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art studios, creative artistic spaces, Lisa Brunetti, painted concrete floors, transforming an ugly room into a happy one, ways to remodel an old room, wordpress challenge ROOM
“I step into my studio and nothing will be the same ever again.” (Franco Paisio)
This week’s WordPress Challenge is ‘Room,’ and these photos show how a farm bodega transformed into a unique studio space. Enjoy the pictorial! Z
August 2008; the fixer-upper challenge begins!
Let’s peer inside the bodega!
After the shrimp-farm items were removed, the cleanup began!
“Agua Stop,” a water-barrier latex paint, seals the concrete.
My friend Barbara volunteered to help clean and paint the floor! She shared amusing Postcard updates as the floor progressed. Here’s the first of four: Postcards from Zeebra’s Flying Carpet.
Rather than prep the entire floor and risk damaging the Agua-Stop barrier, we moved from section to section. We painted the turtle on cotton/vinyl fabric as a test; the rest of the designs were painted directly on the concrete floor. (Moisture sometimes rises through the concrete and stains the sealed image.)
Gaining confidence, we brought the turtle to life then prepped the next section of floor. Barb knew that I planned to paint tiles, but she might have mutinied if she’d known what was waiting on the drawing board!
What’s real and what’s painted?
The first coat of floor finish protected all of that hard work!
The first section was sealed, and half a year passed before ‘Stage Two’ began. Every magic carpet needs its own personal compass, don’t you agree?
In Progress – Compass for the Magic Carpet!
The four-foot wide compass area received it’s protective finish, and the tile work resumed another month later.
Painted tiles – finished and waiting for varnish.
Are you ready to take a peek inside the finished space?
The interior doors were lovingly painted by Barb.
How fun it is to open those bodega doors and step into a magical world!
My friends Sarah and Jonathan with Ecuador Expat Journeys bring lovely new friends to admire the work!
The first Inti Raymi mask painting (poster image above) represents the sun (daylight) side of the two-faced mask. The second painting (in progress) will represent the night.
Beach trash from the local Playamart serves as a necklace!
Although I often paint at a table, I also work at floor level.
The rooms sometimes appears to be in perpetual motion!
“She gave me two white feathers, but I need more than two to fly!”
I agree with my friend Xavier, who often exclaims, “I can never tell what’s painted and what’s real!’
Little by little, the forlorn bodega transformed into a unique living space! It triggers many smiles, especially when visitors see it for the first time.
Here’s a video produced for the magic carpet’s first checkout ride; fasten your seat belts for a full-moon journey!
Thanks for taking the cyber tour of my studio! Please sign the guest book/comment section below!
Z
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
So beautiful! Congratulations on creating such a great place to showcase your art and to gather with friends. What a transformation!
thank you! it is a joy to step through the doors and have such a happy positive space smiling at me!
What a beautiful space! I’m a turtle person, so you can guess what I like the best about it. I would just have a hard time having that beautiful creature on the floor where she would be stepped on!
thanks! i’m glad that you like the turtle, which was a true joy to draw and paint.
there is a transparent floor finish that protects the paintings, and it’s pretty forgiving! the floor is also a joy to sweet – slick as glass!
Beautiful, beautiful…and always a wonderful, heart-stopping surprise to come through those doors! I love this tour! Your work is fantastic, and showcased so very well in this lovely space, Lisa!
thank you; as you know, some projects flow very easily, and this one was a well-behaved child that continues to reward! it does help to have such a happy space waiting to greet me when i return home – or even when i go downstairs!
WOW!! I don’t know where you find the energy. But you take your world and make it even more beautiful. You are a marvel.
thank you, hugh! the floor was a ‘one-day-at-a-time’ project, though once a new section is started, i try to work nonstop until it’s finished and protected with the finish.
i’m quite lucky that i can master most tasks.. do you think that my ‘tomboy’ childhood helped – between riding horses and fishing and playing basketball, the hand/eye coordination works well!
There is an echo in the room…mine…to Hugh’s comment above.
R.
you are so great! i love-love-love-love hearing your echo in the room!
Lisa, I absolutely love all that you created. What an amazing studio. We need to make a trip to Jama so we can see everything up close an personal 🙂 Hugs
it will be fun to watch your faces/grand smiles when you meet the people of jama and then experience the riverhouse as well as the nearby playas!
Every time I see this beautiful place I can’t help but think of how it reflects a great artist whose visions for a world of spectacular art come alive every time someone steps into her special bodega. I never tire of seeing this wonderful place – your art are incredible pieces of art and the floor, well seeing the folks looking down at it now that’s icing on the cake!
I couldn’t have said it better!
thank you both, amigas! i’m lucky to have you both as online support; we’d be quite lonely if we were talented and aloof w/zero friends.. thanks for always being there! z
thanks, mary! so many times a tour comes through, and i realize later that i forgot to take photos! it’s great to watch them touch the floor in disbelief!
Your photos allow us to enjoy their reactions and amazement, along with you. I love it – so glad you share these with us.
