shelves n' stuff

i'm dying to show off the whole room, but until the little bits and bobs at the end are done, i will have to settle for the table putting togethers.

the shelves and stuff were built yesterday, and i have everywhere that needs to be painted painted.



if you click the photo, there are notes to explain stuff.

the unpainted bits will be edged with nicer wood and stained. the storage is fantastic :D
and i could sleep on top of it if i wanted to ;)

newses!

the work table should be finished today! (being built, anyway)
i couldn't wait and started priming, but there will be shelves inside...



it's a HUGE table! i love it! :D

also, i have some gallery news!
i will be participating in this show at highwire gallery in june :D
i'm really excited about it!
i will be showing my entire "survival (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger)" series there along with (hopefully) some new pieces!



check highwire's website for any other info.
see you later with a finished studio, perhaps? :D

oh, and here's a lil' pic of the pooch in his new studio bed. just cause it's cute :)

copycats

i recently joined an etsy team called the snow leopard network.
the quality of the work on that team is fantastic!

have a gawk:
snow leopard network
i am honored that i was invited to be a part of it.

anyway, once a month, this team has a talk about blog. people on the team write on a chosen topic and list the links of the others' blogs too. i think that's called a blog carnival. (i'm learning?!)
it's really interesting to hear what everybody has to say.

this is my first attempt...

and it's about copying!
(just the word copying gets my undies in a twist.)

besides being a member of the snow leopard network, i've been on etsy's plush team for a few years,
since it started, really.
copying has happened to me, and MANY of the other plush makers.
we discuss the problems surrounding this often!
surfing around the innerwebs, you hear about it DAILY!!!
it is heartbreaking.

i have been to many a craft show where you hear someone say "i could make that".
you probably have heard that too.
it takes all that i have in me not to punch them.

what is really baffling is how many people don't understand that it's NOT OK!!!!!

artists and craftspeople work hard to come up with original ideas, learn how to make it work, and work their butts off to get it out in the world....usually with the intention of making a living off of what they are good at.

when someone comes along and just takes this end result...well...it's stealing.

you know when you watch a dvd, and it says all that stuff about not using anything in it for personal or monetary reasons, or you will be fined eight gazillion dollars?
well, it's the same thing.
but there are people who use the stuff anyway :(
there's always gotta be "those people".

i wish i could say that everyone who made stuff was creative and imaginative and put their heart into what they did, but that wouldn't be true.
some people know how to make stuff, but they can't come up with ideas, so they just take somebody else's.

and the worst of these people.
the worst of them ALL!!!!
are the ones who will deny they copied and refuse to stop selling the idea that rightfully belongs to somebody else.
they will actually FIGHT over it!

do they think no one will notice???

these people do not understand how absolutely horrible it feels for the original artist because they don't know what it's like to have created something original.
they don't know because they can't do it...
...or they are too lazy to try.

there are so many books out in the world to tell you how to make things!
there are tutorials all over youtube.
there are many workshops and classes you can take.

but to take an artists work and try to pull it off as your own is wrong and immoral.
if there are still people in the world who truly don't realize this, then i think it's our responsibility, as artists, to spread the word.

which is why i agreed to write about this topic.

copiers!!! listen up!!!
it is hard enough to get by as an artist. please stick to your day jobs and leave our territories alone!
you will never be consistent enough with your work if you are only following someone else's finished product. you will always fail taking the shortcut.
it takes time! it takes years and years to develop an art!!!! it takes experiences, it takes patience, it takes failures and successes. it takes blood, shit and tears! it needs a heart and a soul.
don't try take that away from an artist and their work.
you can't.
and your copy will be absolutely lifeless if you try.
i can promise you that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

please see what the other snow leopard peeps think about all this...


ArtJewel designs
Andes Cruz
Jewelry by Natsuko
Beth Cyr
Tosca Teran
Tamra Gentry
alisa miller
Mary Spencer
Thomasin Durgin
rosyrevolver

my heroes

hero |ˈhi(ə)rō|
noun ( pl. -roes)
a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities : a war hero.

• the chief male character in a book, play, or movie, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

• (in mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semidivine origin, in particular one of those whose exploits and dealings with the gods were the subject of ancient Greek myths and legends.

• (also hero sandwich) another term for submarine sandwich .

these two guys are my heroes.



(they are not any kind of sandwich.)

that is our friend, jon on the left, and my husband, pat, on the right.

they worked their arses off for me to build this studio.
for something that started off as a small job, it turned into a HUGE project.
the result is something i've always dreamed of having, but never thought i would!
i am forever grateful and indebted to these two guys.

so, this is a public THANK YOU! from the bottom of my heart!
i'm a happy girl! :D

p.s. we make a GREAT team! xo

water!

i finally got my sink installed! and it works!!!! :D
i was a little skeptical about this sink at first...
i mean, i love the sink, but it's meant to be a bathroom sink on a vanity.
and i thought it would be kinda cool to use it like a vessel sink only it's really rectanglish i had to order the faucet elsewhere, so i wasn't able to see what it would be like until i got it here.

it's definitely different.

