Movin' On Up!

One of those kind of bittersweet sort of days...  I'm glad I didn't have to do this alone - my awesome kid actually made it fun.

I had cleared out my little studio a couple of days ago - but today I had to go and - GASP - wash off all the chalkboards!

Whoever moves in next will have to paint over the murals. I'm not sure I could bear to do that. I had only been in this space since August, but so many things had changed.

BEFORE

AFTER

Time for a fresh start - and that means fresh murals in a new studio!

"Begin Again"... again!

BEFORE

The Kid pointed out that the only quote left - was ON me.

AFTER

So we took our ladders and buckets, climbed the stairs, and set our sights on customizing our new space.

BEFORE

AFTER

 We started with a chalkboard. This one is huuuuuge. Actually, the chalkboard is longer than the old studio...  It's going to need another coat of paint. And some trees, right?

It took quite some time to clean - lots of buckets of dirty water and I only managed to clean one corner of the space. But it was enough to set up my New Studio.

Crazy, right?! Everything, plus an extra table, in an area TWICE the size of the old studio... and it still only takes up a tiny part of this space?!

I still have a lot of work to do - this other wall needs a giant chalkboard too. But as we stared at it - with our bloodshot eyes and rumbling bellies - it turned into a fish shape. And since it is made of angles, I realized, it must be an Angler Fish!

We used our Master-Mural-Skills to create our vision...

A vision can be a very dangerous thing!

Look out Little Fish!! Oh No!!

 Yup. Except for the pain in my lower back - that's what I'd call a perfect day!

The BeeHive Studio has two artists in residence so far (pictured above) and is looking for two more Resident Artists to join us!

Post-Party Check-in

So THAT worked! We had a great party...

Guests arrived and left in small groups all afternoon and evening so it never got overwhelming for me. I got to talk to almost everyone. It was unseasonably humid, but still a beautiful evening.

 My daughter, Lilah, made carrot cake cupcakes that were SOOO yummy!

Laurie and my new friend Jim organized the food and decorations. 

 

I got lots of lovely birthday gifts!

 

I was able to show off my comics and sketchbooks from Cartoon School.

 As the hour got later and we consumed more cupcakes - we got a little sillier!

Meanwhile, my chalkboard received lots of great new quotes!

And I added the ones sent in by email and in the blog comments.

 There is still some space left, so feel free to give me some more quotes!

And thank you to everyone who helped get me launched on this new adventure, it means so much to me to have your support and encouragement.

And now I... BEGIN AGAIN!

Kickstarter blog... Done!
Masters of Applied Cartooning... Done!
Moved back to New Hampshire... Done!
New Art Studio... Done!

I'm going to show you the behind the scenes of the new studio, in just a second, but just in case you don't read the whole post - I'm inviting you to come see the new (tiny) Studio and help me celebrate my Birthday!

OPEN STUDIO

September 15th from 6-8 

at 40 Thorndike Street in Concord.

This part of the story starts with me looking for a new Studio space.
(I'm going to try and sell the Wingdoodle building). I found this teeny tiny space at the Concord Community Art Center (Concord, NH) which was being used by a potter. Seriously! That's a pottery wheel in there! The potter was moving to the basement, to a much larger space.

The space looked SO much larger when it was emptied out... (tiny bit of sarcasm). But I loved the idea of having a space - away from my house - to just work on comics and books. And I have always wanted to be part of an arts center.

What to do with a 6 foot by 13 foot art closet?!

I started by painting chalkboard paint - as high as I could reach with the roller - all the way around the room.

There was JUST enough space for the ladder, but it was difficult moving it around to draw the murals. And at the end of each day, I couldn't feel my legs and feet - from balancing weirdly on the skinny steps. I really need to invest in a taller ladder with wide steps!

I drew the murals just above the chalkboards. I would have loved to have painted the walls above them with a warm orangey color (to hide all the cracks) but the walls were just too high!

What to do about the big crack in the wall? Hmmmmm.... ha ha!

And the fire alarm! If I can't remove it, or hide it... then it gets some character.

The window got some blue paint and a new curtain and a screen...

Then I started adding color... and details like tangles ON the letters (see the "B").

 Christa from The Place (upstairs studio) cut a vinyl sign for my door!

I covered one of the old bulletin boards with felt and the other with magnetic paint. And brought some furniture.

 Lights! And flowers on the window...

 Notice the empty chalkboard above? I need some good quotes for it! If you come to the Open Studio - bring QUOTES!

I wrote a big quote over my work table.

And I stuck in some needle-felted creatures...

And this is where I have been drawing my comics for the last few weeks! I'll write another post about the comics next week (when I get internet for real, yeah!)

Oh - and Deb from Sew Sisters (studio next to mine) made me a curtain that I can close when I'm trying to concentrate!