Lisa, I am awed by the transformation of your bodega. Incredible! How long did it take to remodel the bodega before you started to paint? You’ll have to take us on a tour, room by room through your river house. Next time we’re in Ecuador, we’re definitely coming to visit! Your Inti Raymi mask poster has a special place beside my ancient pottery shards. Rpn’s making frames for your other two posters. I’ll have to send you photos.
the bodega was swept and washed; i used a hammer to break away little cement ‘splotches and dribs’ that would affect the smoothness of the floor. then a concrete cleaner was used on oily stained areas, and i mixed little batches of fresh cement to fill cracks and holes. the agua stop is ‘sticky’ = not to the touch, but if something leans against it, or if i sprawl across a painted area to work, the paint tries to stick to the other object, and it pulls away from the floor. i follow almost immediately with a coat of normal latex paint, and then i am ready to start the design.
cleaning the floor and preparing the bodega took about three days.
Thanks for the cyber tour of your bodega studio, Z! I have enjoyed watching the magical transformation. So creative and beautiful!
thank you richard! you must feel as if you’ve visited the riverhouse!
Love it, love it, love it. I also love the initial quote. What a great attitude for an artist. All the best, BTG
sometimes just the ‘title’ of artist gives one a creative license to have fun, where others feel as if they have to act responsible all of the time! thanks so much! z
Such a truly magical transformation. I wish I could bring even a fraction of your creativity, Lisa, to my working space. Wonderful.
oh tish; if i lived near you, we would certainly find a project that would inject some fun energy into your work space! thanks so much; i’m glad that you enjoyed the post!
You must live where you live to avoid the crush of press that would follow you if you lived nearer the “art world.” With your unbelievable vision, talent, and energy you should be at least as famous as Morgan Freeman.
you are a dear! it is nice to live in a quiet area where i can work undisturbed, but maybe just a tiny bit more pr would make a good balance for my life.
i was in a ‘lending library’ today in quito – wow, what a wonderful moment when i stepped through the door and inhaled the aroma of musty books while scanning the eclectic displays of thousands of books in the english language! he had lots of ‘mississippi’ authors’ books – hmmm, has sr. freeman written any autobiographies?
You definitely put a BIG smile on my face! Your space is amazing, & reflects the artist in you perfectly. I can only imagine how excited you were to find a place to transform, & how much energy it took to do such an amazing job! Peace & Love
thanks, amiga. there is still one section to finish, but it’s in my ‘messy’ painting/work area.. i’m hesitant to finish it.
the other part consumed a lot of my time, and i laughed and said, ‘i’ve worked for five months painting something that i cannot sell!’
it does work well as a showroom!
But it makes you happy when you look at it! That’s worth the effort.
I smile every time I see these art pieces, be it canvas, wood, paper mache or floor, Lisa. Your “Eureka Moment” with the Mola series jumps out in your transformed bodega. Once again,you used your magic recipe which is many parts…reflection, patience, focus, creativity, imagination, skill and you know the rest. I hope someday to admire your work in person, walk in and drop my jaw like all your visitors. 🙂 Perfect choice for the challenge.
thanks for your tireless support and always-kind words! it will be great when you and ron find your way back to the middle of the world!
I LOVE your work, Z. All of it, paintings, photography, carpets! 🙂
you are always so supportive and kind! thank you so much!
i love your photography, and it’s great to visit your beautiful country, compliments of your posts! it’s my loss that i’m online so rarely these days. i’ll have a visual overload feast when i have internet at home again!
I’ve seen the bits and pieces, of course, but it was a delight to see it all again, in sequence. When I moved into my current apartment, I said, “NO MORE WHITE WALLS!” and went to work. Of course, I only chose colors – Kettle Pond, Heavy Cream, Sandstone, a luscious yellow-green called Galax – but the lessons of your beautifully artistic home are for us all: take a space, a place, and make it into a home that supports and enlivens.
I do love that turtle.
i am sure that your living space has a special soul from the moment one arrives at your front door!
it’s been fun as the riverhouse evolves, and it’s pretty easy to make a positive difference when one starts with such a basic house, void of personality!
What a fantastic studio space. I could certainly be inspired and work there at any time. It’s really a pleasure to see the transformation from farm bodega to studio space. Besides the studio itself I love your work; it’s so original and so inspiring. I still enjoy the two zeebra rocks you sent me long time ago.
thanks, otto! it’s always great to see the goodwill that you spread through our wordpress world! many photographers benefit from your workshops, and it was great seeing linda’s images today. one of these days i hope to attend one of your bolivia workshops!
i’m glad that the z rocks are happy; they have many cousins sprinkled here and there in zeebra world!
I love the studio, so colorful, creative and inspiring. Your art is such a gift and you share so much with others too.
I LOVE this! The turtle is my favorite. Hmmm…makes me want to do some painting of my own when I get to Panama.
yes; surely your life in panama will present many creative opportunities!
Love the space….where are you?
Spectacular = your studio is as much art as any framed artwork. I’d never thought about turning the studio into a work of art!!
thank you! it was so barren and ugly, that any improvement would make it happier!
Lovely transformation of these rooms!
A truly beautiful space. It’s a wonder that those who enter ever want to leave. I like your NO TALKING ZONE. 🙂 Interesting little circles of light at the top of the walls; for air circulation and for light??
What a wonderful space you have created, but does one still have to climb up a ladder and crawl through a window to get in? 🙂
Lisa, has been too many years since we have talked. Each month, I checked out your art, and it is absolutely drop dead great!!! So glad that you are happy in Ecuador and thriving as an artist. Please send me your email address so that we can comunicate. Would LOVE to hear from you. Miss you, Glenda
hey amiga! it’s so great to hear from you as well! i will email soon – i’m traveling along the coast with skippy internet options….more soon!
love
lisa
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In one word- AMAZING!
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