Hey What's Been Going On?!

Gallery Wall inside Eva Hunter Art Studio

Recently a friend asked me what I’ve been up to lately in my studio. It’s been awhile since my last blog, so I thought it’d make a good subject to share with you.
First and foremost is the big news of the day; I’m a new Grandma (or rather Nonna)!! Baby Leon was born on July 6th and he is cute as can be. If you follow me on Facebook you will have seen his video debut this morning! If you don’t follow me on Facebook here’s the link https://www.facebook.com/groups/evahunterartstudio
Now let’s go back a bit in time. Waaaaay back in Jan of 2021 we decided to renovate our two car garage into my art studio. Our family room, which I had been using was to become space for my daughter. Not being very handy or knowledgeable in the home renovation game my husband and I hired a contractor. Our game plan was as follows:

1. Pack up/box everything in studio. Hold in studio until work is complete. This will be agonizing!

2. Clean out crap in garage. No really, throw it all away! Ok, we can save that…put it in a box. Fill the dumpster from the contractor (this was a HUGE blessing!)

3. Shop around for a shed. Look at too many, get overwhelmed, go back to the first one we saw and buy it. It’s now Feb so we start praying the ground stays frozen and it doesn’t snow. Our shed will be delivered in a week or so. Oh and we have to have a stone pad installed and leveled off before the shed is delivered. Our shed guy, “knows a guy”. He says trust him, he won’t wreck our lawn, he delivers sheds in all kinds of weather.

4. Hire “the guy” to install a stone pad for the shed. Works out well, no snow for awhile in Syracuse, made it easy. He’ll be back to remove our fence post on shed delivery day so the truck can get into our backyard. Oh and he had to pull out our grapevine and a rose bush to make room for the truck. That’s ok, I don’t like wine or roses (said NO ONE EVER!)

5. Shed delivery day dawns on a thawing Syracuse ie: the lawn is muddy. Guy says trust him. Watch as the hydraulic truck makes ruts in our lawn and the ramp sticks with our shed halfway down the ramp. Really, I wish I was making this stuff up. Shed is finally laid to rest nicely on our stone pad. Truck frees itself from our lawn. Fence post is replaced. Shed guy is proud of himself, claims we have the best looking shed in the neighborhood and goes happily on his way. As his backside is seen disappearing from our sight, I give my stressed out husband a big glass of wine and we make plans to call our landscape guy in the spring.

6. Move all the stuff we just have to keep from the garage into the new shed. Being careful not to twist an ankle in the ruts left by the truck. This process will take a lot longer than expected, the ground fluctuates between mushy and icee. My husband is a saint and moves it all by himself. I am a saint and stay out of his way.

7. Decide we want/need to replace our home furnace and upgrade it to an HVAC system. Also discover that the new studio space will need a mini split to heat and cool it. Uh huh. So, new home HVAC system is installed. During the install for the MiniSplit we’re told we need to run a new 220 line into our home, and that we need to call our energy provider, blah blah blah. Um, nope. We just happen to have a 220 line that we’re not using. Hah! So, use that Mr. HVAC man.

8. Contractors arrive and begin what will be a two and a half week process of installing insulation to all the walls, overhead door, and ceiling, hanging new drywall, mudding, installing additional outlets, new lighting (my studio is very well lit now!), topping off the pony wall with a finished ledge, molding, install gallery hang system, paint the walls, ceiling, clean, seal and paint the floors. If you’re ever in need of a local handyman I got a guy you can call! Just ask me and I’ll share his contact info with you.

9. Joyfully move all my studio stuff into the new space! Dance with happiness and kiss that wonderful husband of mine. Follow the carefully measured placement map to arrange my equipment in it’s new location. A few tweaks will be made due to the fact that I have to share floor space with the snowblower for a little while. Sigh. We forgot about that part. Hubby doesn’t want to have to pull the darn snowblower out of the shed every time he has to clean the snow from the driveway. This would involve snowplowing his way through the backyard, over the ruts, through the gate and onto the driveway. What a whiner. You know I’m kidding.

And that my friends is how I came to have the best art studio I could ever wish for. It’s close to home, private, warm and cozy in the winter and cool and comfy in the heat of summer. I spend about 7-8 hours a day in here creating my art. I’ve been able to offer private art lessons, and divide my time between all the things involved with running a business.

The landscape guys have come and gone, the ruts have been filled in and grass refuses to grow there. Why does my husband have the worst time of trying to grow grass? I mean really, he’s so careful to water it, puts straw over it, shoos the birds away, stands guard over it…..not a single blade.

