Someone has been printing in the workshop overnight. 

Last night I took a little collection my odoriferous fresh paintings to the workshop and locked them in.  This morning on my coffee survey walk, I found that miniscule marks had been clearly printed on the surface of some of the dark areas.  Clearly the printer had previously visited the light areas of a juicy painting of peppers on a white table and then moved over the darker boat scene to make his impressions.  Relief work—stamping of very small paws – and a good job too!

There ARE mice there.  Emptying out boxes at any time gives clear sign that small creatures consider my workshop their own…I am only a renter.  And once I found a dear little timrous cowrin’ beastie hiding beneath my carved wood bowls when I upended the box to prepare for a showing.  I said hello, and put the box on its side near the grass outside.  Seemed a friendlier thing to do than De Con, and he was really very sweet looking, and scared.

He found EVIDENCE of my daytime activites.  I have given myself a “week off” to paint.  The crush of work to put together this year’s Farmer’s Market season has just worn me out.  It is a solo entrepreneurial effort where I am all the departments at one.  I even make the coffee.

But this mouse found that his box near the top had drying paintings off-gassing on it, and he no doubt sniffed, wondering if the sticky stuff was edible.  I did not see signs that he stayed long, however…clearly his tracks moved smoothly across the painting and off to other pursuits. 

But I am wondering whether I should keep the marks.  After all, these paintings were rather intensely put on prepared surfaces as a way to “warm up” my painting mind—to get in gear for a week of painting.  This is part of the life of the spontaneous marks I made yesterday, is it not?  Well…I think I will leave the marks on along with my own marks and contemplate whether they are to save or paint over.

As for the printer:  Well…I think I will leave him alone again this time.  DeCon?  I am torn, as was Burns, with realizing the needs and rights of this small creature who doesn’t use up much of my rental space, and likely his family has lived there for much longer than I have been in residence. 

But Burns did turn his little friend OUT,  and I may have to do that.  But maybe next year.

This April finds me in a new office at a new location high on a mountainside on the Olympic Penninsula of Washington State.

I am still trying to find all my stuff.  The paintings I submitted to a local exhibit are SOMEwhere here in the new art space, but so is everything else. Must find those paintings and finish framing them!  Moving is no small matter!

There is a new woodshop forming in a large garage which is still not cleared of the previous renter's things.  My tools and workbenches are piled in a corner waiting to be laid out so they can be used.  There's a nice tight little woodstove in there that needs to be installed that will heat the place nicely and make a year-round shop for Silk Purse Products carving and finishing.  There's insulation in the corner that must be tacked up some day soon.

AND a lovely little tool shed with potting shelves and plenty of space for all kinds of gardening and other yard tools.  It's a rather wild and smarmy looking place right now, but will be wonderful when cleaned out.