The garage where the studio is being created is built on a solid concrete pad. One of my significant concerns about working out here is that it could get icy on my feet once winter comes. After weighing many options, I decided to try an installed subfloor made to be placed down on the concrete. Hopefully, it does the trick!
Installing this subfloor meant hammering the 2×2 foot panels together with a sledgehammer—a task that Elise took on and completed largely by herself.
The original drywall in the old garage was probably hung about 30 years ago and never finished. Most of it has weathered fairly well, but the sheets on the ceiling were sagging badly and needed a creative solution. What you see here was my son Michael’s idea. Using some 1×4 spruce, he screwed each length across the ceiling’s joints above, creating a support for the tired drywall. The result, once freshly painted, looks really good and has gotten compliments from visitors.
It turned out that there was more work to be done in our new home than I had thought, so working on the new studio space had to be put on hold for the month of July. But, as of this week, creating a new studio has begun in earnest. As you can see, my wonderful crew of children is all drinking their morning coffee (or hot chocolate) as we create the skeletal forms of future walls.
We’ve arrived in Penhold, a little town just outside Red Deer in the province of Alberta. For the time being, I’ll be continuing my work by transforming the garage behind our new home into a studio. While I’ll be the first to admit that I miss the size and beauty of the old barn in Conestoga, I’ll be working hard over the next couple of months to see what I can create in such a space.
Last week I had the chance to spend a week in the city of Montreal to present a workshop for the annual Canadian Society of Soil Science meeting. I took the opportunity to enjoy the city. Amid reading in some great coffee shops and viewing amazing artwork in the city’s galleries, I also spent a day learning how …
I doubt very much that when my children’s teachers required them to bring crayons to class that they expected what followed—the creation of the first set of crayons made from Canada’s soils, rocks and plants!
[fve][/fve] While I’ve been working this morning, there’s been quite a conversation happening outside my studio window. It interested me, so I thought I would share! I only wish I knew what they were talking about …
It’s been a week of making leaps in my art, and then having to retreat back a few paces. While the overall progress should leave me satisfied, I’ve found this difficult. It seems like I’ve been preparing for a long time to create the maps of my atlas and I feel really ready for all …
Looking back and remembering the people and places I had the chance to visit this past year I can’t help but think what an amazing year was 2013. The year began with a trip to San Diego and working with Dr. Norrie and her Science Explorers Club. This mini-workshop tied together everything I hope and …
This week we had an ice storm come through our region. In Conestogo, everything got covered in a layer of ice—the roads, the trees, and the hydro lines—which meant that we were without power for a day (and we were lucky, many people didn’t have electricity for three or four days). While a lot of …