Big Changes

Let’s get right to it….the big change coming to the studio…I’m closing down the gallery/studio downtown and moving things to our house. It feels bittersweet to say goodbye to the studio that I’ve dreamt about for many years. But at the same time it feels incredibly freeing in this season of life. This was unexpected for sure. When I first moved into the studio space we weren’t expecting to move across town or to move our kids to a new school, what was a 10 minute drive to the house and 5 min drive to the kids school, has now turned in to a 30 min commute away from our daily surroundings. After much thought and journaling, I had an aha moment in the shower where I very clearly felt that its ok to move on. There are other priorities in this season and the studio/gallery was not one of them.

These images above bring me joy in different ways…the first one is when I just moved in, I can feel the anticipation of what was to come and how this space was going to evolve. The second image is from an exhibit opening in the summer, and my favorite season when we could open the doors and spill out onto the street. The third image is from my the closing today, clean slate and ready for the next tenants to live out their dreams.

I’m so grateful to everyone who participated in classes, who came out to Fourth Friday’s and various exhibit openings. We had a very busy 18 months…and I definitely felt it physically and emotionally. As I closed up the doors today and dropped off my keys I didn’t feel any sadness or doubt, I felt very at peace and assured that this is the right next step. I have no idea what the future holds, but I know what the next step is and that’s moving my studio home.

Over the course of 2 very full weekends, we cleared out one of the garages, painted it, laid down new flooring and moved furniture back in. We now have a very clean and bright garage studio gym! I can’t wait to create in this space.

Quite the transformation right?!! We’re still waiting on a few things to finish out this space: updated lighting, a new garage door and a regular man door so we can go outside without having to open the garage door. But so far the space feels very welcoming, light and fresh. And my commute is just 3 steps down.

I’m stepping into this next season with joyful anticipation of what’s to come. Spring is already filling up with painting projects, big and small. And I can’t wait to take you along on the journey. As always, I so appreciate you taking the time to read this and follow along with my art adventures.

With love,

Ella