This is the first creative work I have done in over three months. I cleared the tops of all my tables yesterday and managed to get most of my supplies sorted, but not put away.
This morning I needed to make a calligraph for the St. Barnabas Holly Tea Raffle for this coming weekend. My photo does not do the brightness of the colors justice-I guess I was in too much of a hurry to take the photo!
It felt wonderful to pick up the brush and the pen this morning, even for this small project. My heart was racing by the time I finished and put it into the frame. The church ladies are very happy with the donation. I feel as if I have broken the ice for creative production in my new studio space as well as making a concrete contribution to our new parish. After having this creative activity this morning, my heart is excited about the calligraphic works that are living right now only in my mind.
I love the space so far-the light from outside through the window above the Vandercook is pretty good for a basement space. I have yet to unpack all my type. I am very thankful that Merrill, from St. Peter's in Cambridge, helped me to pack up my type so carefully. Because of his careful work I am assured that all my type will be in good order when I am ready to print.
Slowly but surely I am beginning to find space for all my supplies and equipment. It will take me the next two days to get everything set in place.
I am very comfortable with the space between the worktables, and thrilled that I finally have my grandfather's carpentry bench back in my studio. it is going to come in very handy for all the wooden book-covers and boxes I have on my list to create in the next year.
My wealth of supplies still astounds me, especially since I acquired most of it from the "FREE" tab on Craig's List in Cambridge over the past year or so. I am really enjoying re-discovering things I packed so quickly in August and September.
My wall space is so limited here though as I have had to move my books into my studio space. This is going to take a good deal of jogging around over the next couple of months, but it will be fun.
I still have to organize a bulletin board space upon which to put all my photos and inspirational images. Over the past two years as I assembled them above my desk I found they became quite important to my creative process. I tend to gather pieces of fabric, sections from the newspaper, or quotes from my daily morning pages to add to the photos. Each of these sparks an idea for an artist's book section, which is why I hope to get the bulletin board in place tomorrow. Without these images in front of me I feel a great gap in my visual vocabulary at the moment.
More and more I am realizing how much I underestimated not only the time and energy it would take to reset my studio, but the emotional distress that I would experience during the process. Leaving my old studio was very difficult, but I had talked myself into accepting that I would adjust to the change. For the most part I have, but each time I unpack a tool or a can of press ink, I think about all that I experienced in Cambridge and how essential those experiences were to my own story, and how that story influenced my creative process. I miss John Kristensen and Firefly Press so very much, and my soul aches for The Museum of Printing. In my heart I know that we are where God has called us to be, and that I will adjust.
My feet are firmly on this path and my heart soars like a hawk when I think about the abundance of creativity I feel, the supplies and tools I have available to put to good use, and the wonderful blessings of our home and faith community.
In God's grace, all will be well, and all will be well, and with all God's hope, all will be well.
