Studio addition

This is the view from my new 'remote' studio. Isn't it lovely?

Okay, so it's not really extra studio space, and it's not really mine. Alan and Matthew (my youngest son) spent Spring Break building a treehouse in one of the sweetgum trees along the creek that borders our property.



Here they are in the early stages, where Alan claimed he was teaching Matthew about physics. (Although there are joists, the platform is mostly held up with a tightened cable that runs through the underside.) Personally I think he just wanted to see how high my tolerance for kids and risk was. (As the safety harness and belay line on Matthew shows, it's not real high.)


The cable that supposedly insures that we don't all plummet to our deaths.

It's not quite finished yet. There are wooden lattice panels that go on each of the sides. And thankfully the much-anticipated zip line has not yet been installed. (I keep hoping everyone will forget that this was part of the original plan, and just use the ladder.)

But I have to say that as much as I dreaded the idea of letting my kids play 15 ft. in the air, it's a great spot. Because that area has been left fallow all these years, it's a wonderfully natural spot tucked back amid all the development. Sitting up there, all you hear are the birds and the bubble of the creek. It's the perfect setting for cleaning greenware. I do that outside anyway because it cuts down on dust in the studio. All I need is a dumbwaiter to hoist the horses and tools up to the top. (It's in the works, though it was originally intended to lift apple juice and cookies...)

It's not going to solve the increasing problem I have with too little studio space, but it sure will make greenware prep a lot more pleasant. And I still have hopes that the guys will one day give up the building of trebuchets and treehouses and turn their attention to making a detached shop for me!