Slow Progress, but the plans are coming together!

Things are moving much slower than we expected, probably because it is difficult working full time and still having the energy to work late every evening and all week ends. We have had a very good run of dry weather recently though, which has enabled us to make a good start out doors with hard landscaping. Progress made on the exterior includes all of the windows now changed and we have new front doors. We have changed the entrance from one single very wide and large front door into two slimmer doors. It looks good and quite fitting, like it was always meant to be this way. We carried that change on into the hall and made the vestibule entrance door also into a pair of slimmer doors. We started on the front entrance steps, taking off three layers of tiles! Shocking they were, including the top layer being indoor bathroom tiles! Finally reaching the original stone steps underneath, but think they would look much smarter with new bull nose capping. We’ve passed a cutting pattern for all the steps to a local stone mason to create these caps in local sandstone, waiting to see what he suggests. Meanwhile indoors we are fighting with years and years of paint, the only way to get through the layers on the woodwork is either hot gun stripping or scrapping. It a very dirty job, requires all windows and doors wide as the fumes are horrible. Planning permission shouldn't be too far away now, plans are drafted and a pre-meeting has been held with the local planning authority to discuss the adventure!

A rather difficult old fire place proved messy to remove. The main body of it was baby brick, but the back of it was filled solid with brick and cement, this made it very difficult to get out. It wasn't long before the hand tools were abandoned and the big boy toys came out. We had to use the large electric breaker to get it out. Clearly one reason being the use of old tradition Whitehaven brick, made locally for many years 1800 - 1900's and renowned for it's strength!

A great shame the original Georgian fireplaces have all been removed.

Things are changing...

New Location for Lakeland Calligraphy!

Can't believe it's been 12 months, it's been a busy old year, but now there is lots of change about to happen.! All exciting stuff. Lakeland Calligraphy is moving, new home, new adventures.
Moving from the coast to the edge of the Lake District National Park. A beautiful venue for all things Arty. I will be running Calligraphy courses and Art courses from this beautiful lakes home. But the best of all, they will be residential!! Not just B&B but beautiful Boutique accommodation. Should you choose to enjoy the lakes while you're here we will be only 4 miles from Loweswater and 6 from Ennerdale.
It won't be over night though, it will be a major renovation project, I have decided to blog the adventure right here. You can follow the progress and watch it all unfold before your eyes. First six months will no doubt be hard and messy pulling the place apart, then the fun bit decorating and bringing to fruition all the fabulous design inside my head! Here we go......wish us luck!!

All was not lost....

A few weeks after we moved, the most devastating thing happened, in the chaos to compact spare rooms full with boxes of all our kitchen contents and that of many other rooms, which we were not going to need for some time, I lost some vital boxes of studio equipment. As we were packing things safely out of the way as we embarked on some fairly major renovation. I lost track of my water colour brushes, just as we were clearing lots of things away to the refuse tip. A life time collection of brushes, some of which I'd had for over 30 years, also my Art-Kure water colour sketch system brushes and paints, and my ZIG calligraphy pens and artists sketch pens. We were convinced the small boxes they were in had been mixed up with card board and boxes for the tip. I was devastated, many of my brushes were very expensive, life long friends, lots were hand made, but all were precious. How or where to start again was daunting, I was so upset and literally felt my creativity had been thrown on the tip, being very down hearted and glum about the whole thing

That was nearly six months ago, I had a serious amount of work ahead to take my mind off it and got on with the renovation. At one point we had, no bathroom, no kitchen and no staircase!!!

Gradually we have seen the house take shape and achieved a fitted kitchen and bathroom in time for Christmas. Some rooms being slowly unpacked and amid the search for boxes relevant to 'living room' over Christmas, to try and add a homely feel to the place over the holidays I found them!!!

Today was the best day ever, I opened a box and they were there! I swear they weren't  when I was looking 6 months ago, but there they were. I could have cried, the relief ! To anyone not an artist I can only try and explain how that felt. Think of something you have owned, collected, expanded and invested a lot of money in for over 30 years. Which you have used so regular and 'broken in' to be an extension of your own hands. so hand picked, loved and shaped, it would take another 30 years to replace.

Finally, I can start to think of putting my studio together again and organising my arty world. Which without the tools of my trade would have felt pointless and painful, as I moved to this place for the peace and quiet, the views and the garden to paint!