Having this space has helped improve my production as I now have enough space to work on several projects at once. For example currently on my easel is a large oil painting in progress, on my workbench I have three pieces to mat and package, on another table I have my marble vat set up so I can marble some ties this week, I have an acrylic painting in process and one of my students will be here tomorrow for her lesson. This space also has room for a little retail nook which showcases my jewelry, scarves and ties. The longest wall has a gallery hanging system where I hang my art, there are also two more wall with hanging systems showing my art.

Life is good. My art is selling, private lessons are a blast, classes are on the calendar again (I’ll be teaching at The Art Store in August and The Everson in Oct.) If you’re local or visiting Syracuse and would like to stop into my studio give me a call (315-699-3077) I’d love to show you around!

Emerging From Confinement

As I sit here in my studio it dawns on me that it’s been a year since news of the Covid-19 virus spread just as fast as the illness itself, and we were all sequestered in place. Like most of my friends and family I was pretty frightened by the thought of a scary Spring plague running rampant through humanity. My husband and I considered ourselves lucky to have both our daughters living back at home. Home is a safe place and it relieved this momma’s heart to have her family together during this time. Unbeknown to us, it would be a very long time in isolation from the rest of the world. You see; I have asthma and a fairly poor track record of contracting bronchitis. No way do I want to have a battle with Covid. We also learned that there were to be some medical challenges our daughter would face during this time. That’s her story to tell, so no details from me. Needless to say, we weren’t going to mess around with risking exposure.

What does this have to do with my life as an artist? Plenty. With the restrictions and reality of this new way of life I found a new sense of determination in my creative process. Gone were distractions such as visits to the hair salon, grocery shopping, running mindless errands, meetings, etc. (My hair hasn’t been this long since high school.) With the exception of the occasional off day; I’ve always been pretty disciplined in producing my work. Now I had no excuses not to create. I had all the time in the world. No distractions. I was free! I could focus even more intently on projects I’ve always wanted to work on. My studio is in my home so every morning I’d jump out of bed, get ready and paint the day away. And then things changed again.

We needed to make space for the arrival of our first grandchild!! Don’t even get me started on how scary it is to be pregnant during this pandemic! I’m trying to focus on the positive here. Our daughter would move into the family room (AKA my studio) and we would renovate a new space for my studio. Easier said than done.

We hired a contractor, and after two and a half weeks of watching our garage be transformed; I have the best studio ever. We installed a mini split HVAC system, added insulation to the walls and ceiling, hung new drywall, installed amazing LED overhead lighting, installed an art rail hanging system, sealed and painted the floor, fresh paint on walls and ceilings. It took me a week to move my studio supplies and equipment into the new space. Hanging my art without having to pound nails into the walls was wonderful. I now have a much larger space to work in, with room enough for a little retail display. Can I just say, “OMG I love it!”

Each day is a blessing and I am filled with thankfulness for the love and support of my family. They encourage me and frequently pop in to see what’s happening in my studio. I never realized before how much I was distracted by being in the family living space of our home. Too easy to get distracted and pulled away from my work. I get more done in this space over the course of a day than I ever did before. It’s amazing what a little focus can do.

With Spring around the corner and vaccinations more readily available, I’m looking forward to emerging from the confinement of the past year. I long to see my friends in person not just via Zoom. I’m planning several, limited attendance, invitation only New Studio Open House(s) in the Spring. Keep an eye out for your invitation.

New Art Series Release

Embrace is a new art series inspired by the beauty of a well tended garden. There are eight pieces in the collection. Each is on a 6 by 12 inch AlumaComp panel. Done in inks and sealed with a UV protective glaze. They are available unframed at $100 each. You may purchase them online through my website, www.evahunterart.com Purchase as many as you want or just one. This is a limited series and I will not be offering prints of them.

The hard work and dedication required to nurture and bring forth new blooms is a trait that I’ve always admired. Both of my grandfathers were avid gardeners and I have fond memories of walking among the blooms and vegetables each planted. Tended to and cared for on a daily basis their gardens nurtured and fed their families. They taught me that hard work is required for success.

Relationships among friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and those we don’t know yet require careful tending. Reach out with kindness and compassion. Embrace one another with understanding. Who knows what will bloom if we take the time to consider each other? Like a gardener tending to each leaf and petal, weeding out the rogue growth is often required. So, put on a sunny smile, share it with someone who needs it, and embrace those who need to be tended to.

Stay positive. Stay healthy. Embrace kindness.

