Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Writing Studio Vs Writer

Ahh, let this be a lesson to all the fellow stationary-living writers out there: you are more than likely unfit. Do not attempt to build a writing studio out of straw unless you train beforehand. Possible exercises include: 25 squats a day for two months, 50 pushups a day for two months and vast cardiovascular training. Also do not plan on writing during the build. Deadlines will be forfeited.

Okay, warnings aside, I'm really happy about how the straw studio is progressing.



At the time this photo was taken it was September. Hot days lifting bales, but I loved it. Tying the bales was laborious and my muscles ached more than having H1N1 (I know, I have it). The floor was environmentally friendly, made of washed sand, poly, sleepers and rigid insulation. No heat escaping here!



Then Pa and Brady put their man muscles to use and helped raise the window bucks (notice the budding building lingo) and door thingy (note the lack of building lingo).



By the time we started raising the walls until we finished was about four days with two of us working until we couldn't lift a glass of water to our lips. But just look at how cute it is. And just imagine all the writing I'm going to complete in wonderful insolation. (At this point I thought the hard work was mostly over, oh the naivety!)



Then came the rain. Poly tarpage to the rescue.





Then disaster struck. My Morgan mare of 18 years, and my first horse, passed away due to colic that lasted 5 horrible days. Two weeks later our Thoroughbred mare erupted into hives. The culprit is believed to have grown in our upper paddock this spring.



The wire mesh goes on. Oh. My. God. This was hard work, and definitely a formidable foe. At this point it is October and we've had record-breaking cold temperatures, which meant the stucco had to be done asap, before it snowed. Also I do not recommend weed-whacking the inside walls (even with a mask) for asthmatics.



Inside is scratch-coated.



Other than some paint on the boards, the outside it done, and by golly it feels great.



The inside walls are in the process of being painted white (yeah, this is where the H1N1 hit). The black ceiling is yet to be tacked up and the floorboards still need to be laid. Then think of the finished bliss. Watching the snow peter down from the sky, settling on the pine branches, sipping hot cocoa with a cozy blanket, tapping on the ol' typewriter. Bliss indeed. More to come.

3 comments:

LiteraryMinded said...

Hi Amy, it's looking great indeed! Thanks for sharing the process. I'm sorry about your horse and the H1N1. Hope you're recovering nicely. One day I'll have a quiet little studio of my own too... x

Amy Jackson said...

Thanks Angela! The whole house is nearly recovered from the flu. Now I can't wait to get out in my studio and write like mad.

Anne Eston said...

Dear Amy, Even though this post is 3 years old, I hope you are still writing. I discovered your blog because I googled images on writing studios. I am visualizing my new space from the inside out. I hope you are still writing. I am going to follow your blog, and find you on Twitter too. Thanks for the inspiration.