A Room with a View

“I have inherited 10,000 empty wine bottles, one grape, every issue of La Nazione printed in 1958, and assorted previous tenants. The trick to overcoming buyer's remorse is to have a plan. Pick one room and make it yours. Go slowly through the house. Be polite, introduce yourself so it can introduce itself to you.” From the movie/book, Under The Tuscan Sun, 2004

As you know from my last post, I moved from Studio 217 upstairs at Artspace to Studio 109A, downstairs at Artspace. Much like Frances in Under the Tuscan Sun, I did experience buyer's remorse. Look at the before picture. Wouldn't you? In my case, I inherited a bolted down safe (which now belongs to Raleigh Ensemble Players, the previous tenant), two phone books (not sure what year), a damaged concrete floor, and a seventeen foot shelf. But the key to overcoming buyer's remorse is to "make it yours". So, for the last month, I have been painting the space, slowly introducing myself to it, and transforming it from office to studio.

The downstairs artists have welcomed me with open arms. I am surrounded by Marriott Little (painter), Susan Soper (printmaker), Susan Parrish (clay), Ann Harwell (fiber), Casey Porn (painting/drawing), Catherine Thornton (clay), Pat Scull (clay), Paris Alexander (sculpture), and the new Artspace Regional Emerging Artist in Residence David Eichenberger (painting/drawing).

So, last night was my first First Friday in my new space. Although my studio has been open for a couple of weeks now, last night was the first chance most people had to take a peek at Studio 109A. I had the chance to see some old friends and the opportunity to make some new ones. No more buyer's remorse. Like Frances found at the end of Under the Tuscan Sun, I have everything I hoped for in my new space. I am surrounded by the creative energy of the artists around me. I have space to design, create, and work more efficiently. A friend of mine said it best -- "it's part studio, part gallery, but most of all it's all you."

The Bain Project

Last weekend my family and I had the pleasure to step back in time. For the last two weekends, the Ernest Bain Waterworks Plant was re-opened. Originally built in 1939 in true Art Deco style, the plant closed in 1987. After twently years of neglect, 12-artists, including Marty Baird, Luke Buchanan, Jen Coon, Tim Kiernan, Stacey L. Kirby, Lee Moore, Lia Newman, Sarah Powers and Dana Raymond, "cleaned out, dug up and revamped areas of the Bain plant to convert it into an installation art exhibit, using the whole location as one big found object." IndyWeek.com

An electrical engineer, my husband's favorite part of the exhibit was the power distribution and the controls. My favorite part was the filter gallery and the hidden rooms up the winding stairs that housed much of the installation. In some of the rooms it was hard to tell what was art and what was the result of age and neglect.

My only critique of The Bain Project is that it only lasted two weekends. We were there on the last day, along with hundreds of people and I felt like the word was just getting out. Apparently there are plans to renovate the building and turn it into shops and restaurants. For at least a weekend though we had a glimpse into the past.