Studio (Garage) Sale

If my studio is in the barn... is it a Yard Sale or a Barn Sale... or a Garage Sale...? Or Studio Sale?

No matter - I have a lot of stuff to clear out!
I had to move out of my big studio in Concord so I have a packed storage unit, a packed garage, a packed mudroom... I have a lot of stuff! On top of that, I have a lot of other changes happening in my life and I need to make room quickly and clear out my house.

If you are in the area this weekend, please come to my

Studio Garage Sale!

Saturday, Sept. 29 and Sunday, Sept. 30

10am-2pm (no early birds!)

on Kearsarge Mtn. Road in Warner, NH

I have quite a bit from the Concord Studio (most is in the storage unit) - art supplies, books, displays, etc. I'll put some photos here too and I'll also list them in the Facebook Yard Sale Groups. There's also quite a bit from all over the house - toys, kitchen stuff (cookie cutters!) and furniture.Here's a little bit of what I've got:

Large, sturdy (heavy) conference table, with folding legs.

 Movie theatre chairs from the old Cinema 93 that I had mounted to a wooden base.

A mini printing press

Two mini-fridges -- a cube, and an under-counter fridge.

Lots of yellow shopping bags -- some with handles and some flat. Many different sizes.

An antique school desk and chair. I always meant to refinish these - the desk would make an adorable bedside table...

 Fabric covered office chair.

Fold out tumbling (exercise) mat.

Unfinished furniture (I used to paint a lot of furniture) - kids' table and chair, and little rocking chair.

Very cool giant birdcage on wheels. (fits a small child or large bird nicely)

Fiskars push-mower (great exercise... the faster you push, the better it cuts!)

Over-sized Alphabet block (storage chest) from Think Big in NYC.

Antique, child-sized, roll top desk (rolling top has been removed)

Hand-painted kitchen table (I carved and stamped the little teapots too!) I think it's about 3 feet diameter.

Big Bucket of miscellaneous rubber stamps. I also have tons of unmounted stamps, and wood pieces available.

Two big bins full of super-cool, antique cameras - Brownie cameras, Polaroids... They are really amazing but some (with leather parts) are more than a little stinky. It breaks my heart.

Lots of art supplies... like these drawers (included) full of metal foils, embossing tools and texture plates.

My beloved Beseler 23CII darkroom enlarger. My daughter asked me what it was and I had to explain what "film" was!!?? I still think that darkroom photography is one of the last forms of True Magic! Watching the image appear from Nothing is amazing!

 A bad pic, but this is a gorgeous, antique, bow front china cabinet - curved glass. (There are three wooden shelves).

Corrugated, folding pedestals with styrofoam and wood tops. Light-weight, but sturdy. Great for a show.

I don't really want to part with this house display, but if I'm offered enough money...
It's one of a kind! The Roof holds rows of journals, books, sketchpads... on the front is an open door to a cozy rugged area. On the back are windows, and the rest of the house is painted with chalkboard paint for drawing on. It is currently disassembled for storage and moving.

There are still two remaining tall bookshelves. These are designed to show the books with their covers facing out (children's books!) They are still in the storage unit, but we can get them out.

This is the best "portable" crib! It's German, I think, and wooden. Very sturdy, has wheels, and it folds down for storage.

 I'm still pulling things from the house, so there will be plenty more! Come and visit us this weekend! And bring lots of cash. ;-)

Let's Go With Plan... J?

I've got a bit of a mess that I need help sorting out. I apologize for the long post, and I understand if you don't read it - but if you do make it through - I would really appreciate any ideas, encouragement, suggestions, or large checks. ;-)

I'll try to break it down into the major issues.

WINGDOODLE

The Great Idea:

Wingdoodle was a "Creativity General Store" that my mom and I ran for about 10 years, and then I used the space as my studio (The BeeHive) for a year until I went to grad school. There's an apartment upstairs that I rent to a couple of really nice guys, but the store had been empty while I was away. When I moved back from VT last summer, I realized I didn't want to open a store again and I really needed the money... So I decided to sell the building and start a new business in Concord.

