New Studio(ish)

Last year, I finally began taking steps to do what I always said I would do when I moved into this house 8 years ago: convert the basement and garage into workshop and studio space. I have a walkout basement that opens into the alley behind my house where I built a vegetable garden and the garage is tucked up next to the basement, underneath my dining room. The space has 8-foot ceilings and decent light and I always saw its potential; I just didn’t always have the motivation or energy to deal with it. In 2021, I began sorting and clearing the mountains of clutter I’d allowed to accumulate down there, and in January of 2022, with the help of some loved ones, I replaced the dilapidated carriage old doors to the garage that were falling off their hinges with new, custom-built carriage doors. (Thank you, Clingerman Doors!)

Once I had doors in place to keep out miscreants and wildlife, I needed to take down the wall separating the garage and basement:

Then it was a lot of parging and waterproofing and painting (so much Drylok paint!) and framing out areas for drywall so I could have large “drawing walls”:

And eventually, after many bruising, sweaty weekends, and a few thousand trips to the hardware store, I was able to add the final touches and turn the space into a proper studio (I did eventually install a new light fixture to replace the bare, dangling bulb):

The connecting basement got some TLC, too:

And with everything in place, I finally began moving a decade of artwork and supplies out of Stenton Guild. I’d been there 10 years and loved it (thank you, Owner Ed!), but it was time to move home. I’ve already enjoyed a few early mornings in my studio before digging into the salaried job for the day and with everything contained right in my house, I never, ever need to leave home again. For an introvert like me, this is idyllic.