I used to think a blank page, waiting for the first typed word or pencil scrawl was intimidating. And it is. But even more so are the blank walls of an open studio space.
This past week with the giddy excitement of a new homeowner, I collected my key fob from Mainframe Studios where I have been awarded the Drake University Alumni Studio for the next twelve months. My new residency, the result of two application attempts (the second of which I wrote the night before it was due!) finally feels real after months of anticipation.
And while my imagination has filled this 17 x 30 foot space wall to wall, I have yet to make it a physical reality. I made the first of what I now realize will be countless trips to transport furniture, shelving units, and of course art this past Saturday following a busy morning at the Downtown Des Moines Farmer’s Market.
My folded tent, tables, and chair that for months have resided both in my small apartment and even smaller car, suddenly seemed to shrink in this new white-walled space. Soon though they’ll be joined by my drawing table, multi-colored frames, and an impending Ikea order.
My illustration work may be small in scale, but my dreams of how I will fill this space are so much bigger.