An Unnaturally Clean Art Studio

The Cave and the Tangled Wires

You May Quote Me: "A clean studio is a sign of boredom."

As you have not been in my studio, I thought it might be worth explaining a little about the environment in which I create.

I have three studios, the papermill in a warehouse, the stand alone brick carriage house, and the cave-like etching studio in a cul de sac in the basement.

I call it the cave. This is where I work. Even the long gone dog was afraid to travel the dark corridor to enter the studio. Lucy, the cat, loved the quiet and sat on a stool as I worked. She was from time-to-time a muse.

My cave is below ground with a small window open on the side garden. Although the dog wouldn't follow me into the cave, she would sit amongst the flowers and watch through the window.

The interior walls of the cave are white stucco over brick. On the eastern wall beyond my etching press are three notable elements, two of which you can see in the accompanying photo. The one not seen, located to the right of the schematic drawing of the Carnac Alignments, is the electrical outlet that is seldom used. Shown, is that birds eye layout, or map, of the standing stones, clearly showing the arrangement, in row upon row, of this flabbergasting manifestation of the human desire to make sense of this world.

To the left of the Carnac "map" is a seemingly chaotic tangle of colored electrical wire. Both the "map" and snarl of wire have their own logic and non logic. Each has been staring me in the face for the last 25 years, every time I set foot into the studio. Oh, and that unused electrical outlet? It is not unused. It is the conduit through which the greatest power enters the studio and fills me with energy.

It is my symbolic sipapu that lets the Muse in and out.

And just so you understand, the image is of the studio after a ten-year cleaning. No work was in progress at the time the photo was made.

The studio NEVER looks this clean and organized, trust me.

April, 2014

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