New studio

I was waiting for it to be completely finished before taking pictures, but I don't think that's ever going to happen... and it's close enough. There isn't really much else to be done, and it doesn't affect me that much; the draining system they put in place isn't working so they need to re-do it, and I can't get some of the larger furniture I wanted until that's done.

For those of you who missed the story, I've been working in the basement of my parents' house since I graduated from college.  The space was a pink and yellow misery that I shared with old toys, mattresses, random junk, dirt, and, most unpleasantly, CRICKETS.  I'm not convinced the crickets are gone forever, but I haven't seen one since the renovation at least... Anyway, despite my complaints about a moldy smell when I came home from school, my father decided to bring in an environmental testing company a year and a half later and, surprise, everything was full of mold. It was a pretty terrible inconvenience and I would have lost my artwork if I hadn't made a tremendous fuss about it.  But, I have to say, it was an awful space and now it's a pretty good one. It's still a basement, and I don't have the natural light I'd like, but it's spacious and it has the essential things I need and I can make a mess.

That's my desk, in a corner where bins and mattresses used to be.  The best thing I did was have them cover the walls with homasote. It's so nice to be able to pin into them.

Even though it had nothing to do with the renovation, my artograph stand is one of my favorite additions.  I guess it was so miserable down there before that it seemed like it would make no difference in my happiness to spend $100 on that thing or keep using the stacked cardboard boxes I was using before.  Well yeah, it makes a big difference.  Eventually there will be a cutting table where the drawers and trash can are.

That says G. KELLEY :)

This really looks like a picture of nothing, but it's another extremely helpful addition: a blank homasote wall that I can pin and project on.  There used to be an air hockey table covered with baskets, boxes, wine glasses, and other garbage along that wall.

Next to that is my paper closet.  They threw away most of my paper, so it's not very full.  That was one of the most frustrating parts of the renovation... having a non-english-speaking guy come up to me with his arms full of less than half used pads of newsprint and drawing paper covered in charcoal smudges, pointing to the black stuff, and saying, "See? Mold! No good!"

A big closet converted into book and supply shelves. I want to put flat files in the space underneath.

I've lived in this house for almost 24 years and played in this basement when I was a child, and I NEVER knew that window was there.  Our Christmas tree used to be on that shelf.  I'm going to put in an exhaust fan.

Overall, I'm pleased with it, and there were fewer casualties than I expected.  There was a stretch of about a month when I just had no clue where my work was and no one seemed to be able to tell me, which was scary, but it all survived. They threw away most of my papers, including my collection of fancy papers and textures that I used a lot, which is really annoying, and they threw away my rulers, which doesn't make much sense because they were metal, and my golden moll stick, which is sad because it was my golden moll stick! Is that even how you spell "moll?" I've never had to write it before...

On a totally unrelated topic that I don't think deserves its own post, I went to Borders today because I had expiring Borders Bucks, and I accidentally knocked over this book and while picking it up to put it back fell so in love with it that I bought it:

Infused water recipes?! That's soooooo... something. Something that appeals to me tremendously. Good food photography is amazing. I'll eat anything that looks pretty, and even more so, I'll desperately want to drink anything that looks cold and delicious.

Lemon blueberry water? Yes, please.