Studio Business

 I had followed up with the people running the building by email, but heard nothing.  And I had sent out some emails regarding the open studio to people in the area who had taken classes with me.  One replied she couldn't make it, the other I haven't heard from as of now.  I had been advised that the main parking lot would not be available yesterday, some roof repairs, but yesterday's weather was unpleasant. and not needing to go in, I didn't.  But today was a nicer day, so why not go in for a bit, and find out what was going on, plus prepare for Sunday,

Driving up the road, I had noticed people working on the back of the building roof, and throwing stuff off it. The front lot was mostly empty.  A sign telling people to drop off artwork in the office (probably the next show), but the photos still up on the wall, the show expected to be there on Sunday.  When I first walked into my Studio it was very dark, and I saw ochre shapes covering up all the windows.  Did we get some shades for all windows finally?  Looking more carefully, I realized it was plywood leaning up against the outside of the building, probably protecting the windows from the debris falling from the roof. Probably a good idea.  

I expected a short stay, but did bring one album, a label produced cassette of Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble.  I had a few Vaughn albums on disc, but this was the only one I had purchased and only had on tape.  Probably because the album came out in 1983, and discs weren't available yet.  However, one of the songs, "Pride and Joy" was regularly played on the local rock radio station in New York, so I knew this album well.  The rest of the album was very much Texas blues (I had a live version of the album's title song on a blues compilation disc).   The good news was that he had beaten a bad drug dependency. The bad news was that he died in a helicopter crash in 1990.  Learned about it while at work in Hackensack, and asked the boss to let me go home to morn.  She said no.  The tape played fine in my Studio boom box.

One thing I wanted to do was straighten up my areas a little bit before the Sunday event.  For now I didn't touch any of Molly's stuff, as I have no idea when she returns, but I may move a few things around on Sunday before everyone arrives.  My excuse is that we need space for people to walk around, but I will make use of a little of her table space temporarily.  Meanwhile, I used my visit today to rearrange and tidy up my one table and my drying rack.  Below is what it looked like after I was done:

Of course, some things will be put back today, but at least it's ready now to be quickly cleared on Sunday.  Lots of room to work and display some prints and blocks.

Before leaving I checked the bathroom, and the sink was cleaned of whatever red was in it last time.  I don't know who did it, but it was done.  From the office I got an update on plans for the building and for the weekend.  The railings that had surrounded the parking lot and are now gone are going to stay gone, with a plan to put hedges there, which I was told matches the original design from long ago.  Whatever. One sidewalk was torn up, and may be back before Sunday or not, but we don't think it affects anything. The roof is coming along, and work will stop over the weekend, with the contractors cleaning up their stuff in between, which will help us with parking on Sunday.  I was told that Bobby was planning to be part of the Open Studio event, which is good- more likely a sign gets put up sending people to the basement, and he's good at inviting people who show up.  All that settled, I went home.