Entrance to Sienna Cloud Creative facing North Three Notch Street in Troy.
In the mid-late 1980s, I actually operated a small, commercial studio space in Weatherford, Oklahoma. This is a small, college town where I had graduated with an undergraduate degree in commercial art and a graduate degree in art education. During this time, I was a fairly prolific watercolorist (sometimes I participated in 20 or more exhibits per year). Besides painting, I also moonlighted as a graphic designer doing brand identity and print layout for local clients. And, if that wasn’t enough, my primary focus was playing/touring with my rock band (original stuff—no covers) that was getting busier and busier and even busier (more about music at another time).
Fast forward three to four decades: I am semi-retired from Troy University where I had an amazing journey within the Department of Art and Design. I am still partially on that trek as I continue to teach a couple of web design courses each term.
SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT STUDIO SPACE
My initial studio was a spare bedroom in our first home—a mobile trailer. It worked for us for many years and we wouldn’t exchange those times for anything! However, I always dreamed of a downtown space or even a loft—one that was visible and hopefully inspired by and inspiring to the local community that we lived in. I’ve kept my eyes open and have actually rented a spot or two in the past few years. At one point, Lana and I considered just adding on to our home but then it came very clear to us that I love to “GO TO” work—separate the home and work a bit. We agreed to keep our eyes and hearts open.
We noticed a former lawyer’s office just off of the square that had been inactive for several years. Then, one day, we noticed a FOR SALE sign outside its front door. After several negotiations, we finally came to a mutual agreement and purchased our current space at a very reasonable price. It HAD to be a good price as it was literally a mold and mildew botanical garden. The roof had been leaking severely for years and the electricity had been off for as long.
BUILDING (RE-BUILDING) THE STUDIO
Obviously, we had to do serious mold abatement for the first phase before we could even get excited about remodeling. A new roof, new windows, sealed holes in exterior walls, many demolitions and removal hours of moldy sheetrock, an air scrubber, and a couple of hazmat suits later, we were finally ready to do the fun stuff—remodel!
Here are some “before” pics:
And, here are some current pics showing progress but a bit more to do before our Grand Opening in Spring 2021:
OPENING THE STUDIO
If you’ve made it this far through the blog post, you understand the progress we’ve made. As I mentioned before, our prospective “Grand Opening” date is the weekend of TroyFest in late April of 2021. We are in the production phase now of “all things art” (paintings, drawings, greeting cards, playing cards, t-shirts, and many, many more items including Ms. Lana’s famous “chocolate-chip cookies”! We just want to celebrate and feature the grand life in Troy, Alabama. GO TROY!
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. —Proverbs 16:3”