What has been really fun has been to 100% re-connect with the studio. It has been something I have been battling for the summer thus far and hunkering down into  dedicated time and focus is the refreshment I needed.  I never really recognized how hard it was to readjust to my space after working outside of it for so long.  And, I anticipate, I should figure it out because I love the idea of working on-site installations whether it be just down the street from the studio or across the country or even around the world.  These are goals I have.

But what is a day in the life of my studio- well, I typically need to come with coffee in hand.  I decided last week that I need to drink less coffee and while I sat at work teaching, my colleague Brian noticed I didn’t have my typical silver carafe.  He asked if I was feeling ok and I explained that I’m trying to quit coffee.  That morning of class went fairly well.  During my four hour class, I will usually drink 2.5 cups.  After class, I will then go refill with a Starbucks Venti Americano after having 1.5 cups of coffee with lunch.  The Americano will get me through the rest of studio time and then I will get home and sometimes make another pot and drink 2 more cups.  If I ice my coffee, forget about it.  I’ll have a minimum of 3 more.

So when Brian noticed no carafe, I didn’t really anticipate what I was in for.  If you are following along, by that time, I would have had my 2 morning cups.  I felt ok and while not really thinking anything about it, I was off to the studio.  I get there and an inkling of head discomfort ensues.  While trying to focus on the tasks for the day, a splitting headache crushes every ounce of energy I had and I leave and go home and take a nap… for three hours.  And if you read my last post, I’m not a nap taker.  I woke up and didn’t have any headache relief.  And now I know, I truly have a problem.  So I went back to bed and hoped the next day would be a clean slate.  It wasn’t.  My headache was even worse… and I had slept in until nearly 11am!

What have I learned by this:  I can’t give up coffee.  It is perhaps my lifeforce.  So now I am working on drinking less.  It’s hard.  Today I have only had one cup so far but I am looking forward to my next cup.  I just love it.

The next thing in my typical day at the studio is to select the right music.  My studio is a community center.  It’s actually a pretty cool set up.  It reminds me so much of grad school where we had our own little rooms of our own making.  Sidenote: I saw Laurie Anderson at Zoellner when it opened and she had this brilliant segment where she talks of art school.  She likens the studios to something similar to an insane asylum.  The inhabitants are industriously working away at ideas that are of the utmost importance to them singularly- one person in one room differs from an entire building of that energy.  It’s pretty humorous- probably because it’s so true.  So the BF is just the same.  We all have our rooms of our our own making.  The beginning of the summer I redid mine because I could barely move in it anymore.  It’s pictured above in all it’s splendor :)

There is a slight downside to our studio community.  We have open tops, meaning our walls don’t go all the way to the ceiling.  I get why they did that.  It could get pretty claustrophobic pretty fast but when you are looking forward to the perfect studio day, one typically is looking forward to their own entertainment.  What I am politely implying is that it doesn’t always work out.  My studio neighbor and I have differing tastes and somedays are chock full of jaunty spanish music and Michael Bolton.  I’m not sure the connection but it happens.  Even with headphones, if I am able to block out the music, I am NOT able to block out the emphatic singing along.  All the power to him… he must be pretty happy.

So you ask, if I have been in the scenario before, wouldn’t I have run into the same problem?  Well, I guess I have been lucky.  We all tended to like similar music which made it a fun exchange.  I will continue to envy Adriano’s closed top studio where community music choices are never an issue.

The final component to the perfect studio day are my slippers.  I seem to favor coming in and changing my shoes.  If it were cleaner (and not full of wood shavings), I would probably walk around in my socks but the perfect remedy is the goofy slippers.  Since I have moved into the BF, I have had a number of pairs which often I will duct tape together to lengthen their life span.  But recently I went and bought two more girly pairs of slippers…. we’re not talking the slippers that look like you are wearing a stuffed animal, just little slippers…. that someday will make their way onto the castings of my feet that I did a number of years ago- it usually freaks people out or they think it’s funny.  I guess it depends on their sense of humor.  For those of you not humored, get a life.

And what is the point of laying out my day for all of you to imagine- well, for any of you who like to play “heather for a day,”  you have all the information you need to play dress up.  I will recommend outfitting your self in out paint/glue stained jeans and a glue coated shirt or sweatshirt…. yes, I do change my clothes too.  The past few weeks (aside from the coffee purge days) have been chock full of days like this.  They are my favorite days.  I made this painting, “Accumulated Meditation” that is now being installed at the Baum School for an exhibit.  I’m excited to see it on display.  It was maddening but I love the result.

I’m now switching my attention to an off site installation.  Check out my crazy space……

Pretty rough, right?  I cannot wait to get my hands on it.  I’m still completing sketches but will be thrilled to update you as it comes to life!  More to come, I promise!!