The Troll Covets.
The house is in shambles right at the moment. I have tools strewn from hell to breakfast and projects going on in almost every room. My list that started out with over 70 line items is now at 32 but most of these things are so close to being finished it seems crazy that I haven’t finished them. It is my nature, for better or worse, that I have to have multiple projects going on in order to get anything done.
It was cold Saturday morning. Close to frost cold. At about 9 I was moving some things from the attic of my studio and noticed this. It is very clear where my hours of insulating are and how much it paid off. There is no heat escaping from that space. Now the rest of the house??? Who knows if this matters to anyone when looking at a house but it does to me. It makes me feel as though I have done something worthwhile and responsible.
The floors are in and I started trimming out the doors and windows. Primmer coat is on the walls and I should be able to start painting tomorrow.
Zanne found this sink at the restore for 10 dollars. I made the legs from some pieces of mahogany. I am picking up the faucet tomorrow and should have it functional in the evening.
This step gives head room in the mud room which is a premium on the first floor of this house, 6 foot 4 inches in the kitchen. But in the new space we arrive at close to 12 feet at some points.
Had I known we were going to be moving I might not have taken on such a huge project but in retrospect I feel it was the right thing to do. It is really an amazing edition. Unlike a lot of the editions I work on it doesn’t change the foot print of the house nor does it feel like it is taking away from what was already there. I tried to maintain the quirkiness of the houses layout and give the house traveler a surprise at every turn. After almost three years of fighting this place I feel I have created something that will be fun and comfortable to live in. It just won’t be us living in it.
I am determined to do a couple things one is to take a shower in this bathroom this weekend and two is to get the hell out of Mass. the first week of October. Working all the time has left me with a craving to make art. I am friends with this art teacher on Flickr and seeing her pics really makes me want to make work and it also makes me want to teach again. We can change the world and I don’t mean in that politician way of speaking, because lets face it the words politician and change are just not a reality. We can do it though just people speaking out saying our minds. Get off your lazy asses and say something, do something, make something, be something; the world is worth a lot of effort. I do not believe we are a lost cause, I believe we are on the cusp of greatness. Make something, say something, be something, and while you are doing it think about someone other than yourself.
I could have cheaped out and left this wall with no bracing to support it. Shit once someone buys the place it is not my problem right? Screw that! It is just that attitude that makes the world such a shitty place. No one thinks about anything except themselves. Be responsible think about how the decision you make will effect not only yourself in the years to come but how it could effect others. Do something, make something, be something.
Tonight I figured out my layout for these shower floor tiles. I am using leftovers from about six different jobs but I don’t want it to look like that so I came up with this pattern. It actually looks like a couple other shower floors I have done. The drain is off center thanks to some bad planning from who ever did the downstairs bathroom framing. In order to center this drain I would have had to do some really crazy framing that would have had me opening up my downstairs bathroom ceiling so I decided that the gain of two and a half inches to center the drain was not worth the effort. I don’t think I have ever tiled a shower floor in an old farm house where the drain was centered. It adds to the charm.
Soon I will actually start talking about art again. I can’t wait. Until then Do Something, Make Something, Be Something.
I had to work on Saturday finishing work to make money. Shit this would go faster if I wasn’t also working a 40-50 hour week. Anyway yesterday I got my first floor bathroom grouted and primer paint on the walls and the toilet in!! It really feels like things are coming together. All I need to do is get baseboard in and then paint the whole room.
I also got started on the upstairs shower. It is amazing what can be done with a miss mash of tile from other jobs I have done.