My Improvised Studio

My improvised, borrowed and very stunning studio.

A while ago I was contacted by the local TV station (TV Midtvest), they asked to come visit me for an episode of their cultural series Nærbilleder. They wanted to look at my work, as well as the work of another painter, (Niels Steen Sørensen) who paints strong, masculine bulls, among other subjects. The focus was feminine/ masculine art.

I was very excited, but also a bit nervous about the whole thing. I had never been filmed before, and wasn’t sure how I would react. But obviously I said YES, anything else would have been crazy!

My situation is a bit strange: I am only in Denmark for a year, and so I don’t have the perfect work conditions. I have made it work, but it really was not suitable for TV. So I started to think a bit creatively. A couple of friends of mine live in a beautiful house in the country side. During Easter I was at an event at their house, they had just refinished an old garage. It had been turned into a nice white room, with a raw wood ceiling. It had huge windows, with a view of the water. Basically, it couldn’t be better!

I asked if I could borrow the room for the filming, they said yes - and thanks to them, their help and kindness, I had the best surroundings possible to present my work.

These are pictures from this beautiful space. My improvised studio. I have amazing friends, and feel very privileged.

To watch the show - please click this link:

http://www.tvmidtvest.dk/nettv/?id=6341

The Event

Well - Friday was the night, the first evening of the Metuchen JuneBug ArtFest. I spent the day getting the last few things ready, and by the afternoon the refreshments were on the table and business cards on display. A few days before I was informed that News 12 NJ wanted to do a “portrait” of Metuchen (as part of the On The Road segment) and also wanted to talk to some of the artists, and so I was invited.

By 5:10, I went downtown with a painting under each arm - excited and a bit nervous - and we all lined up, resting the artwork on a bench and up the bank wall. We introduced ourselves and afterward the news anchor asked a few individual questions to some of the artists... And she asked me a questions I absolutely could not answer! Something like “did the public support this event” which (as this was the first night) I had absolutely no idea about! So my very intelligent responds was “...Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...” Luckily, Linda LaStella stood next to me, and was quick to say “well, we will know from tonight, won’t we?!” Cheers Linda!

I felt a bit dazed & confused after this incident, but found it really funny, and actually laughed most of the way home - where my husband had watched the part on TV (as it was live - even better!) and he found it quite funny too, but felt a little bad... The event began and was a good time, people stopped by, I got some good contacts and interesting comments on my work. This Friday I am on again - without live TV this time, which is probably a good thing!