It took quite a while, but I found a group of farmers/artists who wanted to open a Co-op Farmer's Market and Gallery. After months and months - they formed their business and we were able to work out owner financing. That would give me a small chunk of money to start my new studio and publishing company ("Bumblebat Books") and a little monthly income too.

By April, it seemed like we'd figured out all the necessary details - we signed a purchase and sale agreement...

...and the nightmare began.

The Problem:

The title company said I didn't have a clear title - the neighbors were claiming they owned part of the store's property. Turned out, when the piece of land that serves as the apartment's off-street parking, was transferred from the neighboring house to Wingdoodle, the town had not filed the paperwork with the title office - until more than 3 years later. Unfortunately, by the time the land lot line adjustment was correctly registered, the house had been sold, with an incorrect Deed.

By May, there was a corrected Deed and Title for the house and it looked like we could go ahead with the sale of the Wingdoodle building - but then the neighbors decided not to sign unless we gave them a Right of Way across the land in question. Then they wanted a permanent Right of Way. Then they said it was actually their land. Then they claimed the shared driveway was theirs. And the tenants were trespassing by parking their car there... and then... and then...

The Options:

Now it's August. No one can accept the "blame" and there's no compromise in sight. The escalation already has had serious financial consequences and now, legal consequences. I have no idea where this is headed, but the only thing my brain is thinking, besides "WTF?!" is "I don't want to PLAY!"

The options are - try to find a way to compromise about the Right of Way and the Easement, go to court for a quiet title (a LOT of money and time), or start suing everyone even remotely involved.


THE BEEHIVE

The Great Idea:

Last August, I rented a tiny studio space at the Concord Community Arts Center so I could work on a few comic and picture book ideas. The space was 5x14 feet! So - classes, meetings... were all out of the question. This April, I had a chance to move up to a HUGE (850 square feet) studio space in the same building - at the same time that I needed to clear out the Wingdoodle building for the new buyers. The Universe sent me a very clear message to jump on the chance.

I set up the new space, The BeeHive, with a gallery/shop space, a meeting space, a classroom, chalkboards, a reference library, a more private work area, a stocked supply area and a large die cutter. I put up the trees from my store, and started on new murals. There are huge windows and enough space to hula hoop.

The Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT) Meetup group and the SCBWI Book Dummies now call the space home and there are some exciting programs in the works for this fall.

My Great Idea had been to create a place for my art tribes - building interactions in the real world. We're all so consumed by social media and I know that I disappear into my introversion without an actual public Studio to go to.

I imagined a space for CZTs to teach classes, and learn HOW to teach classes. Authors and illustrators could have shows and book signings and workshops. Groups could have meetings, meet ups, gatherings, retreats... all that good stuff!

The Problem:

The BeeHive space is leased by Wingdoodle LLC and is/was dependent on the sale of the Wingdoodle building. (See Above) That means that  - not only is the monthly rent and business insurance not being covered by the sale of the store building, but I haven't had the time or attention span to focus on getting the new studio rolling.

The Options:

The responsible thing... would probably be to break the lease, rent a storage unit and just put the whole idea on ice.

I'm not inclined towards being responsible.

I'd like to find someone, or a few people to run the studio - organize, schedule, maintain - get the teachers in, get it all rolling, earning money, making a difference in the world. I did look into hiring an assistant to run it - but as it is, there's no way to pay them to begin. Catch-22.

I'd like to find some sponsors to help pay for the space in exchange for.... ?

IF we can get this working, we could turn it into a non-profit, get donations and sponsorships (tax-deductible) and include workshops to provide artists with financial, legal, marketing, etc. information.

I don't want to run another business, I want to be a part of a cooperative studio space.

