If you remember, our studio and gallery spaces flooded several weeks ago. Today I spent the day repainting the studio floor…the first coat. As I worked, I was reminded of this phrase: Paint covers a multitude of sins. Boy howdy, is that true. I painted the floor more than twenty years ago, and since then it has gotten rather beaten up. It didn’t look awful, it is a studio floor after all, so it got a lot of use. It was not until I primed the nicks and cuts that I could see how much wear and tear it had actually endured over the years. I painted the entire floor with the base coat and Holy Cow, it looks fantastic! This weekend I plan to paint a pattern on it, which will take some time to map out. Have no fear, I will be posting photos of the process and the final setup of our refreshed studio.
As painted, which I really love doing by the way, I thought about all the people, ideas and creativity that has taken place in that space. I am in there every week, sometimes nearly every day. We have Play Dates and classes, friends and creatives that use our space…and it is wonderful! We are blessed to be able to have such room AND to be able to share it with others. It felt good to give such a well loved room a facelift. Even if it meant being on my hands and knees on hard cement, using a towel as a pillow. Crawling around the edges, painting the floor boards was an act of fun and joy…my knees may not feel that way, yet it was well worth the efforts. I was indeed covering a multitude of sins.
We all have spaces and places in our lives that we use a lot. They harbor our dreams and allow us to be ourselves. They give us peace and never criticize or add commentary to what may have already been a very full day. Maybe one of your favorite places needs a bit of paint of a furniture rearrangement. Sometimes moving a chair or deep cleaning the floor can change the space and your attitude in that space. Maybe it is time to reorganize your books, get new pillows, or even just dust and deep clean the surfaces. It feels like a hassle getting there, yet once the task is done it is liberating!!! Believe me, with studio stuff all over our house, I can’t wait for this project to be done. And my own sense of renewal and excitement is a real reward for terrible water problems. And yes, the floors are REALLY clean!
Go forth, enjoy your spaces, refresh them, clean them up, maybe even paint. It could be that simple. Maybe your efforts are just what you need to remind you of your blessings AND renew your sense of creativity. Maybe it is time time cover your sins and clean them out!
Ann Art Gallery Blog 