The studio is coming along even as we are not present. The framers are installing vigas, parapets, inside walls, etc.
Two pictures of the portal.
Vigas in the studio.
And the vigas in the kitchen and the wall tot he bathroom.
Meanwhile I have been working. Finished this commission and delivered to a pleased buyer!
I am starting up a project to paint 11 paintings, experimenting and trying new stuff, don’t have any stifling ambitions, so I can just “go with the flow”. Some pictures of the first two paintings… not completed.
Swedish summer outside = rain, cool, green, lush… kinda nice though! I am finishing a piece I started before we left. A commission for a friend.
Before we left, we bought a wonderful little cloud painting by amazing painter and dear friend Colin Poole. Inspires me to try to paint some skies, but it won’t be this good, I am sure.
Last Friday we did a big pour! All walls and bond beams are poured. And today Jesús and Gabriel prepared the portal slab to be poured. Leaving Santa Fe tomorrow, sad to go, too much fun to build! It will be exciting to return though, to install the kitchen cabinets and build and paint all doors and drawer fronts.
Gabriel is pouring concrete into the walls, while Abram is holding the heavy hose, together with Eric hiding behind the wall. Dave Bodelson rushing up and down, giving a hand wherever needed.
A heavy Santa Fe monsoon rain cleared the air and cleaned away the dust. Ready for inspection and pour of the portal slab. When Gabriel and Jesús were leaving at six pm today, I said goodbye to them and thanked them for their responsible, good work. Then Jesús said “Muchas gracias por trabajo” (or something like that, pardon my Spanish)… very nice attitude! And I am thankful I could provide work for them.
I am not totally taken up with building a house, I have actually painted a little also. Now I am working on a couple of Pocket Art for some of our friends.
A few new pictures after cleaning up the site.
The portal wall to the right, with the chimney coming up.
The bearing walls are up, a few more framed walls will come up soon. The pipe sticking up in the floor is for the ice maker in the freezer.
The inside fireplace is built. When the roof is on, the chimney will be extended.
The fireplace for the portal is also done, except for the completion of the chimney. The wall to the right of the chimney will have an opening with classic shutters.
It seems like we have been moving along at a slow pace, but we are making progress and the next concrete pour is scheduled for Friday this week. Joe, fireplace builder, is here building the two fireplaces and chimneys. Meanwhile the walls are being completed, maybe we will also be able to pour the slab for the portal (patio under roof in Santa Fe lingo).
Joe is working on the chimney in the studio. Some people have asked if we are going to have an octagonal window, haha… no, it will be a traditional, “historic” window.
Today we will be able to clean up and remove the material that is not needed. The walls are complete, now we are tying in everything, getting ready to pour concrete inside the walls.
This is the fireplace for the portal, the “outside” room. Hopefully we will be bale to pour the slab here on Friday.
Dave Bodelson has only two guys here, Gabriel and Abram – very good guys! They are diligently and carefully erecting the walls and the rooms are taking shape.
The cabinets for the kitchen are built, the drawers are built and mounted on Bluhm drawer slides – “all” that remains is to make the cabinet doors and drawer fronts, which I plan to make in August. The studio fireplace got off to a good start and the site got cleaned up and prepared for continued building of the walls.
Joe, our master fireplace builder, is swinging his trowel with ease and elegance and all of a sudden it is evident that this is going to be a classic beautiful kiva fireplace! Exciting!
