09 January, 2008

Studio Project




Here we have the new studio space. These are the bare bones pictures of about a week ago. I have actually fired 'er up and am creating, now. A wise man would have finished the base boards, thresholds. etc. But, I couldn't wait.

On My Desk dot Blogspot will be getting a guest post from me in the near future (if they'll accept it).


I'm thinking about opening a thread for your help decorating this big studio space. Right now, the very "sixties" wood paneling is the motif major. Help me figure out what to do, blogger friends.

If you don't act now, I will be hanging army canteens and head mounts of Wild Turkey on the walls...

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paint the ppaneling gallery white, if you don't like the texture of the paneling and don't want to take it down, I think there is a product out there, like wallpaper that you put on horizontally and it smoothes it out, you can paint over this.
Good luck, can't wait to see the finished product! Please no animal heads!

Casey Klahn said...

The first thing I thought of was to paint the paneling white, which I may end up doing. What works against this is the three big windows (east, north and west) allow in plenty of light, with some light leak from the adjoining kitchen. Now, in winter, I have the light about right in the daytime, although the snow cover is much. Luckily, the blinds came installed on the windows, and I can block out the east and west windows.
Summertime will be another story.

So, the mid-tone of the paneling might be better than all white. In fact, I may even paint the ceiling a neutral gray.

Also, I do have a theme in mind that may make use of the retro wood look. I'm keeping it a secret until I get more input, however.

Thanks!

Adam Cope said...

burrr cold winter snow, unheated studio?...
sanding down varnished wood? dusty & long & then gloss paint expensive...toxic
i'd sacrifice a few inches all round & line the whole lot out with plaster-board which is backed with a couple of inches of polystrene insulation. stick it up with screws & not ciment glue.a simple coat of water based emulsion (easy to touch up)
keep you warm as well as fresh in summer. & probably just as quick as stripping & painting with gloss.

those animal heads do sound abit of a turn-off to a 'fauve' (french for wild beast)

Casey Klahn said...

Thanks, Adam. Good ideas. It is toasty heated, and I added an oil/electric space heater to save on heating the general area.

I'm trying to move beyond the Fauvists, but the pun is definitely a good one.

This thread is a fun one. I'll have to add some posts.

Anonymous said...

Painting everything neutral grey would be great for arting. I had my room covered in wood panels growing up, and it was really light blue. Faboo.

You know, once you start working in there, you may never be motivated to finish the baseboards. Functionality is king.

And if you mount turkey heads, won't they be *looking* at you all day? ;D

Robyn Sinclair said...

All that space! Wonderful big windows! I could live with the paneling. I'll be fascinated to see how you put your stamp on it, Casey. Meanwhile congratulations for getting there and I love the barn sketch too.

Casey Klahn said...

Meg, light blue wood panel? And at your young age? Remember, I've met your father and I don't think he pulled that one on you. I gotta blame you...

And the battleship gray has it's problems. Firstly, I was an Army officer, and so have an allergy to all things naval.

Thanks for playing along, though. Good luck at your show, BTW.

Hey, Robyn. Thanks for the sketch kudos. I'm perseverating on the image, so I know it'll emerge somehow. Can't shake the barn subject when it's sitting in the back yard...

Casey Klahn said...

A friend fro the coast writes:

"I vote wall board with nice big craftsman looking trim (MDF is cheap and pre-primed). A few screws and a little glue (yes I like the fumes) will hold it very well. The other nice thing about wall board is that it absorbs moisture to a point and retains heat as a thermal mass. Also the paneling is simply toooo...1960’s den looking. You may even want to consider a stamped tin ceiling to tie in with the front room."

Thanks! Tin would be cool. Very nice idea. The mast on my easels whack the ceiling. I'm going to build an "in situ" mount for large works.

Casey Klahn said...

Oh, Meg. I agree on the functionality meme, but I actually have a breezy gap at one bottom edge, so the trim will have to be done, like it or not.

Lisa B. said...

We started tearing all the warped paneling out of the basement last night, along with the dark brown tile. It's a big job, but I'm thrilled it's finally getting done.

Below ground, I'm limited to lighter tints for wall & floor coverings, but if I had all those windows, I'd go with a neutral, matte "gallery" green. It would give a good idea about how the work will be viewed after it leaves the studio.

Can't wait to see how you finish the space!

Casey Klahn said...

Thanks for the input, Lisa. Good luck on the basement project.

If nothing else happens to my walls, I am putting one panel of drywall up as a space to "gallery" artworks.

Yellow said...

I saw a fantastic programme about Frank Lloyd Wright's Prarie House (probably the wrong spelling). The living room had huge windows and everything was arranged at hip level - seating, bookcases, tabels, so as not to interrupt the views and to keep distrations all below a cretain level. You could have a look to see what the bench-top level is, and paint all the walls above that height in white or a neutral stone colour, maybe even adding huge mirrors to enhance the sense of space and light. Then, fit any shelving & storage below that level, but keeping to a neutral colourscheme and materials.

Casey Klahn said...

I was at a FLW mega structure once by an art fair, in San Rafael, CA. One of my college chums is an architect, so he's all about the great man. It doesn't hurt that my house is a Craftsman, either!

Yellow! These ideas are so good that I'll probably be re-thinking my plans to incorporate some of them. One thing I'm doing soon is taking off the half bug screens from the windows so that I can see better. Unfortunately, the parade of wildlife is too distracting.

But, the light from windows is more of an enemy than a friend. That's why a big north facing one is so great. I had only a double n. facing window in the house where I was set up, which was ideal.

I do like the lower book shelf idea, esp. now that my kids are matured enough to leave them alone. But, I have too much studio furniture. We'll have to scratch our heads about that...

Everyone go over to "Yellow's" blog via the link on her name. It's awesome.

Gesa said...

Oh... all that space... this is looking great and I'm sure you'll find some good ways of making it yours to work in!

Abstract Expressionism, Art Criticism, Artists, Colorist Art, Drawing, History, Impressionism, Modern Art, Painting, Pastel, Post Impressionism