Renovation | postbox studio

What is Art?

‘A work of art goes through many phases of development, but in each phase it is always a work of art. (Therein lies the importance of sketches.) A work of art is finished, from the point of view of the artist, when feeling and perception have resulted in a spiritual synthesis. – Hans Hofmann

Sounds good doesn’t it? These “works of art” have definitely gone “through many phases of development” though not in the way Hofmann meant.

When we started to strip the studio, we found, behind three sheets of wallboard, an old range. The stone mantle was covered in so many layers of wallpaper and paint it took three full days to strip.

Working in small areas at a time we laid on Nitromors to dissolve the paint. As it began to take effect, the layers of paint bubbled up so that, as we scraped, it created wonderful patterns. I couldn’t resist photographing the different stages. Art indeed!

In the end we managed to get the stone down to a smooth light turquoise colour. The range has been stripped of its rust and painted black. Long ago it would have been the heart of the kitchen, the means of heating the house and providing many a hearty meal no doubt. It will never be as useful again but we think it adds a nice touch to the studio reception.

So, if you been following the story you will know that I managed, after much stress, to buy the old Post Office in Smithybridge and that, with no money to spend, I was content to live in my big empty shell of a house with all my belongings around me, still in boxes.

Well, I scraped some money together and got the place rewired and then a few months later a new boiler. But that’s all the boring stuff – what was exciting was the large empty room downstairs that had been the Post Office. The first thing we did was to get my good friend, Tony, who was to do all our building work, to bring his table tennis table. (Well you have to get your priorities right!) By the time we’d decided what to do down there we were ~~world champions~~ quite good at ping-pong.

You’ve met my Mum, haven’t you? (in previous posts, that is). Being a canny woman, she had put a clause in her Will that meant that her grandchildren would only get their inheritance when they turned 25. This gave Amy a good eighteen months to dream. No doubt she dreamed of travelling the world or at least taking an exotic holiday or even going on a wild spending spree but, when it came to it, “sensible” Amy took over and she decided to put her money into setting up her own photography studio. It wasn’t a fortune but enough to create a simple studio and reception. And so, with some money put away to buy cameras, lenses and studio lights…………..