My studio is being built.

Here is Midori's new stiudio to be. What d'ya think? 

I have been very busy making work for my solo exhibition in Tokyo. As I had great sales at CAL, I suddenly found myself needing to make more, but that's a small price to pay for a great show.

Studio and storage room.

In the meantime, our house has been upside down because of the builders. The construction of an extension, my studio, began at the beginning of March. I had to create loads of work for CAL in early April and Tokyo solo exhibition in mid-May. But as we had waited for two years to get the building project off the ground, I gave it a go. My order book is usually full for the next six months most of the time. What difference would it make? 

Demolition of the wall

To the studio

It had been ok despite all noise and vibration until last week when they removed the wall to make a doorway between current house and the extension. Then our stress levels shot up. Invisible dusts remain in air as they are too lightweight to fall down. The smell of dusts was overwhelming. Then suddenly there were three men ripping off floorboards in different places on the 1st floor, and we can't access upstairs as one of them was on the landing. They drilled the ceiling over me. I had no place to sit, so had to perch on a window. Chaos. 

Mike took a day off and helped them to locate cables and pipes. It is my office. 

But the worst was that I was unable to work even though I had to! Builders appear 7:30 every morning. Usually weekends are quiet, but last Saturday a plasterer had worked a whole Saturday morning. On that night, I had to work until 10:30 to compensate. Exhausted. I became slightly mad with red eyes, dark crircles and underglaze in my hair and face.

Having said that, our builders are good, smart and efficient. We are very happy with what they have done. 

No access to upstairs or to front door, neither.

Now we are in the final week. Currently I am re-firing work. And this could be the last firing before leaving for Tokyo, or there might be another. But we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I tell you, it has been tiring, stressful experience. But I kept telling myself after this I could work anywhere in any condition. Did I need another challenge? Well, no, but a life is full of challenegs, anyway.  

Pearl? I don't know where she is. Even dogs had to pile up as there was no space left in the winodw.

18th April

We have just recovered from backaches as we had to move funiture quite often. Building work is a hard work even if you don't lay the bricks yourself!

The second of March - This was the beginning.