New Studio

In May 2017 I moved into a new studio space on Hunter Street, Newcastle. Formerly a cold dark concrete garage, it required some renovations, so Dad and I installed walls, warm lighting and a coat of paint to bring it up to scratch. Having worked out of my home studio for 4 years, the move made me a little apprehensive. But as I was in need of more painting space and the opportunity to hang and work on multiple works at the same time, the time had come to try something new.

before and after renovations 

The space I have relocated to is beneath a contemporary dance studio and next to a former glass factory come vintage store/cafe/dread lock bar. It also backs onto the railway line which is currently receiving a make over with the construction of a new city Terminus. Probably my favourite element though, is the car park / urban garden, that is filled with stacked shipping containers that support hundreds of potted plants. Chickens and cats and now my dog Louis, free range across the asphalt picking up scraps. Resident container king: Rolo presides over the former dump zone car park. constantly organising the chaos into tidy stacks of train sleepers and barrels of glass, all the while keeping a close eye on his fermenting soup of cafe coffee and compost, that he feeds the plants. 

An unexpected bonus of setting up this studio has been little community I have joined at the cafe. There are few cafes that are so conversational amongst strangers as well as regulars, which i think has to do with the influence of  Naoko, the former Japanese fashion designer and very warm and charismatic lady who runs the space. Everyday, while sitting on wobbly stools and balancing coffees on ironing boards, meet an interesting combo of train station construction workers, musicians, artists and business folk. Less a business and more like a lounge room decorated with exquisite designer vintage, this place is my creative space just as much as my studio.