Blueprint for Bliss:
Shaping a Studio That Feels Like Home
(photo credit: Kim Fuller taken at the abandoned Fort Adams in Newport, RI)
It’s only Monday and my weekly missive isn’t due to post until Wednesday, yet I am opening the channel to let my muse, Lyra, know: Hey, Lyra, I’m open to suggestions. What do you think we should cook up for our Footloose Muses this week?
I love writing from and about the road when we’re streaming along in Nelly. Right now we’re settled into a lush campground in Savannah, GA where large colonies of egrets roost nightly high in the treetops. Tomorrow at 8:00am, we’ll hook up and head to St. Augustine, FL where we’ll blend in with the locals for two weeks before heading back to Rhode Island for Christmas with our family.
I’d half-expected Lyra to nudge me toward writing about the journey so far: the miles and hours of highways and back roads Todd and I have traversed in pursuit of the next adventure, the daily routines and rituals that keep us ahead of the weather, tuned into the local scene, and connected to family and friends back home.
But instead Lyra wants to talk about floor plans, specifically the floor plan for the soon-to-be-mine artist studio. She gets no resistance from me; I adore interior design. I love the creative muscles I get to flex in imagining how to transform 500-600 square feet of 1820s mill space into a reflection of my ever-evolving creative soul.
As a Renaissance woman, I don’t have just one passion, one purpose, or one source of creative bliss; I have many (four, at last count). At the center of this hive of activity will be a large, hardworking table capable of supporting all kinds of tasks.
I love the creative muscles I get to flex in imagining how to transform 500-600 square feet of 1820s mill space into a reflection of my ever-evolving creative soul.
Station #1: Writing (and Reading)
Through every incarnation of my 70 years, I have identified as a writer. It’s the thread that has surged through every occupation and season of my life. It is my superpower. I picture two bold and funky upholstered chairs angled atop a plush rug, an adjustable floor lamp, and a side table large enough to hold my coffee, laptop, books, pens, and journal.
The vibe I see and feel is soft, functional, and wonderfully funky, and my heart skips just imagining the possibilities.
Station #2: Urbex Photography
As an urban explorer, I chase abandoned spaces and find beauty in their decay. I’ve photographed deserted churches, schools, asylums, hospitals, nightclubs, and private homes. Editing requires minimal surface space; it’s just me and my laptop after the images have been downloaded. Any matting or framing happens off-site.
Station #3: Oil and Cold Wax Abstract Painting
This pursuit demands breathing room: shelves for supplies, paints, tools, multimedia components, papers, and easel and, thankfully, a sink, conveniently tucked neatly in the back of the studio.
Station #4: Sewing and Fiber Arts
Here’s where that multitask table really earns its keep. It will hold the new Singer Heavy Duty 4453 sewing machine my kids are gifting me, plus bolts of fabric, scissors, pins, thread, patterns, and all the necessary treasures of the sewing trade.
The vibe I see and feel is soft, functional, and wonderfully funky, and my heart skips just imagining the possibilities.
Dear reader, what do you think?
Four stations, four corners, four portals into four different creative worlds?
