Neues Atelier
I’ve not been in my studio in what feels like forever. Thanks to a new full-time day job that’s not remote, and that keeps me on my feet the whole day, I’ve just not had the Bock (German expression meaning “I’m not up for it”) to make the trip to the studio and try and make stuff. That in turn has made the studio feel very expensive, and more like a glorified storage space than a creative workshop.
I’d been subletting it and as the new year started to loom, I had the opportunity to either keep it through spring or give it up at the end of December. I didn’t want to give it up, but it felt like the proper choice and was certainly the right financial choice. Not long after making that decision, an advertisement for a shared studio showed up in an email newsgroup I’m part of. It was smaller, but closer and less expensive. And maybe a shared studio space was just what I needed.
It’s on the top floor of an older apartment building, with no elevator, and low sloping ceilings, known as a Dachgeschoss in German. Apparently the building owner started to renovate it to rent as an apartment but couldn’t get it permitted so now it’s a studio. I have one half and a painter, also from the US, has the other half.
As of today I’m partially moved in. A third table, a rug, and some more boxes of “art stuff” are still waiting to be brought over, and I’ve started a list of things to buy. In my previous space I’d not realised how lucky I was to have two chairs and some shelves at my disposal. I won’t be able to rush out and buy everything right away, but I’m feeling energised about the new space and really excited to make studio time part of my schedule again.