Gearing up

So we are moving sometime within the next two months, into a place that has actual space we can use for a studio. This is very exciting for me for a number of reasons. One, while I have studio access at University of Waterloo, it is only while I am enrolled in printmaking classes there. UW doesn't offer any fine arts classes over the summer. So that sucks. I tend to spend huge blocks of time in the studio at once, just to get lots done while no one else is there, so then Armand complains that he never sees me. Well, that problem will be solved, just come downstairs, I'm right here! The reason I try to work at the studio when no one else is there is that the other students are messy. Very messy. I don't like working in other people's messes. My mess, my fault, my problem. But the other students in my over-enrolled class tend to leave crap everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. They suck. I can walk into the studio on any given day and find any or all of the following, which range from annoying to downright dangerous:

• lights on
• doors and windows wide open (with no one there. we actually had vandalism of the building happen because one of my classmates left the bloody windows open overnight and people got in through them
• overhead fan on
• acid hood fan on
• acid hood open
• acid trays not covered
• used paper and scraps of paper on essentially every flat surface
• ink mixing surfaces and rollers not cleaned
• solvents left open
• hot plate left on
• paper tray a disgusting mess of pink, blooming nasty sludge
• tools, gloves, personal belongings left everywhere
• ground rollers cross-contaminated
• prints left in the racks for way too long, so there is no space for yours
• much more I am probably forgetting about

As you can imagine, it gets pretty frustrating. I try to work with no one else there so I don't have to deal with as much of that crap, and if people leave crap lying around, I just sweep it all into a garbage can and no one can complain hahaha. So having my own workspace is a dream come true, even if my press is the tiniest one I have ever seen and I have to do acid bites outside on the patio. I don't care, it is worth it!

So right now I am trying to get all my supplies and tools together so that once we have access to the new place I have everything I need and just need to set up. Anyone who has done printmaking before can imagine that this could take quite a while. It is expensive to buy everything at once, and there is really no one, fabulous art store in the Kitchener-Waterloo area that carries everything I need all in once place for prices that aren't completely overblown. I have ended up getting supplies and tools at a variety of places. Too many I think! To give you an idea of the depth and breadth, these are places I have purchased supplies from since the beginning of this year, both for studio set up and for my class/personal projects before I we found out about the new space. We currently live near the university, so some of these places are close, but most of the best ones aren't.

• The Artstore (Waterloo)(paper)
• Curry's (Kitchener. Brand new, near the SilverCity cinema)(paper, plates, liquid ground, tint base extender, brushes)
• Above Ground (Toronto)(grounds, stop out, tarlatan, rosin, inks, easywipe)
• The Paper Place (Toronto)(paper)
• State of the Art (Waterloo)(paper)
• Michaels (Waterloo)(paper, notions, sheets of mat (I worked as a framer for years, so I cut my own mats), adhesives, white transfer paper)
• Jerry's Artarama (Mail order from the Southern USA)(press, archival print bags, folding rack (to hold mounted works for shows), framer's point gun (so I can save $$ on framing, which is way too expensive), brayer and baren)
• Ikea (Burlington/Etobicoke)(the only place that has large square frames)
• E.C. Lyons (Mail order from NY, USA)(scrapers, burnishers, magnifier)
• Wyndham (Guelph)(paper, plates, brushes, nitric acid, binder clips)
• The Bay (Waterloo)(electric griddle)
• Home Hardware (Waterloo)(paint thinner, methyl hydrate, caulking gun)
• Home Depot (Waterloo)(gloves, wire, magnets, toolbox)
• Dollarama (Waterloo)(kitchen gloves, bowls)
• Chapters (Waterloo, and web order)(books, of course!)
• Amazon (web order)(books)

On top of all that, I got the sheet of glass that I am going to mix my inks on for free from my boss (Thanks Brad!). However, I still need several things...

• A paper chest/flat file. Since to buy one would cost several hundred dollars that I don't have, so I am going to make my own out of melamine coated plywood and hardboard from Home Depot. I should be able to do it for $100 or less. Yes, I am that ambitious.
• trays for acid and water
• organizing stuff
• chair/stool (which I can't buy until I know what height the surfaces I'll be working on are)
• scanner. I have been using my fathers, which is evil and mostly dead. It works less often than not.
• camera. My digital camera died. Seeing as I work a lot from my photos, this is a bit of a problem. I also use it to take photos of my pieces for my own reference, for our website, and for the etsy site (which isn't up quite yet, so don't ask!)

In a nutshell, I am broke and my prints are beautiful, therefore please buy one (or several!)