We are sitting here waiting out the storm. There is a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm.  This is not something we are used to and to be honest, it makes us both a little agitated.  We removed all the potted plants from the back porch and around the yard and stored them in the studio until the storm passed and just to be safe we put a sheet of plywood over the new plate glass windows in the studio, better safe than sorry.   When we heard the local sirens go off to warn us that the tornado was in our vicinity, we just froze and listened to make sure that we were not just hearing things. Then Ramon texted our neighbor Angie who said to go to our shelter which for us is our closet.  Honestly, I don't think it's something we will ever get used to, but living in the south, it is just one of those things, you just pray to God that the storm just passes over without any harm.

So I know it's been longer that we had anticipated since our last post and I never made any promises, we just had unrealistic expectations.  Last time we discussed the transformation of what was once a dilapidated garage into a brand new art studio. There are many things to think about when creating a studio space and one of the most important for me is storage space.  I knew I needed a large structure to hold artworks, so I built a unit mostly from scrap lumber and odds and ends. I also needed a large worktable, one that I could roll around, and roll out of the way when not in use. Having a worktable is a game-changer for me as I have spent countless hours in the past sitting on the floor or at my computer desk trying to work on my sculptures. 

When painting I like to work on the walls, I'm really not an easel kind of guy, I like to have the option of working pretty large. I put up 1” x 2” lumber furring strips at differnt heights to easily move my canvas up and down. I will spare you the details but it's an ingenious idea and it's one I borrowed from my good friend Rhonda.

We decided that the best thing for the outside was to paint it to match the house, We added a table and chairs in front and a few plants to make it look inviting. In the afternoon, light floods in from the wall of windows, it's great to have all the light but it does tend to heat up some so we put a canopy up over the front entrance, another idea I borrowed from Rhonda.  We didn't have anything to anchor the canopy to so we got creative and used a barrel planter, a post, and a few bags of cement, it worked out perfectly, oh and one side of the canopy is anchored to a tree.

After all of the months of hard work, we thought it would be fun to have an open studio party so we put out an invite for the following day which was on a Saturday, We made some homemade cookies and sausage meatballs, a recipe we got from our friend Stephanie. We also purchased some wine and bubble water. The opening ended up being a great turnout, and a lot of fun, especially on such short notice.  we got to meet a lot of great people and even sold some prints. That's one of the things we just love about laurel, the people here are so nice and supportive, a real community.  We are looking forward to hosting more events in the near future. 

I almost forgot to mention. I am in the running for the next DYI Hero with a chance to win $25,000 and land a spread in Make Magazine! Voting ends tonight for the top 5, I am currently at #6. The link to vote is: https://diyhero.org/2022/jon-rappleye?fbclid=IwAR1JJ9ipLspqBa4PHDd2UWCHGj0qsIq9AlxUA6j_u85ZCutceoz28H9Ewgs Please cast your vote and thank y’all for your love and support!