Last week I was actually able to get in a little time on two earthenware china pieces I am glazing on commission:

The larger Quarter Horse in the back is a “Phoenix” sculpture by Kristina Lucas Francis, and the Arabian in front is a “Sabiha” by Donna Chaney. I always start painting on the rear-end of the horse and work to the front. I can’t honestly say why… it just feels like the right place to start!

A couple weeks ago I was reading an article about the dangerous health effects of lead poisoning, which got me thinking about how my ceramic glazes contain a small amount of lead. (So you can’t use my horses as dinner bowls, sorry!!) This prompted me to get off MY lazy rear-end and get a professional spray booth. ONLY about 20 years late for painting with the airbrush, Karen! Oh well, better late than never, and now I can stop spreading particulates and fumes into my studio and the house. I had an exhaust fan in my window which helped, but this is the real must-have for a serious airbrush artist (maybe I am one now, ha ha):

I bought a halogen under-cabinet light for inside the booth, and solved my poor studio lighting problem at the same time as my unhealthy work space. I was going to just crank open the window next to the booth and toss the two dryer hoses outside when I was working, but Paul the engineer wasn’t having any of that! He bought a piece of clear plexiglas, cut it to insert in the window where the screen would usually go, and duct-taped it in there! Even with the oh-so-attractive duct tape feature, it is still a far more elegant solution and I won’t have to paint with the weather coming in the open window! And now that the exhaust fan and the foam-core insert are gone from that window, overall my studio lighting has increased.

I am really excited about the new equipment and I had to re-arrange the studio a bit to accommodate it. I’ve noticed that even a little change like this to your workspace can give a little boost of energy and interest to your work life. Sometimes just moving the furniture around makes things feel refreshed. (And BOY it was nice to be able to get back into that corner and hoover up a couple year’s worth of spider carcasses!)

Hopefully the stucco crew with be DONE with the house this week, so I can get all the plastic off my windows. I sure have missed the view this past month.