Posted in art, studio on January 5, 2012|
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In college I read Virgiania Wolfes’ essay A room of one’s own where she wrote: “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”. As I remember the idea was that if women were to be writers they needed to have access to the same resources and space that men were given at the time.
As a mother, I struggle with having something of my own. There are no spaces in my home that are not shared (or invaded) by kids and kid stuff. How many times have I crawled into my lovely bed and find a hot wheels car, stuffed animal or some other toy? My purse, car, coat pockets, and counters all show evidence that a kids was here. The sketch book I carry with me daily has some random drawings and writings done by these two little people I live with.
Of course I love being the mamma to these two, and most of the time I love finding evidence of their presence. But, I don’t have a space to work, to craft, to paint, to leave something out to come back to later. I share an office with my husband who gets a bit cranky when my piles of stuff encroach on his space 🙂 And, it’s hard to get real crazy with paint when your computer keyboard is right under your canvas.
So, I claimed a spot in my garage. Originally I had a big folding table which was a loaner from a friend of my husband’s, so I kept it covered and tried to be careful. Then today my hubby tells me that someone in the neighborhood had a free dining table on their curb. He immediately regretted mentioning this to me when I got the “crazy gleam” in my eye. So I cajoled him into taking his truck to get it for me.
Introducing Emily’s Studio!
This table is solid wood, and heavy! The neighbor’s kids had already drew on the surface so it’s in perfect state for me. The extra leaf makes a nice little shelf on top of the table.
“Studio” may be a bit lofty considering it’s in the garage next to the furnace and hubby’s jeep. But I decided since I am an “artist” I now have a “studio”.
So now I have a room of my own. That I share with the husband and the garage and the cars and the kids. But I can paint and splatter to my heart’s content.
I also have a space for the kids to sit and paint with me 🙂
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