, and the small stove...it worked great! (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz)
I'll show you the rest of the gallery tomorrow, gotta get back to work here!
Thank you to those giving encouragement after seeing the studio building for the first time since it became what it was built for. We're pretty excited too.
The office part won't be fully functional till frost is out of the ground...probably 4-5 weeks(?). We need to bring the internet service over to the building as I do a great deal of web and computer multi media work. If we went wireless from the house, we still would not get the cable part of our internet service, so a router and cable are in order...once that's in place then the office part of the studio will be fully functional. We've put a phone base in the house and can get calls out there...I'm not sure if it's optimal but have answered a couple calls out there already.
The studio is fully functional now, we just have to make the "artist" fully functional! Just kidding...well maybe not, but either way I have another contract which is being completed (soon I hope), before the studio will see "lots" of action.
Here's another shot without the "body" blocking the view. One thing you'll notice is the bright window light coming in. We will be putting shades on the windows...this is a good idea for many reasons (UV light on the printed work, glare when working, etc...) The winter sun angle is low and does enter the building and warms the floor...this is passive solar and does a very decent job of helping heat the building! In the summer the sun angle will be much higher...we'll see how much enters the low south window space or if the eaves overhang enough. These are issues created with the sheep/poultry building - lower windows and shorter walls make for interesting conditions.
This shot is a small conferencing setting for clients or brainstorming, discussing projects, etc.
I'll show more shots as I get them done - keep warm, Spring starts 3 weeks from this Thursday!