BEEZ INK STUDIO : BUMBLEBAT BOOKS

The Great Idea:
Beez Ink Studio is my own business - I've been doing freelance illustration and recently, more sketch note type work. I'd like to develop that more - an illustration-comics-sketchnote-zentangle fusion. Graphic Medicine, Science Comics, Picture Books, Online classes... and I wanted to publish more of my own books through Bumblebat Books.




OK, I admit it - when I start talking about these projects I get SO EXCITED!!! I truly LOVE creating these kinds of weird projects whether they are books, comics or stand alone pieces. The research, sketching, brainstorming, design... I get to use almost all my superpowers and different techniques. I LOVE DOING THIS!!!!!

The Problem:
The money for printing the books and running all the online pieces of the biz (Mailchimp, Teachable, Photoshop, etc .)... was going to come from the downpayment on the sale of the Wingdoodle building. So it's all on hold for the present. Also, I'm still trying to work out getting some of my rights back to my Zentangle books. The BeeHive was going to be the home base for Bumblebat Books as well as the place to sell and promote the books.

The Options:

If I let go of the BeeHive Studio, some of the money going towards running it might be used for printing books, etc - but printing is in the thousands. I could do Kickstarters too. Or take a home equity loan.

These three Ideas were all intertwined - the sale of the Wingdoodle building would fund the Bumblebat publishing and the BeeHive Studio. The BeeHive Studio provides the support (mentally and creatively) and the marketing venue for the books I want to create with Bumblebat...

NH CZT Gatherings at The BeeHive

We've had a few of the CZT (Certified Zentangle® Teacher) gatherings at The BeeHive and they keep getting bigger and better!

Everyone works on their own projects (or just chats and relaxes), but Bette Abdu brought a project to share.

Once it is cut out, the shape folds into a 20-sided, jumbo-sized, tangled die!

I started filling my shape in with organic tangles that I might use for the wall mural around the trees on the studio's walls. I didn't finish during the meet-up, I work slowly and talk too much!

I've been working a little bit each time I am at the studio, and then I started adding shading...

I am really enjoying easing back into the Zentangle world! Meeting new friends too.

If you are a CZT in the New England area - or a visiting CZT - let me know and I'll give you more details about the next gatherings (there's one this Saturday, and two in July) - we'd love to see you!

The BeeHive!

If you'd like to see more pics of The BeeHive, take a look at the BeeHive's website.

Looking for My BEES!

I know you've been reading this blog, drooling over the photos of the new studio and wondering, "WHEN will I get a chance to get in this space and snoop around!?"

OK! OK! How about Sunday?

I just created a Patreon project for the studio - Patreon is kind of like doing a Kickstarter (crowd-sourced funding) - but it's spread out as a monthly pledge rather than an all or nothing mad dash. As a (crazy?) incentive to get you folks to take a look at the Patreon for The BeeHive Studio (I could really use some feedback!!) I'm adding an extra, sorta-secret incentive... since Patreon processes the pledges on the first of the month - anyone who places a pledge (for any amount), by June 1st, will be invited to a private [Open] Studio on Sunday!

The best way to find out what's going on is to come and see and ask me questions in person! I know you'll love The BeeHive as much as I do - and you can be a part of molding this studio into the creative, buzzing, art clubhouse that we have all be searching for!

Here's some links:

The BeeHive Patreon project: https://www.patreon.com/TheBeeHiveStudio
The BeeHive website: www.StudioBeeHive.com

My comics Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/SandyBee
My website: www.SandyBartholomew.com

What if I were...?

Well - I MIGHT be... definitely the "muffin-top" looks familiar...

I've been bringing furniture, storage stuff and lots of books and art supplies... one carload at a time... up to the new studio. The BeeHive looks like a real studio now, but it still needs murals and I've been missing the quotes from the previous space.

