My very own In-Home Studio!

I'm so excited to finally have a new space to work in! It isn't the biggest nor do I have much storage space BUT, it is MY space. It’s more room than I ever had before. I absolutely love it and was instantly inspired to create new work in it.  I am so happy!!

As I look back over the years, and laugh to myself, I think about how I started painting and illustrating using my 25x27" college illustration board. I love that board. It's covered with all kinds of college stickers and stickers that I collected on a trip to Kitty Hawk, NC with my roommate and bestie,  on one side. We had so much fun on the beach there. On the other side Exacto knife scratches, old tape, paint, dried up glue, and who knows what else  are collected on the other side. After Adam and were married I started using my illustration board on top of our living room ottoman and kitchen table for a few years. After our boys were born, I worked in our third bedroom and used that very same board on our futon. After many years we moved to our current home and I worked in the third bedroom here too. I had to eventually expand to the corner of my and my husband’s bedroom.  My work was starting to overtake our house and our two middle school age boys really REALLY wanted to have their own rooms. So, long story short, one day I started to rearrange our whole house.  My husband came home from work on the first day of my rearranging, stood and stared at me by the front door for a bit. I asked him to trust me.  I have to say, he wasn’t that happy with my idea but I assured him that it would turn out great.  It took me a week and in the end the result was, as the boys said “awesome”. They now each have their own bedrooms and I converted our Florida sunroom into my new in-home studio. I have so much natural light to work in now, it’s perfect. I feel so lucky and happy to have this space.  And, my illustration board lays next to my art desk. I will never get rid of it. And most importantly, I believe my husband is happy with the change. We all have our own space.

I have had my space now for almost three months. I have a couch where mostly our two cats Cricket (15 years old) and Trippy (almost 1) lay everyday and keep me company. Both boys come in, lay on the couch as I work, and usually talk to me or work on their own artwork. On the weekends I can work and still be part of what's going on in the rest of the house. It's wonderful.

My old A.C Moore illustration board. I still have the old price tag on it. It looks like I bought it for $12.56 in 1997.

I'm sure it will change again in a few years but for now, it's perfect!

I am happy to be able to share some photo's with you of my new space but even more excited to share with you that I will be a part of the 2020 Martin County Open Studio Tour! Once a year, juried artists in Martin County open their studios to the public and give you the opportunity to see the creative process in person! The tour will take place on January 18-19. Read more about the tour here.  I hope to see you if you live close-by and are free that weekend. We will have lots of fun things going on and I have lots of ideas in the works. I will share more when we get closer to the event.
If you have any questions about the tour please feel free to email me. My email address is AmberMMoran@yahoo.com.

www.AmberMMoran.com
AmberMMoran@yahoo.com