Anchor

I discovered my new corner-store showroom "The Beauty Shop", as many others have done, via craigslist one Summer morning. My last residency (thanks to LiaMolly's Seema and family) at my studio on Antonine was coming to an end, and I began a morning ritual of checking online for available space. Some of you may remember the cluster diagram I drew and posted here on the blog, daydreaming my space into reality. And like some lost Law of Attraction, my space came to me. The Beauty Shop became available, and turned out the landlord had bought artwork from me at a market years before. It felt meant to be.As I made the space my own, I cleared it to it's bones, and made a plan. That plan included an anchor along the back wall. So, I commissioned talented local Matthew Holdren Woodworking to create a custom bar-height counter to cloak the existing kitchenette. We collaborated on a design which included his signature style of repurposed materials, and my cotton/linen fiber softness. He used this beautiful old uneven and imperfect poplar which stretches the width of the space like some tree arm grown especially to cradle the art in my shop. Get to know Matthew here, and then shop for your own original piece on his etsy shop. Browse his portfolio via Flickr for ideas for commissioning an original piece of your own.