Invitations - and work-in-progress

The invitations for the opening, re-opening, of Dave's old studio in Haslingden arrived from the printers today and I've started sending them out. It's only going to be open for one Friday evening (December 11th, 6.30 - 9.00 pm) and the afternoons of the following weekend.

The opening will be, in the main, for old friends of Daves, colleagues and collectors - but also for anyone interested in finding out what the Trust have been doing. The studio building is, as I write, still covered in dust (I am too) and the builders won't be out until next week. But excellent progress has been made, and its exactly this work-in-progress that I hope we'll celebrate in a few weeks time.

Some of Dave's work will be moved back to the studio - in fact as much as I can handle as we want to be rid of the burden of paying the monthly rent on the storage (plus the rates, water rates, and utility bill). There's promise of help these next few weeks from friends, so I'm very hopeful that the building will look good and be back in the business of housing Dave's paintings by the time we re-open.

Beginning to feel - exciting

The first of the rooms (above) to be completed and ready to receive Dave's work back from its stay in storage. Actually this is one of the smallest rooms in the studio and there's still a tremendous amount to be done. But with a deadline of December 11th now official, we've now got our work cut out - and a timetable to work to.

Today John Spedding and Ruth Evans helped myself and Kay, and how things moved so much faster! The floor upstairs is now just about finished being painted, and John made progress in painting the toilet cupboards and skirtings.

I went to the printers today and passed over the artwork for the invitation (hence the deadline, now confirmed). Next week the text for the monograph will arrive from Margaret, and I'll pass that on for printing in its turn. I would say that - it's beginning to get exciting!

A new van

I bought the second-hand van. Now I can move Dave's work when it suits me - or at least everything but the 12 metres (I measured them end on) worth of large paintings .

This because it won't be long before the building work is completed and we can start moving things back in. Next week I'll start putting shelving up; and Kay will help me paint the woodwork. In a couple of weeks we should have full access to the building and then preparations for an opening of the refurbished studio will start in earnest.

We're planning Friday 11th December to open with drinks and a small exhibition for friends, colleagues and collectors of Dave's work.

A new home

I went to look at the studio yesterday and Mark the builder showed me around. The rooms are in the process of being painted, and the skirting boards and details fixed back in place. The building has been totally transformed - it is almost unrecognisable from the shambolic and slightly depressing place that we vacated in the summer. In a couple of weeks I should be able to start putting in some shelving, and a week after that begin the process of bringing the work back to its new home.

Today I spent some hours in the storage unit, beginning to plan for this eventuality. I've decided to buy a van, which will help move some of the work, if not the very biggest pieces. I looked at the piles of paintings and reliefs and started thinking about how to move them back; in what order; and where to store them. Margaret did a brilliant job of sorting the work out into different sizes, so it should be a more orderly process returning them than it was dragging them out of the studio.

I also need to think about an opening event for the refurbished studio, and that will be part of the planning work I need to do this next week or so. My guess is that we are on schedule to open in mid-December - a small event for friends, helpers, colleagues and patrons.

Moving forwards

The photograph above is taken from the same place as the one in the 18th August blog. This is the landing at the top floor of Dave's old studio. It shows the walls are now fully plastered and the light fittings ready to go in. You can see that we've removed a door frame and opened out the space. What has to be done now, in addition to putting in the lamps, is painting the walls and general tidying.

Although it may not seem spectacular it needs to be remembered that these walls, and some of the ceiling beams by the window, were riddled with dry rot and this has also had to be dealt with.

So, not bad - but the building work has slowed down in the past couple of weeks as the electrical work and the damp proofing has taken place. We now expect progress on the finishing, painting and flooring. My hope is that by the end of November I can begin my own work, installing shelves and racks, and doing the gloss paint work. Volunteers needed!

Then, and only then, can we begin the process of bringing Dave's painting back home out of storage. An event we'll mark with a party and a sale.

Gradually, gradually....

I visited the studio today to look at progress by the builders. The electrics are half way there; the plastering just about finished; damp-proof going in...

The open plan top floor is taking shape nicely, so there will be additional storage room - though the fact it's at the top of the house limits taking the largest pictures up.

Soon we'll have to start planning the move back. I imagine this will start at the end of November, and there's still a hope that we can have a small-scale 'opening' before Christmas. It depends on a lot of things falling into place, but it remains my intention.

Update

Apologies for another long gap in my posts. It's been holiday time apart from anything else, and as far as the studio goes the builders have been continuing their work on the refurbishment.

The dry-rot has now been treated and where necessary timbers have been replaced. This has involved some parts of the roof, but in the main it's been the entire floor surface of the large ground-floor room, and the first floor room that would (in a normal house) have been designated as the bathroom. Currently re-plastering is being done; to be followed by re-wiring and finally by a complete tidying and treating of all walls, woodwork and ceilings and painting.

The builders, to my relief, have stuck close to their estimated costs, and as the scale of the work and cost has become more apparent I've had the confidence to ask for other small jobs to be taken on that will improve the final look and usefulness of the building.

The plan now, agreed at a Trust meeting last week, is to aim to start moving the work back in November, although in a slower and more controlled way than it left. In mid-December we hope to have a special opening and viewing of the place. We'll use this as an opportunity to raise more funds for the Trust as the bank balance is beginning to dip, but it'll also be an opportunity to celebrate the enormous task that has been undertaken in rescuing both Dave's work and his old studio.

Some work has been on-going in this direction too. Julian of the See Gallery has helped create the first limited edition print of Dave's work - The Wall (at the top of this post), which proved very popular at the See exhibition. This has taken longer than any of us expected, but Julian has insisted we achieved the highest possible quality print and, after many trials, we are only now happy with the result. We are now able to sell this edition of 40 to raise funds for the Trust.