the dirt

Getting a new studio set up and organized is its own exciting and very creative project. But at what point do you need to stop reorganizing your tools and just start using them?

It has literally been months and possibly my longest break from actual art making as I’ve moved the studio. As I get myself geared up for a new rhythm of working in the studio again, I was reminded of the last time that I moved studio spaces, it was documented in an article in Ceramics Monthly magazine kind of by accident. I had been invited to write an article about my studio space and art practice in my home/garage studio space for an upcoming issue, but over the following months, I had the opportunity to move to a much larger warehouse space. So I ended up re-writing the article to talk about the process of moving studios.

I recently re-read that article to see how I thought then about that switch from moving into making again. I also flipped back through my sketch book to look at ideas I’d had brewing before this move started. I’ve started talking with friends about upcoming local art events and possibilities and I have to say, I’m getting very excited to get my hands back into some clay.

Logistically, I’m about a week or two away from actually jumping back into making art again full time and it will still take me a minute to get my kilns up and running. That said, I’m really looking forward to returning you to your regularly scheduled blog posts of new work, art events, successes, failures and all the nuances of life in the studio. In the meantime, please enjoy images of amazing sunsets… and thanks for sticking with me as I transition from one studio and country to another.

Very excited to report that my Santa Cruz studio stuff has officially arrived to our property in Baja Sur. All nine pallets and some random pieces made their way across the border, the 1500 miles journey south with multiple loading and offloading. So far everything we’ve unpacked has been in good shape and it’s all there. Whew!

We’ve been working on painting the inside of the space so we can start to set things in their place. And while we still don’t have power, sewer or water hooked up yet, I’m still thrilled to be able to start to set up my space.

When we’re not working on studio projects, we’ve been enjoying walking and fishing at the beach, eating locally caught fish and freshly made tortillas and watching the whales make their migrations. It’s not to shabby here and we’re soaking it all in!

After nearly a week of travel, we finally arrived at our property in Baja Sur and are so happy to be here! We’re reconnecting with friends and our property, as well as settling in Bowie to Baja life.

One of the most exciting parts was being able to see my studio build in person. For months we have received photos and videos from our builder but it was a whole different feeling to be able to walk through the space ourselves. The main structure is nearly complete and has spectacular views of the ocean & desert. I can’t wait for my supplies and equipment to arrive so I can start being creative in this space. Here’s a few pics of the space…

So the studio is pretty fabulous, but our very empty beach is a pretty sweet spot to start the day with a dog walk too.

It was a very productive week here at the studio. We packed up and palletized all of our large tools and tables, got everything loaded up into a ginormous U-Haul and my husband Nate drove it all to our international shipper at the border. It was a very long day for him, but a relief to finally get our things on their way and get the studio mostly cleared out.

Of course it didn’t stay cleared out for very long, since I still have all of my flower parts for my Feast of Flowers installation that still needed finishing. All six flower heads were moved from the metal yard to the studio and I was able to attach all of the ceramic elements. These will all be stored here until the foundations are ready for installation.

Now, we’re packing up all the little things and getting ready to make our first trip south very soon. Scenes of the desert, cactus and sunsets over the ocean coming soon!