2005-09-07
creative arts
I've unearthed a studio workspace right within the house. There's a story to it. That story is about Wacket a freed slave who lived with his wife in a stone-walled single roomed house built bermed into the hillside. That room is the back room to the house, and we have often referred to it as the shed.
I made mention of Wacket before, when talking about our house and the artist Natham "Tod" Gould.
When Bruce came upon the house, the "room" was a sqared off space in back of the house. There was no roof, only the walls. Changes took place, a fieldstone floor and drainage were put in, the rock walls pointed and a door and windows added. Wacket's room once again became part of the house.
For a couple of years, Wacket's home had increasingly become that catch-all room that many middle class American homes have. You know, the room you hate going into and definitely don't show to company.
This weekend that changed. Everything's been moved out or around; new shelves built; tools put in one place; the Tonka truck collection neatly displayed; and art supplies brought in from various parts of the house.
Next goal. to get back into painting ~ oil painting this time. That's what winter has prepared for my free time ...or what I have prepared for winter. Wacket's home comprises but a small part of the house. Approximately 14 x 12, with a very high ceiling [compared to the rest of the house] the two trapazoidal windows in the picture bring light into Wacket's space.
I sat in the room tonight to get a sense of the energy of the place. Tried to "see" how Wacket and his wife lived here. This was a man stolen from his homeland, sold into slavery, and yet, like Venture Smith [whom Wacket may very well have known], was able to buy his way out and bacame a Freedman. I hope my painting and my work in this space does his memory proper justice. ¶ 23:00
I've unearthed a studio workspace right within the house. There's a story to it. That story is about Wacket a freed slave who lived with his wife in a stone-walled single roomed house built bermed into the hillside. That room is the back room to the house, and we have often referred to it as the shed.I made mention of Wacket before, when talking about our house and the artist Natham "Tod" Gould.
When Bruce came upon the house, the "room" was a sqared off space in back of the house. There was no roof, only the walls. Changes took place, a fieldstone floor and drainage were put in, the rock walls pointed and a door and windows added. Wacket's room once again became part of the house. For a couple of years, Wacket's home had increasingly become that catch-all room that many middle class American homes have. You know, the room you hate going into and definitely don't show to company.
This weekend that changed. Everything's been moved out or around; new shelves built; tools put in one place; the Tonka truck collection neatly displayed; and art supplies brought in from various parts of the house.Next goal. to get back into painting ~ oil painting this time. That's what winter has prepared for my free time ...or what I have prepared for winter. Wacket's home comprises but a small part of the house. Approximately 14 x 12, with a very high ceiling [compared to the rest of the house] the two trapazoidal windows in the picture bring light into Wacket's space.
I sat in the room tonight to get a sense of the energy of the place. Tried to "see" how Wacket and his wife lived here. This was a man stolen from his homeland, sold into slavery, and yet, like Venture Smith [whom Wacket may very well have known], was able to buy his way out and bacame a Freedman. I hope my painting and my work in this space does his memory proper justice. ¶ 23:00
