A wee space of ones own.

I declared it and got it (see posting for my space, under categories.) Eli wanted one too. Last week he pulled down all his toys from the corner of the dining room, after the little table which he promptly set it up next to the original art table, declaring his own space. Now we all have our own space.

What I learned observing their spaces today:

Eli is learning to whittle, he uses the pencil case, still loves birds, adding beetles and bugs to the list of interest, has a rubber band collection and has quite an eye for finding them all around the city where papers are delivered to homes, he loves his picture drawn for him by the after-school teacher Katherine.

Eva's space is more, of everything. She loves making those little paper hand contraptions that you choose a number or color and lift the flap for a secret, is engaged in her new Charlie Harper coloring book, storing my postcards of the Blue Ridge Mountains, also loves her bug from Pat, decorates her table with a table cloth, of course.

my space upgraded

I found at the end of December that our lease on our space was extended and the rent was not going up. You'd have thought I'd been elated to keep the room of my own (+2) but I'd convinced myself that it was not working for me...too far from school, which is true, and mostly it was a pain having to put all of my projects away before leaving, cutting in to my working time which as only an hour often, not to mention the stress thinking I'd left a pin behind on the floor for poor Rowena, a dancer, to step on. Rowena had an idea for us to meet last week and be in the space together. When I arrived, she had coffee in the pot, tasty cheese and crackers and I added a juicy pomelo to the mix and we had honest to goodness girl time.  We sat and just chatted, brainstormed and eventually just did our own thing in the space. Before leaving Ro came up with the BEST idea, she cleaned off a rolling table of Cheryl's, the original inhabitor of the spaces, for me to use as a cutting table. When I arrived on Saturday to work while Art took the children swimming, there the table was rolled over to my corner, it is the perfect solution, demarcating my space while clearing room for Rowena to move. I immediately put some material that I'd got at S.C.R.A.P. around it, hiding all the storage items and went to town working...it's heaven, I cut on the table, use it for ironing and leave my projects out while not there. I go throughout my day now secretly scheming on how I can escape to my space, mid-drive to church, before breakfast...any time I can. .

kid friendly

I hatched a new plan to spend more time with the children in the space. I find at home I'm always distracted with the socks on the floor, dishes on the table, ingredients in the fridge in need of preparation. Eli gets out of school at 1:00 and Eva at 2:30. Today I went with Eli and my friend Jillian and her daughter Violet to the space. Cardboard was the big draw today, literally and figuratively. Violet took home a lovely layered pastel piece and Eli left behind the beginning of a city. Jillian helped me as I worked on the focus of my camera, still unpredictable but I feel I have a little more control over the settings. After our friends departed Eli and I had an hour to just hang while Eva had a playdate across the street with Luca, so much for hanging with mom, she got cookies.

view from the studio - call if you need an update on bay bridge traffic

my corner of the world

I was obsessed with my old Polaroid Landcamera I got for $5, 14 years ago from a yard sale. Some of my favorite photos were taken in Art and my early days in SF. Seeing the images on the blog Orangette, I was inspired to get mine out again. Of course the batteries were corroded. Yesterday I sat down at my space and cleaned it out lovingly with a baking powder solution, purchased a packet of color film and after an adjustment, tah dah, I have a the beloved blurry images I love, so expect to see more.

hours in my space

The second day of school found me fleeing to my space. I'd have three hours to myself. I reviewed notes from my big day at the space and was ready for some preliminary research. My inspiration started with some photos taken over Christmas on the last few moments I was in my parents home which ended up being my last time there while my parents resided at 1344 Chatham Road. I had my F100, a roll of BW film and only 15 minutes before I was due to leave and join Art and the children at his mom's. When I looked through my lens at the rooms, they seemed so empty to me, why would I want a photo of a room, it seemed almost creepy. I started snapping photos of little reminders of home, the door knobs that can evoke the sound of someone entering a room, the screen door from the garage that only was in place in the summer but was banged 40 times a day as I went about my summer play, the contents of my dad's dresser top as I'd look at it during quiet moments while just "being" in my parent's room. The idea sounded great but when I saw the scans of the images I'd hoped they'd inspire a larger project for me but I was underwhelmed with their visual impact. As I spent my indulging day, I ended with the idea of making a quilt. As I've mourned my loss of a home to return to, I realized that it's not just the physical place I'll miss but the security that I felt when I was little and that my parents provided, the sound of them in the house, the place to take my children back to visit. I feel that a quilt will represent the feeling of safety and warmth I have for going home. I am in possession of our "family" quilt, albeit unfinished, that was made sometime in the late 1700's. The flax was grown on my dad's family property and family clothing used for the pattern. It was not until this was in my possession that I realized the weight of passing on a family heirloom.

