Monday, January 08, 2007

Vintage French doors/ Word of the year


0701 vintage French doors
Originally uploaded by rooruu.
A year ago I did a whole lot of sorting out of the garage, with the idea of turning it into a studio - partly prompted by the acquisition of a white vintage table, perfect for said studio. Then the working year revved its engine, and nothing more happened on the studio front. (The white table remains unmarked, stored in the garage, but the dining table in the house got yet more pin-marks from quilts being prepared for quilting).

Well, it's January again, and the universe has taken a hand. We only went to this demolition yard to just see what might be available, what possibilities for maybe? French doors to install where the garage door (a brown roll-a-dor) is now.

There before us, this wonderful set of French doors from a house in Kirribilli. Vintage 1930s-1940s, cedar and an excellent size (they'll need some fitting in, but that's fine - what you don't want to find is perfect doors the exact same size as the 'hole' - or larger). The horizontal lines will 'play happy' with the existing windows on the house.

They're now in storage with 'SOLD' on them. They're magic. It's impossible to let it go for another year, with these waiting for their time. There are a few things to do/get done first by tradespeople, but the time will come for the chippie (carpenter) to set to and these to be put in place. Once they're in, they'll need sanding and repainting, but one step at a time.

Ali Edwards (brilliant scrapbooker and life artist - I love her attention to the ordinary and everyday) has a challenge for this week, to think of a word for your year. I could think of several, (calm, organise, consider, breathe, create, imagine...) but they can be summed up in one as PEACE.

Reorganising things so the creative stuff is in a studio not through the house is about peace. Peace to create. Peace also to be in spaces not given over to the (good) mess of creating. Peace bringing calm. Peace therefore opening other possibilities. Already I know of several important things at work and home that will require time and energy and planning so they happen well and not with undue stress. It's a small-scale peace - I have no instant answers on the wars of the world. But peace here can travel outwards in unguessable ways. Change can begin here.

So while the picture is of vintage French doors, they stand for peace and represent hope and good change in 2007.

1 comment:

Candy Schultz said...

It really does bring a measure of peace to have things organized. We built a studio for me a couple of years ago and when things get crazy in the rest of the house I can just go in there and breathe - not to mention create. Creation brings its own peace. Happy New Year. Your incipient studio sounds wonderful.