What I’ve done in February 2017
A few days late, but still here.
This month felt like a bit of a wash tbh, sometimes that’s just how it is. Work, real life, etc takes over and time slips away. Now I’m first to blame my own procrastination or laziness, but as I get older the more I realize I have my own recipe for productivity.
It’s usually 40% frustration about not being productive (recursive loop), 20% satisfying the minimum amount of learning to tackle a new thing, and 40% blind curiosity about something new.
It’s this same fitful, sporadic motion that has moved me through life. Rarely can I convert my percussive motion into smooth linear motion like others. I’m more of a early steam engine than a modern supertrain, and this month felt like a downstroke.
Moved out of my work studio.
This was a tough thing to do, not physically (although a lot of stairs were involved), “The Studio” was a home to me for a while, it was a shared space where things were made, hairbrain concepts were forged, and a lot of good times spent.
In 2013 my life turned a bit upside down, and I found myself in urgent need of a place to not only work but also live. I was in the middle of a medium scale fabrication project of some custom electronics and lights for a collaboration between a large brand and a fashion designer. After a late night beer a good friend (Lj Ruell) offered up his painting studio for the short term till I could find a place.
Turns out “The Studio” was a raw artist space with amazing light, a private roof deck, and located in L.I.C with great views of the city. It turned out ideal for the project I was working on, and mentally was an ideal space for me to collect myself after a major life change.
Having a shop in NYC, much less one located 12min from Time Square, with a private roof deck was pretty much unheard of, at least at a rent a mortal could afford. This was all that, and located on the edge of the dynamic L.I.C neighborhood. It was teenage Mike’s dream.
Often messy and always rough around the edges. The coolers chilling the blood bank next door were constantly humming in the distance, it’s a hard place to sum up with a few photos. Of the thousands of photos I shot in the place, I can’t really settle on which ones capture the character of the space.
Sometimes cluttered, sometimes sparce, but always dusty and a little scarred from almost 100 years as an industrial space.
A few years passed and “The Studio” gave birth to tons of projects, silly photoshoots, group dinners, a handmade rocketry club, general experimentation, and morning coffee on the roof. I can’t thank LJ enough for letting me have access to it, and being my friend in all kinds of ups and downs.
Sadly all good things come to an end, and the building has changed hands and out go all the artists and craftspeople shaded under the canopy of this beaten up old building.
Took a mini beach vacation.
It all sounds very fancy (wasn’t) and privileged (certainly was) but we got some decent prices on a long weekend trip to Turks and Caicos.
We did a whole lot of nothing and it was awesome. I finally got a chance to really put my new Drone to the test, I sunburned the crap out of my feet, and we almost died on a Vespa at least 3 times. Punctuated the whole trip with a bout of food poisoning and weather turning a 3hr flight into a 13hr one. But it still couldn’t take down my my beach high.
Honorable Mention for this month:
Been sick for 4 days
Cooked dinner 4 times
Ran 0 times
Went to the Gym 0 times.
See ya next month!