Today I cleaned and organized and got my first quote up on the chalkboard! Hurray!
I hope to invite some folks over to help me tangle the walls! If you'd like to be part of the Art Tribe, I'll let you know really soon how that will work. Still trying to decide if I should do a Kickstarter - I've just been so busy with Science comics I haven't had a chance to think it through. It's getting there though...

Oh! And that good looking... guy... creature... Boodle... is a paper-mache creation from a picture book I wrote and illustrated as my Senior AP Art project in High School! OMG. His name is Benji Boodle and I'd been meaning to redo his book for, ummm, a very long time. Turns out that at some point I actually started reworking it, but I have NO memory of doing it. Must have been when I was pregnant with Lilah.

My Mom had kept Benji through all her moves and he recently moved back home when Mom moved off to Bar Harbor a few weeks ago.

Welcome back, Benji! He is also, officially, the second Artist-in-residence at The BeeHive.

It's a Sign!

I've been sick in bed for two weeks, but I did get one day off to bring some more Stuff to the new Studio in Concord. And my door had a beautiful new sign!

Here's a closer view of it with the studio behind  it...

I was blown away by all the detail that Christa was able to put into it - each color is another layer of vinyl! This sign, and the previous Bumblebat sign, were both cut by Christa who runs The Place. The Place is now one of my neighbors since I am on the second floor at the Concord Community Arts Center!

When I'm feeling a bit better, I promise to plan an Open Studio so you can come see for yourself how COOL all these studios are!

The BeeHive!

It's starting to look like a real studio!
Even divided up, with furniture, it's still really spacious.

The classroom area...

The Shop area...

The resource area...

The Mannequins have new aprons (tangled, of course)...

My mini studio...

Part of the storage room - with a big die cutter and tons of dies...

The rest of the storage room (and the big cabinet I painted)...

I had a test run with the space on Saturday. I invited the NH CZT (Certified Zentangle Teachers) Meet-up Group to the Studio and everyone was very enthusiastic! We're looking forward to planning classes and Playdays.

I still have a lot more art materials and books to bring to the studio, some lighting and murals too... but I got slammed with a virus and I'm stuck in bed for a bit. After my next nap, I'll do some more research on maker spaces and collaborative art spaces.

In Progress...

I spent a lot of time this week painting and cleaning the new Studio. I painted over the Angler Fish...

That took a lot of work and a lot of paint to complete the second HUUUUUUGE blackboard.

The first, "small" blackboard will have trees AND party lights!

The old cork boards got pretty blue felt resurfacing.

 And today we moved lots of displays, bookcases, books - TWO trips to Concord! Even my life-sized mannequins were transported. The younger one rode in my passenger seat, but the older one sprawled on the sofa in the back of the truck - rather indecently!

I just realized what an odd collection of studio necessities I have... just in this one picture there are three large drawer units filled with about a thousand rubber stamps, a futon couch, 16 stacking classroom chairs, 2 movie theatre chairs from the old Cinema 93, an antique wood door from India, and of course, the life-size, wooden, artist's mannequin.

I didn't take any pics of the chaos in the Studio after stuffing it (with two truckloads of stuff!) - but I will show you what it looks like when I go tomorrow. Now for the really hard part - creating order -  and a Studio that people will want to play in!

When I got home, I was so wiped out. I needed a shower, a nap, and chocolate. In any order. There was a big box waiting for me - it was my Lego Diner!!!!

I had ordered it as my reward for finishing the first four Science Kits (and about ten pages of the GOrilla! book) - and packing up my old store, organizing everything in storage to be moved, packing tons of books, and then moving it all... YES - I needed a reward! (If I can get the Wingdoodle building sold by the end of April, can I get the Assembly Square Lego Set as my reward?)

I also got a few of the new Batman Series 2 mini-figures! Zod and Jor-El were the two I wanted most! Yah! Of course there is a whole new series of blind bag figures coming out... oh dear.

It's going to be a while before I'll have a chance to build the Diner, but at least I HAVE it and can drool over it in person.