April’s reCreate Featured Artist, Eric Van Nielsen, recently shared some photos of his studio to illustrate how integral The Resource Exchange was in helping shape his studio’s functionality while keeping it very affordable:
“I was coming in two, maybe three times a day for about two to three weeks last November when I first acquired my studio because it needed a lot of work before I could start painting. Winter was practically here and there were a number of insulation issues, not least of all a “skylight” which was going to thwart any effort to heat the space when it got really cold. I ended up building a sturdy hatch door out of wood and plexiglass from The Resource Exchange to keep heat in, and water from a sometimes-leaky roof, out.”
The skylight before the hatch door…
The hatch door, made with re-salvaged materials
“Much of the shelving I was able to install came from re, which has helped me keep the floor space clear. And I now have a beautiful H-frame easel that does need some repair, but was in my price range and will enable me work on canvases much larger than my smaller easels do. I can’t wait to see it finished.”
“I also managed to find some inexpensive office carpeting to put down, since the building just has bare chip board flooring. It makes the studio a more inviting space to work in.”
Before…
After!
“I also used molding for the floors to help keep drafts out, and who knows what else. All in all I’d say my studio now consists of about 60 – 65% Resource Exchange-salvaged materials and supplies. Many of my painting supplies come from the art supplies and the hardware section helped me meet my tool/hardware needs. Ultimately I would have simply been unable to paint during the winter without The Resource Exchange. Everything that made my studio habitable during the winter would have had to have been bought new and would have been significantly more expensive.”
If you missed Eric’s show in our reCreate gallery space last month, you can see his work on his reCreate Artist Page here and on his website.
