First Piece done ... and a 5th Bday Bash

(Above: Stained Glass XXIX, detail of upper middle. This is the first piece I've finished at The Studios of Key West during my residency! Click on image to enlarge. The rest of the photos of this work are toward the bottom of this blog post.)

Time is already racing by here at The Studios of Key West. Every day there's something going on! Busy, busy, busy!

But first ... here are the promised photos of my accommodations in the newly renovated cottage at 607 Ashe Street!


This is my bedroom for the month ... complete with a big overstuffed chair and ottoman for late night hand stitching!



My unit is handicap accessible ... making the bathroom simply magnificent!



Across from the bedroom and entry hall is the studio space ... which, obviously, I've taken over! It is wonderful to have my palette of polyester velvets spread out all over the floor where I can see all the colors! A hollow door and two sawhorses were made into my over-sized ironing board. On the floor are also two photo transfers on pieces of a vintage blue-and-white quilt. I completed the transfers at home but brought the hand stitching to do here in Florida.



Here's another angle of my new studio space ... which also shows the desk on which I've placed my laptop. It is a perfect location for blogging!



This view shows the privacy door between my live/work space and the rest of the building. (Above me is another live/work space currently used by artist-in-resident Kristen Michelle, an actress.)



The space immediately beyond my privacy door is a communal dining room.



A little further is the ultra modern communal kitchen.



Double glass doors lead to the covered patio in the middle of the garden ... where, on Saturday afternoon, The Studios of Key West celebrated its 5th Birthday!



Most of the guests walked in and out of the garden through the gated entrance off Ashe Street. My car is parked on the other side of the gate.



There were all sorts of activities for the Birthday Bash ... including a plein aire painting competition. The other artist-in-residence, Anne Ireland, a oil painter from Maine, was asked to judge.



Anne's accommodations are the self contained cottage at 609 Ashe Street. (Above)



The public had been invited through fliers, Facebook, and email invitations and many came dressed for the occasion!



This was the public's first official chance to tour the residency accommodations. Amazingly, the capital campaign, blueprints, and construction were all completed within a single year! This is undoubtedly something to celebrate!



By later in the afternoon, the gardens were totally filled.



There were a few announcements and an incredible raffle.



All the staff deserved the applause they received ....



... and then it was time for the Birthday cake!



So ... what were guests seeing in my studio space? They were able to see Stained Glass XXIX under construction.



Yesterday I stitched the piece and today I poked holes in it with my regular and fine tipped soldering irons. I did this on the porch ... allowing the fumes to blow away in the island breeze.



After melting the reverse with a heat gun, it was finished. Of course, there's not really a great place to "officially" take good quality photos here in my Florida residency. Thus, the forth porch had to be used!



Above is the top quarter. The upper middle photo led this blog post.



Above is the lower middle.



This is the bottom.



By the way, I finished the hand stitching and button edges on the two photo transfers (except that I forgot my white vintage buttons for the bottom edge of my Great, great grandma on the left. There's absolutely no way to capture these image here ... too much warm sunshine for the acrylic surfaces. I'll shot them at home! Now ... on to the next piece!