Pictured above: a corner of my freshly tidied and slightly rearranged studio, with a place for everything and everything in its place - well, almost. (Click on image for a clearer view).
Over the past several weeks, all of the work surfaces had become increasingly cluttered and it became difficult to think clearly, much less create work in there. My workspace is quite small and a build-up of disorder can render it practically unworkable. Fortunately Alice was on hand to supervise (although I suspect she preferred the former chaos). Next to her is a copy of The Gentle Arts - Two Hundred Years of Australian Women’s Domestic and Decorative Arts by Jennifer Isaacs, a much treasured reference book I’ve been revisiting during the making of a current work. (More about this in a future post).
The room actually needs a total overhaul in order to make better use of storage, but at least this is a start. On the bookshelves a postcard of Virginia Woolf, author of the seminal A Room of One’s Own (as indeed this one is) has followed me from studio to studio. It was purchased many years ago at one of my favourite places, London’s National Portrait Gallery. The shelves were built by Shane in an alcove that previously housed an inbuilt dressing table.
Melbourne begins a further seven days of lockdown from midnight tonight, while restrictions in regional Victoria will be carefully eased. Who knows what the next seven days will bring? In these uncertain times, I’m extremely thankful for this room of my own and for the most part, this is where I’ll be.