A Little Studio Renovation - Going Vertical
In which I show you how I'm going vertical in just 160 square feet.
We originally built the studio back in the fall of 2009 with money gifted to us for our wedding. That summer I had taken an encaustic workshop, and promptly fallen in love with the medium, but in order to work with it I needed a studio where I could get messy. Matt also wanted some workshop space, so we split it in half with a wall and a sliding door in the middle. Some of you may remember the BEAUTIFUL panels and frames Matt built for me.
And so we bought a 40 foot shipping container and built a studio and workshop. It was the first of many construction/renovation/improvement projects together and a good team building effort. We’re still married after all, and we keep taking on projects, so I guess we still like each other.
My studio has seen some evolution over the years. When I first moved in, I was working very small and writing mostly, so it functioned more like an office with a little workspace. There was even a couch in there, which was quite cozy for naps.
Eventually I needed more space for working larger, so the desk and couch were removed for a bigger work table. Little upgrades, additions and subtractions came as needed to accommodate the work. And two years ago, I did a big clean out to get rid of things I no longer used. With only 160 square feet of space, I have to be efficient. And after 10+ years of working, I had accumulated a lot of random things.
Which brings me to the next evolution - working vertical. With the encaustic, I have always worked on my paintings on a table. Melted wax drips after all and in order to keep it on the panel, it has to stay horizontal. This limits the size of paintings I can make (mostly because of my arm length), which is why I make so many diptychs and triptychs. And I have always struggled with a good way to be able to step back from the work to look at it.
And now with the cold wax, I want to be able to work vertically. As I am figuring out the medium and my style, I realized I needed to be able to see the painting on the wall and work that way as well. So I renovated and asked for help. I brought Stacy Phillips up to my studio and she consulted me on studio setup, materials, tools, and also a critique of the current work to see how I can make it better. Stacy is an amazing resource on everything from tools, paint, materials. She is available for consults and mentorship both locally and online in case you have need of this. When coming up with the design, I also referenced this artist’s studio walls.
We decided on a vertical wall solution that allows me to move paintings almost anywhere on the wall, adding multiple paintings at a time, a place for storage or paintings in progress, and also paintings on paper. This lets me work vertically with the cold wax, but also with the encaustic so I can take a step back while in progress. Before this, it’s always been a chore to take the work outside and set it up to look at it, and twice as hard in the winter.
Matt helped me rip a sheet of 3/4” plywood into 2 inch strips, then I painted them white. I also had the chance to touchup my walls, which had become paint splattered and dirty over the years. We screwed these slats into the walls studs and I even added one big long one over the windows so I could store extra panels, frames, and in progress paintings up and out of the way. The slats are 8 inches apart and start at 30 inches from the ground.
Once the slats were up, I installed a series of screws on each slat, which gives the studio a bedazzled sort of vibe with all the gold screws. I decided on setting them 5 inches apart, mostly because when I was figuring it out, the maths worked out evenly for the main rows. BUT, now that I’ve done it, I probably could have spaced them out to every 6-8 inches, but I think every 10 inches is too far apart for some of the smaller panels.
Stacy also turned me on to acrylic panels that I can glue paper down onto. Drilling holes into the sides every 5 inches apart now allows me to hang the panels on the wall so I can paint on paper vertically as well. I’m very excited about this too, as I love painting on paper. I bought these panels from a sign shop in Salt Lake City that specialized in acrylic panels. Stacy recommended another material (which I’ve forgotten the name of, perhaps HDPE?), that’s not so brittle, but similar, however I was in a rush to get some to try them out, and the sign shop I went to only had acrylic. A word of caution though when drilling into these - be sure to drill on top of a piece of scrap wood - the material is brittle and it took me a few tries to get it right. So you’ll see I cracked the the panels in a couple spots while drilling.
I also got a new fancy little art cart that stores all my cold wax supplies and can be rolled and moved anywhere. Before this, I had to put away the cold wax to paint with encaustic and vice versa. So fun to have drawers were all my supplies live rather than rooting around for them in my tool box.
Already this week, the wall has been a game changer for me, allowing me to step away from paintings, store panels, and paint vertically. I’m very excited for this evolution!
What I’m Into This Week
Pre-Order Jeremy Collin’s New Book - Eventually A Sequoia
My good friend, climber extraordinaire, and brilliant artist, Jeremy Collins is releasing his new book and I cannot wait to have it in my paint-stained hands. Jeremy creates the most incredible sketchbooks and this is about like having one to read. I’m thrilled for him and I pre-ordered it as soon as I could. A great gift for any outdoor lover in your life.
Ask Polly: How Can I Love Myself Without Becoming a Selfish Person
I mention a lot of Ask Polly’s columns - because they are good. Because she’s right. Because she speaks to the soul in a way that I have not seen others do. I graduated from regular therapy this spring, because in large part, I am learning to love myself and to “feel” my feelings. Tough work, but so much better than the alternative - which is feeling numb, ignoring, or stuffing them away.
Led Zeppelin is the greatest rock band of all time. Full stop. I will fight you on this. This documentary about how they got started on Netflix was fantastic. We’re going to a concert with John Bonham’s son, Jason, later this summer, and I can’t wait to hear their music live.
Studio remodel looks great! It’s so inspiring to have a space feel tidy and organized - ready for anything!
Super cool setup! Love the idea of the vertical wall. Do you leave the paper on the panels or do you remove it when you’re done?