You Gotta Have Faith

While painting the floor of Room 139 at Faith Arts Village Orlando this morning, it occurred to me that the name, although slightly unwieldy, is very well thought out.  As an artist, putting money into fixing the space up, we are showing our faith in the worthiness of the project. On the other side of the coin are the members and clergy of Park Lake Presbyterian Church, who, in their generosity, are providing spaces for the arts in Orlando to grow. One can only imagine the leap of faith it will take to finance the next step--the fire sprinkler system. Speaking of which, all four of the contractors came to meet with Bruce which is a very good start. He gave them until next Friday to get the bids in so we shall see where all that goes.

Without further ado, here's how things progressed in Room 139 during our 11 hour work marathon!

Mr. Bruce patching multiple, and I mean multiple, holes in the floor. He did the same along the bottom of the wall you do not see which is one of those fixes that no one will take notice of once they come but was very difficult. Sitting behind a desk and getting on ones knees for a long period of time are two very different uses of ones body! I was the painter.

Long time readers may remember I bought this shower curtain for the hall bathroom last year and then chickened out when it came time to display it. A brand new home for the owls!

Although I bought that little shelving thing from Ikea for the space, it is not going to work out as planned. Instead, I'm switching it out for one of the tables in my office. You'll see that when we're all done.

Another task which may go largely unnoticed--the base. To our eyes it is huge!

Once the walls were painted, the floor got a little edge done so the base could be installed. Having a project manager on the case makes things run very smoothly indeed. He is putting on the adhesive in the picture. As you can imagine, it was all in a straight line.

I told you I was doing it on the cheap, using things we had when I could. The gray paint---hmm....should have just bought a gallon to start with BECAUSE I tried to stretch it to cover both walls and it was having no part of that scheme! Around 3 PM I had to go buy another gallon and pretty much re-paint both walls!

Around 4:30 the last fire sprinkler guy came, just as Bruce was hanging the curtains on the piece of conduit he turned into a curtain rod for less than $3.00! The curtains were on close out from IKEA for $10!

Gotta love the curtain at IKEA--the perfect length and a nice linen-type fabric. We tried a few set ups before we left for the night,

however, we changed it up and decided on this arrangement for the front which I photographed before putting everything into the bathroom area to finish painting the floor:

I'm thinking this little conversation area near the window will be terrific. Angela saw these photos this afternoon and is begging me to paint the stools, an idea I'm still mulling over. I have, however, ordered a big canvas of "Street Art", my best selling image to go behind this little spot. I figured it deserves a prominent position in our new venture...

So, after a very good night's sleep, I went back to the space while Bruce got back to Darden work. My mission was to paint the floor which, as it turned out, was the most fun aspect of the project. Using a pole attached to the roller made it a snap! Before I got started though I peeled yesterday's paint out of the plastic roller pan which if you've never tried before, I suggest you do.

The water I've wasted through the years cleaning roller pans is immense!

One of the things I hope to do in this space is show some framed pieces, rather than all canvas. Canvas is good, but, prints are what keep my business afloat. People may wonder why I never show them and if you're one of them, I'll solve the mystery right here and now. Frames, if carried back and forth, week after week, get pretty banged up. Furthermore, glass is heavy and fragile. Now you know. Anyway, because I never show framed stuff, I have some of the pieces from my very first gallery show which I've been storing for a few years now. Up they went today!

Whether they will stay as they are is ytb, but there were a few nails in the wall so I put them to use!

Before I left the house Bruce reminded me to "paint my way out of the room", which worked out beautifully. I made sure everything I needed was out the door and went at it!

As you can tell, the floor is still wet. After Bruce's meeting at Darden today he drove by to check my work and gave it his seal of approval. Yipee! The curtain hanging in front of the bathroom area is headed for replacement status. It looks cheap because it was cheap--$3.00. After finishing I stopped by both Ross and Marshalls looking for something a little nice. I brought home both a kiwi green, and light gray curtain; tomorrow will tell which one wins the battle! While I'm at Winter Garden, Bruce will run by and check it out. I can hardly wait to see it with the furniture in place!

Before I began the painting I hung this one in the bathroom area which is not nearly as yellow as the photograph makes it seem.

Of course, without great stuff on the walls, it will only be a pretty shell, so, as you can imagine, I'll stress over what comes next. Any ideas?

I'll acknowledge that the first paragraph is pretty clumsily written, however, I'm confidant you get my drift, despite my clumsy attempt.

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1 NASB

Hope, now there's another good emotion for you!

(see previous post for before picture)