From Shed to Cottage

My studio began as a shed. We filled it with avocado green sinks and other junk when we remodeled our house 19 years ago. When we remodeled the interior of the studio in December 2001, I was thrilled to stop commuting to Exeter 5-6 days a week.

Gradually I added plants; this flowering pear tree looks great in February and November. Sometimes I wonder if it leans so much because Perkins pushed it each time he scratched there.

I kept adding plants and little things like the mosaic stepping stones and table, and Cowboy Bert made me the tractor seat and a railing for the steps (With a last name of Weldon, he must be a welder). Next, I painted the workshop.

Then I got tired of the mural and began another one, but never liked it well enough to bother finishing.

What’s an artist to do? Paint another mural, of course.

With the fancy new wildflower mural, the siding really looked shabby.

This time, we centered the sign over the door rather than under the gable point.

Incremental changes really do add up. Now I am the proud and grateful owner and occupant of a darling little shingled cottage.

The interior isn’t always neat, because it is where I work, with lots of coming and going, and a variety of activity in the 11×14′ space.

Tomorrow is the first Saturday of April and my studio will be one of the stops. The theme is wildflowers. Stop by Anne Lang’s Emporium for a map and directions, and come by the studio for a little wildflower freebie! (Due to a death in my family, my studio will be staffed by some of the dearest people to me in the whole wide world.)