i was afraid that the faucet would pour the water right over the sink and onto me!
but it doesn't. it works just fine! and it is nice and high for washing brushes and stuff.





i sorta hate that the drain thing is silver, but what can i do? :P

the floor is almost finished too! i need one more coat of varnish on the last bit and it's done! i'm just a little worried that since i had to do the floor in so many parts that it will be all different in spots. surely it will, but hopefully the worktable will distract from that...

anyway,
water!
yay!

this week...

we built a sewing table that's just the right size :)

and we hung paintings up (with a few extra holes in the wall, but i can fix those :/ )

tomorrow is supposed to be sink installation day! :D

and today my lovely neighbors (who give me the teeth moulds)
were throwing away an old door. they gave it to me to make the lil' closet door with, or the work table.

not a whole lot left to do!

can't wait to show ya! :D

closer and closer

just thought i'd fill ya in so you didn't forget i was still here ;)

we are SO CLOSE!!!! now if i could only get these fellas in here to install the sink and a couple of lil' things...
i'll be able to give you the grand tour! :D

i just got all my electrical outlets put in...the rest of them...today.
my sink is here and the faucet arrived, we just don't have pipes.
and guess what...
i have a lil' fridge in the closet! lol!

i have cable t.v. and my itunes hooked up to my wall speakers...only one side is working for some reason...we have to figure that out yet.

i think i will make a video at the end :)

just a peek

i wasn't going to show anymore till it was done, but i can't help it...
we got a sink to put here and this isn't finished being stained/varnished...but almost!
meep!

anxious

ugh! i can't wait to finally be done and moved in!!!!

i was debating whether or not to show photos of what's happening, but i think i will hold off to make it a surprize ;)

i've started painting the other half of the floor....
the base cabinets are here and all of the cubbies and shelves are stained and varnished...

we put the extra drywall pieces up in the closets to make it look a little neater...

got more track lights put up!

we need to install the base cabinets, the sink, and build worktops and a big work table...but when the floor is finished, i can start moving stuff in.

yesterday was 2 months ago that we started tearing apart the old studio!
it's come a long way since then!

nearly there...
i have to keep telling myself to be patient.

more stuffs!

i've been so busy!
and so have the boys!
they built me a radiator cover :)
i still have to finish staining and varnishing it, but i think it's supercool :D
(i should have taken that little wood strip off the top before i took the photo.)



they built that yesterday while i was cooking dinner.
they were done before me!

today, more cubbies were made! they are underneath the first cool cubbie thing. we're not sure yet what we are going to put on top, so we just put the closet door there to get an idea of what it will be like.

still needs stain, and they say i will have drawers at the smaller top of either side, and maybe one long drawer in the middle. :D



lots more staining for me!

i hope i will have some brain cells left after this so i can actually use the space :D

changed.

i didn't like em.
i tried to, but it was too much.
too frilly and too much of it.
i kept some of it, and i like it a little better.
it's gonna stay this way for a while. (for now...)




here's a detail of the steps, but i can't seem to get the color right on the computer.
it is darker and more greyish brown in person.
not green. i think it looks green in the photos.
meh.



put the first coat of stain on the rest of the wood, and touched up all the stuff the boys did yesterday....

now i'm not sure what to do with myself while everything is drying...
must. keep. moving.

stairs

sometimes things don't turn out like they are in your head.
but that's ok sometimes too.

at first, i had way too much going on here. i might still...but i sort of diffused it a little...
i used metallic paint so depending on where you are standing, you see different parts.
not what i expected, but i guess it's ok...


the new stairs:



the old stairs...(again. just to compare...)



i want to look at the new ones again tomorrow and see how i feel about them.
then varnish....
again.

the boys put one of the closet doors on, but i still have to touch up the paint and the stain...and also put the windowsill on the second window. (also needs to be touched up...)
they bought more wood that i get to stain and varnish (lucky me!) because they used up some of the baseboard wood for the closet.

after staining, i can finish the other half of the floor :D

hopefully, i'll be back tomorrow with more progress.
thanks for lookin and following along with this HUGE project.
xo

stencils? stamps? something?

so that half of the floor is done. varnish and all. i can't wait to put my furniture there!

i painted the steps a dark brownish greyish color.
i am thinking it needs something on 'em. so i have been investigating stencils and stamps and whatever else i can stick on there to add a little something to em.
this is what they looked like before:


so now that they are just one color, it looks blah :P

i'm heading to the shop later to see what i can find.
i have considered using lace as a stencil and those baroquey floraly stamps...you know what i mean?
i think i like this one...

we'll see...

i might pick up some copper paint, and i still have "the rust" ;)

happy half!

half my studio is nearly done!!!!
just a door for the little closet, and one more coat of varnish on the floor!
i'll be moving some furniture in a little over a week :D

i did it.

i went and got the rust paint :P
i still have a few squares to go. just takin a break...and this is only HALF the floor, mind you! eep!!!

the rust:


NOT the rust:



i am really glad i did it. it does look much better, doesn't it?

while i was working away, the husband came home and put up some track lights for when i hang up some art :D


pay no attention to that little closet. i'm still waiting on a door...

still don't have closet doors on the other side either. i'm being told wednesday...i hope!!!! :D

thanks for all of you who gave me rust advice! you are so good. you really helped!!!
xo

floor situation

so.
hello.
i spent the day running around like a maniac, and arrived back home about 7:30pm.
i had this brilliant idea that i'd just go down and tape the floor out...even though i was supposed to wait till tomorrow (to give the base coat more time to dry).

tape the floor out.
yep.
that was the plan...

so i taped it this way...

then that way...


then i had another brilliant idea that i would start painting it.
i really think those varnish and stain fumes did something to my head...

so i started painting it...
(i didn't finish the whole floor..just a few rows...)

