Artists' Life and Workspace

Yesterday we helped our friend Tim Wraight move from paradise to heaven. Tim is no longer at Sealevel Studio, but in a lovely bay near Abel Tasman National Park.

Tim lives an admirably uncluttered life, so moving the contents of his personal life was quick. But he is a sculptor of large, outdoor works, and moving his gallery/studio/workshop was something else. Huge logs at various stages of drying, heavy metal tools, and so much "boys' toys" looking things, including a drum kit and several more musical instruments. I was amazed Tim has so many friends with big, serious trucks; his father's truck even has a crane on it!

While helping, I thought of our workspaces, our personalities, and our lives.

I love a clean, clutter-free workspace, with minimum decoration, and all the decoration gathered in one place. Truth to tell, I don't like having drawings and other framed stuff on my stash room walls, but prefer an industrial/clinical looking space with neutral walls, one corner stash, one area for looms, and a dedicated design area with a simple desk and books, drawings, photos and other inspirations and "decorations" around it. My mind is cluttered enough, I don't function well with visual/physical clutter. They honestly divert my thinking and get me off track or make me indecisive. Colors outside the schemes I'm working with honestly distract me far too often distract me.

But then I know some people love decorating their workspace, (Ronette has to have colors, for example,) and these are fun to visit, particularly when I happen upon something I know connects with the artist's past work.

It was an interesting day, though. I didn't most of Tim's friends, but I know some are well-known Nelson artists, just helping Tim move logs and such. In between, there was some talk of "If I had to move my workshop," and I would have loved to have eavesdrop, but I was moving stuff, too. And neither Ben nor I had time to think of photographing the move, though both of us brought our cameras.

My head is buzzing with some of the motifs from Tim's past work. Just as well, because I have a long way to reduce my stash so I can at least have something resembling a stash/design room. And though I'd love to live in a house where I can have my stash/design room near, if not in the same room as, my looms, (instead of at the opposite ends of the house), I'm not moving right now. I can't even begin to think about boxing up my studio, and our garage allows me to use the pesky air compressor for the Big Loom without running the neighbors insane.

Tim (and some other stuff) on Unravelling
Tim (and some other stuff) on Nelson Daily Photo