Back to the specifics of the quilt ideas. That first day I dreamed of somehow incorporating the the photos in to the quilt by maybe a phototransfer method or printing the images on to material. Anyway, last week I left the space to spend some time at Borders looking at books. I looked through every crafting, sewing, quilting book they had to offer. I ended up purchasing two books: Last Minute Patchwook + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson and Printing by Hand by Lena Corwin. The latter of the two really does not have anything to do with this project unless I end up making some of my own fabric. As I looked through all the books I would think if the pattern were appropriate for photos integration. I was specifically inspired by a quilt by Joelle that is a solid fabric with a pattern running along the botton with little squares, maybe I could have the images peaking through, as a foundation. More to think about. I also got an inspiration about the stitching but this will just have to wait.

A room of her own

An idea kept re-emerging as a theme back in the Spring, what I'm missing is a space of my own here in this 1,400 sq ft apartment. At first I considered reconfiguring our living room to accommodate a work space so I don't have to put every project away at the end of day to eat dinner. I realized this also went hand-in-hand with the fact that I've been longing for a place to go during the day while children are at school where I can sew, organize my photo film, scan the slides I've had of Susan Bender's for over a year or just craft my heart out, or the more important - do nothing. Virginia Wolf never got hers and look what happened. Art heard the plea and was supportive and I started bringing up the idea around friends. Well, Rowena was also looking for a space to dance. Two days before leaving for Va I went and checked out a space available downtown, the location was all wrong but the price if we had a third and the space itself was fine for the 6 months it'd be available. It's in one of the last true artists spaces left downtown, which is for sale, being cleaned=up as I write ready to hike up rents. Anyway, with much back and forth while I was in VA it worked out that we got it. Rowena said it right as I went from a room of my own, passed hers and mine, straight to three's company.

Thursday was the day - I moved in with the hopes of setting up. Art and the children helped me move a load in and drove off for a day together, it was my first day on my own in 7 weeks. I started putting the Ikea furniture together that we'd bought for the kitchen but never used. I put in on Craigslist to sell several times and every time I could not get ride of it hoping I'd have a reason to set up shop. The last person who wanted to buy it was a woman who was crafting and setting up her space, that did it, I could not let it go.

Fortuitously I forgot a box of essential parts and could not put it together, instead I pulled out the little bed roll and read my Twyla Tharp self-help book and journaled all day. It was amazing, luxurious, spoiling and altogether the best day I'd had in years. I got a new book mid-morning from Chronicle books down the street on the crafting industry and now I'm inspired to get my craft on and organize some mama crafter mornings at the space or evenings. I've also been thinking how to process the recent move out of my childhood home, set a project in motion to help me through it all. I felt so alive and tingly all day. I ended my time alone by going to a yoga class before heading back to the homestead. I've felt patience re-enter my day, I cherish more moments with my children instead of snapping out of the blue.

school shopping

sI'm not sure what happens over the summer but my children grow inches daily, I start to fret while away about having to replace all the clothes. I am lucky in that both my children do not mind high-water pants, sleeves that are too short and stains on their chests. Yesterday I took on the childrens' closet, another entry altogether, and weeded out the extremes, it left our shelves pretty low. I always shop by myself, except for the occasional thrift store run, and present the stash to the children. Today, I had to pick up the new key TO MY NEW STUDIO, also worthy of an entry. I took E+E with me and headed to H&M in the downtown Westfield Mall. This is the only store I go to in the Mall, I love the prices and mostly the boys clothes. I was so pleased how the entire exprience went. The children were so excited to be there, especially Eva. I told her this was her first mall, she said, no we go to see Santa every year but we just don't shop." This was so funny to me in that there could not be two malls more different than this fancy pants establishment and the grade d mall of my youth in Staunton where I did most of my shopping at Sears. She loved looking at the offerings, not expecting everything, taking my suggestions, and willing to forgo something for another mama-suggestion. It sound silly to say I was proud of how my daughter shopped but it was just how she conducted herself in general and it was one of those childhood moments - back-to-school shopping. Eva came home, thanked her daddy, adding that, "mommy made me say it." We got a fashion show and off she went to bed, commanding to to wash her clothes. They would not settle down tonight and I blew the romance of the day by pulling out of thin air, "this is the last time I'm coming back here tonight, your new clothes are going on a shelf until the first day of school." The words came out and alas I have to live up to it.