PS- What’s AlumaComp you say? Oh, it’s an archival painting and mounting panel. I quote from the label on the panel, “These aluminum composite panels are .4mm (5/32”) thick. Each panel is a sandwich of two aluminum surfaces with a 1/8” polyethylene core. They are lightweight, extremely rigid and will maintain their structural integrity.
AlumaComp is perfect for mounting canvas, photos, prints and papers to create an incredibly stable painting panel or prime and paint directly on the surface. The brushed aluminum surface provides texture that grips primer or adhesive for a perfect bond. The smooth surface provides a finished look as a backside or can be used in negative painting applications for metallic highlights.”

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Enchanted Willow

You know when you’re a kid how everything seems so big? Well when I was a little girl we had a huge willow tree in our backyard. Huge in every sense of the word; so huge that my sister and two brothers and I could not “hug the tree” unless we were all holding hands in a circle around it. Really, it was seriously that big. It had branches that would hang down to the ground. We’d play under it’s shady canopy all summer. I’m not sure when it happened, but my Dad built us a treehouse up in it’s branches. It seems to have always been there, complete with a trap door, ladder and tire swing hanging below.

Oh the joy of having a treehouse! It was where I could escape into a world of make believe filled with fairies, monsters, dragons, and cute little creatures. We’d spend hours up there, having all sorts of childhood adventures. The freedom to daydream and imagine these worlds and creatures has always stayed with me. Playtime should not be reserved only for children. As an adult I find the ability to play and imagine to be a continuing place of growth and comfort. As an artist it feeds that part in me that needs the outlet for creativity. I’m thankful it continues to nourish my life and artwork.

So I share with you the latest piece of artwork from my Treehouse Series. It’s title, “Enchanted Willow” it is on a stretched 16 x 40 x 1 inch gallery wrapped canvas. Painted in acrylics it’s filled with images inspired by one of my childhood adventures. There is a dragon in the painting and she’s based on a real person. I won’t tell you who (yet), but I will tell you the dragon’s name is Gemini. She’s fierce and protective, and she has always confused the hell out of me. But, that I believe is a story to be told another day.

This painting is available for purchase through the Shop link on my website www.evahunterart.com please consider adding this fine art painting to your collection.

Hello Again

Well, I don’t know about you but I miss the ability to leave my house and go wherever and whenever I want. What a luxury that was and I didn’t even realize it. I’ve essentially not seen anyone in a public setting since March 13th or so. At first it wasn’t so bad. I mean, I have a studio in my home, I’m used to working in it pretty much everyday, alone (except for my furry studio companion). I remember thinking, "How bad can it be? It’ll be just like a normal work day. Won’t affect me.” Uh huh. Not really.

Being of the creative persuasion has always provided me with glorious amounts of material to entertain myself and others. After the first week of quarantine I decided to finally learn to crochet. Why crochet? Because my grandma, mom, and almost every female relative in my family can crochet. I never had the patience to learn and so have been frustrated with my lack of ability. It would also be another way to be creative but would give me a break from all the painting and sculpting I usually do. (Yes, I know; I’m not very good at relaxing).

So, I’ve learned to crochet. Monsters. Of the Coronasaurus variety. Why? Because creative me thinks they’re funny and they make me giggle. In the beginning of our isolation the news stream was a constant source of anxiety and worry for me. It was hard to sleep, to eat, to function. I didn’t feel like doing anything. My husband began working from home. My adult daughter is home. There were people in my house during the day and I wasn’t used to it. Monsters in crochet were my way of finding an outlet for my energy. When I caught myself laughing out loud I realized I was onto something. Squeezing a soft squishy monster with horns and tails provided me with comfort and laughter. Stress relief nirvana.

These little monsters have slowly begun to multiply in number as I continue to practice crochet. Each one emerges with bits of strangeness and personality and now provide my husband and daughter with giggle opportunities. Sometimes I post pictures of them on Facebook, so keep a look out for them. I even give them interesting names. Right now Professor Frédéric Von Whiskerschtein is coming along quite nicely.

This quarantine bit eats away at my usual hyper self sometimes. It’s like walking around in a fog when I can’t seem to focus. As it probably is with most everyone. We have so much stuff to do and yet at times it’s so irrelevant. We want to talk to each other, to connect on that personal level, to look into the eyes of our friends and loved ones. To breathe in the scent of momma’s perfume. Not through the lens of a computer screen. Don’t misunderstand me please, I’m all for the safe protocols we have in place and will continue to practice physical distancing. Designer face masks may be a fashion trend for awhile yet.

In the meantime, I give thanks for the ability to continue my art practice, and to hug and squeeze my monsters. All of them; hubby and daughter included. Stay safe my friends!