(please pretend that my baseboards are there. a little wider than the moulding around the door...same color though)

so now i have a dilemma.
i really think just a small bit of a rust-color here and there on the floor would make it look SO much better...
and this is where i need your help, please, because like i said, i believe there is something wrong with my brain...

here are my thoughts and in no particular order.

•it would look SO much better with a lil' rust-color
•BUT it's a BASEMENT floor.
•AND a STUDIO floor, even.
•so it is going to get destroyed here and there
•and there will be furniture almost everywhere (that will be covering the floor)
•and i'm mainly the only person who is going to be in this room ever.
•and it's going to make the floor take a lot longer to finish than it already will without the rust-color
•so should i bother?

if i were in my right mind, i would probably say no...
no, susan. don't bother. get your studio done and get back to work! nobody is ever going to notice the stupid rust color anyway...

but my totally sleep deprived, fume distorted brain says: SUSAN! get up early and run to home depot and get that rust color first thing! just do it! why not?

please help me and tell me that i don't need the rust color...even if you don't really mean it.
no.
please be totally honest and tell me what you really think.
i can take it.
really, i can...

x

slowly but surely...

i haven't been posting the last couple of days cause there is nothing exciting to really say. and no exciting pics to show you :(
but i have been organizing and moving things around SOME MORE. and getting rid of stuff...donate donate donate!

i did put stuff in my cubbies but i won't show you till later when i'm finished moving stuff around :P

and i painted that same part of the floor. second coat. on monday i'll tape it out and faux finish it. after varnishing that, i have to wait at least a week to put furniture on it. then i can do the other side :(
it's much easier to paint floors when there is nothing ON the floor!

oh, and i patched up holes with concrete mix today.
that stuff is deadly. and you have to work really REALLY fast!

we have been getting a bit of water in one spot of the basement and i'm hoping this will fix it!

only when it rains LOADS though. like it just did :P

i'm feeling a little bit more organized though. at least i know what's what and what is going where...

both of the galleries i had paintings in end their shows this weekend so i'll be running around picking stuff up and maybe having lunch at fadó again ;)

cheers!

cubbies!!!!

they're up!
and DONE!
:D

presses and pulls (and stain stain and more stain...)

presses. that's what the irish folk call em. i don't know why cause they really don't press anything, but it is shorter to say than cabinet or cupboard :P

anyway, i have some! :D



you can't tell in the pics, but i bought those pulls. they are dark brown (not black) and have little bits of copper showing thru.
i got a doorknob for my door like that too.
matches the stain kinda sorta...

my husband is putting the doorknob on right now! :D

we didn't pick up the bottom presses yet. and the sink. but hopefully that will happen soon...

i was on staining duty again.
i woke up at 5am to get another coat of stain on the big cubbie thing from yesterday. i was hoping to get to varnish it too so they could hang them.
but...everything takes way longer than you think it will.

so i varnished the thing after going back to sleep for a few more hours ;)

this morning, my kidlet and i stained these shelves:



these were ikea shelves that i recently cut down. they were really tall. they are much easier to deal with at this height.

even shorter, it was a pain in the arse to stain. and now that i look at the photograph, all those little holes bug me. i guess a little brush might get in there...
i guess i'll stain the other ones tomorrow.

the husband finished while i was typing this, so here's the new doorknob! :D


still hard to tell the color, but you get the idea..
it looks better, dontcha think?




anyway.
wrecked tired...
hope i am more organized tomorrow...

helloooo!!!!

i am still alive!

i have been a little grumpy lately, cause i have nothing i can do.
i can't work cause my studio is all wrapped up in plastic.
and i haven't had use of my car for a while (troubles)
so i have been sorta stuck here.
useless.


BUT!!!!

today!

we got to work.
the boys went out this morning and bought lots of wood.
they built this:



they took it down again so i could stain it.
this is the first coat. so it still needs another coat of stain and 2 coats of varnish...




i think it's fantastic!!! there will be a workbench under it for woodworking stuffs (so i had better get better at it!)

they also put my door to the laundry room on:



that i had to paint. that doorknob (i hope) is only temporary. i want to get one of those dark brown-bronzey ones...

i also got a nice windowsill....eventually we will get new windows there, so the wood will go all the way back to the window, but there is no sense in doing that now with those stupid old windows...



this is the fun stuff! it's so exciting to see it all coming together.
tomorrow, we are supposed to pick up cupboards and i'll be getting a sink! :D
i am a happy painter-girl :D
x