Expansion And Contraction

At the beginning of September I walked into my studio to discover that Elmer, the artist who was renting the other half of the space, had moved out. He had been pretty much the perfect studio mate. He was clean, and in the eighteen months he was renting space, I saw him twice.

So I was left with a decision about whether or not to go ahead and assume the whole space for myself. It would mean almost doubling my rent, a somewhat grim prospect given how under employed I have been for most of the year.

But the advantages were pretty clear. I would have more room in which to work, something I have been feeling the need for recently, and I would not have to risk sharing the space with someone whose work habits and schedule would conflict with mine.

In the end I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet. I let the manager know I would be taking over the other half of the space and wrote out the check.

It is a little scary, but the benefits have been twofold. I have been able to spread my various work stations out, so I no longer feel so constricted in my use of the space and I can approach some larger projects I had been unsure of how I was going to accomplish them.

It has also forced me into just finally taking work that had been offered to me for awhile, but that I had been on the fence about because it has added a commute to my life, and it is more time on my feet than I would ultimately like to be doing. But I am able to say when I am or am not available so that I am able to work other places and still make sure I have time off and time in the studio, and my schedule there has me booked through the beginning of the new year.

I am having a bit less time in the studio at the moment, but knowing that I am going to be able to make what I need over the next few months is quite a relief after the first half of the year, and I am grateful.