This biggest news right now is that I finally decided to look for a new studio, and no sooner than I decided to do so, I found a new spot. So I'm swapping my current studio for the new one beginning Tuesday (June 1st) and finalizing on June 15th.

Yep yep, I guess I finally just had too much of this place (I'm in the old studio now), and none of the "too much" was facilitating my already lagging creative juices. The fact that the landlord dude booked children's plays every day of the weekend (including Friday) for the whole summer, not excluding art walk days, did me in. When I talked to his assistant about it, apparently in the year that she's been here, never has David so much as informed her that it was possible someone would be doing an artwork, because she was like "Oooooh, we have children here! We can't have strange people wandering into the space!" Apparently while he was telling me that art walk was "great! fine! perfect!" he was neglecting to even think of it as possible. That coupled with the incredible junk that gathers in the corridors no matter how many times I either 1) complain, or 2) pitch it into a corner, well, it did me in.

Whala! Out with the bad.

And in with the good! Gulp, I hope.

The place I'm moving to is in the Jinx Art Space, a collective of studios that I've been going to see since it opened up over a year ago. I've thought about getting a studio space there before, but there have been a couple of deterrents: one being that most of the studios are down in the basement, which has no windows, and the second being that it sometimes seems like a young crowd of kids rather than persistent and dedicated artists. So, not much difference from the children's production company downstairs, now that I think of it.

However, I changed my mind on the second part; I think many of the artists are young, but some of them are older (or serious), and the woman who runs the place is my age, dedicated, savvy, and dead serious about the whole shebang. Someone I'd put a lot of trust in, truthfully, and it will be nice to not have to worry about advertising and getting people through (a pile of crap into my studio... bummer I just shelled out for two banners though). As to the first part, a studio opened in the upstairs space. Friggin' awesome too, as it was really the only studio space I've totally admired enviously since the place opened. Its two windows and private door means that it is pricier though, so I'm going to share the studio with a new friend I've made in the past couple of months, JW the 2nd.

JW2 is primarily an oil painter and a mask maker, although she does cool mosaic stuff too. I don't like all of her work, but I like quite a bit of it, especially some of the sculpture/mask stuff she does. She too went to art school, but for undergrad, so she's pretty serious about her stuff, and I think I can share a space with her. She's been very cool about saying "Yeah, let's use your furniture from your old studio" as I've been trying to be very cool by saying "You get half of all the storage and table space if you let me bring them." This is some relief to me as I really don't want to get rid of (store) my work table and snazzy supply-holder. Anyhow, I have a feeling that if all goes well, JW2 and I will actually have some basis for collaborations - I like her brainpan and think she likes mine.

I have cautious worries about how well we'll actually work apart in the same space. I tend to like things fairly quiet around me, although I do fine with music. But when I'm concentrating, I despise people talking to me, and JW2 tends to be a bit of a talker. And she can be LOUD too... BIG laugh, BIG voice. Guess I should invest in ear plugs anyways as they often come in handy.

But despite cautious worries, I also feel pretty confident that it's going to work well... JW2's super, super thrilled to finally be getting a studio (sharing it makes it quite affordable and will save me money from my current space, and make just having a studio possible for her), and I think this will go far in establishing and keeping the peace and goodwill between us. And if it doesn't, I guess I can always sit on her.

I will, nonetheless, miss the old studio: