It is far from unusual for me, a confessed coffee addict to drink the black stuff at all hours of the day (or night). Especially during the past few months, the satisfying gurgle of my coffeemaker after 7 pm was often the soundtrack to cold winter evenings that started with donning my pajamas the moment the clock struck five.
And while the daylight may last an hour longer now that we have officially crossed the threshold to spring, on this particular night, as I begin to write this long overdue blog post, a steaming mug is well in order. But I have one additional reason for this (my fifth, actually) cup today- I needed to put my new coffeemaker through its paces.
I know, new kitchen appliances are hardly headline, let alone blog post, material, but hear me out. My ability to enjoy my usual brew later this week was in fact, contingent upon the first successful brew of my new Capresso (which I can now confirm was a success); my trusty old Cusineart, now resides in my new Mainframe studio.
“I needed it was much as I need that jolt of caffeine hitting my bloodstream every morning.”
My new space at Mainframe Studios, actually being my third (and ideally permanent) workspace after beginning my residence here as an artist funded by my alma mater in the Drake Studio on the fourth floor, then a short trip down the hall to temporarily share a space with fellow resident Sarah Noll Wilson while I waited… and waited… and waited…. for construction on the third floor, my new home, to be complete.
Now in a space though it awaits a coat of turquoise paint on one accent wall and my fingers twitch to unroll the Rifle Paper Co. wallpaper I recently purchased to cover the backs of some IKEA bookshelves, this studio feels far more like home than either of the previous two ever did.
I realize that for many, the choice of working outside of home is a luxury, if not entirely nonexistent.
Mainframe, like my morning mug has been there for me now through thick and thin. It’s both what gets me up in the morning, and (occasionally, fuels me through a late night creative crunch). When I lost my job(s) last spring and the world uncertain, having a space outside the four walls of my apartment grounded me. I needed it was much as I need that jolt of caffeine hitting my bloodstream every morning.
It became as much a habit to walk to the studio every day last spring as it was to press the brew button on my coffee pot. Now, should I need any extra enticement to get down to work every morning, I have an empty mug sitting on my desk in my new studio just waiting to be filled. Why not enjoy my first sip outside my kitchen.
Coffee is a habit as is now working every morning from 9 to noon in my own studio. But working in that space with a mug in hand, well that’s a luxury.