Oil lamps, Dune Grass & Solitude

C-Scape Shack facing West with Storm Brewing

I had a lovely week in the dune shack. It was a wonderful week of weather, quietness and swaying grasses. I arrived around 10:30 on Saturday morning in 60+ degree weather. The skies were perfect blue with no clouds. I put away all of my groceries into the cooler (the gas refrigerator died last year), so they fill a cooler and an antique ice box with ice, and John come back around mid week to deliver more ice.  I then organized & laid out my art supplies, my journals, my papers and my books to read. I put my clothes upstairs and made the bed. I brought in some wood. I sat down. Then I began to breath (in between coughs).

View from my deck

View towards the ocean

I look at the things that changed since last year. They put up some new boards on the west wall between the rafters, covered the deteriorating foam insulation. They put in a new (small but efficient wood stove). The newlyweds who stayed the week before me left flowers, they lasted the full week.

 

 

View of the Antique Ice Box with Flowers

oil lamp station

View of the living room

View of the kitchen

So, as I begin to get acclimated, I sit on the couch and read through a book that an artist - Suzanne Lewis had self published called C-Scape Summer, it was filled with her experience of her 3 week residence. Full of photos, words and her art. I enjoyed it. She came up from Texas to have this experience. I think of how so many people have shared this space, lived so simply and how enjoyable it was for all. Well most people I think enjoy it. I read through some old shack journals and find it interesting so many parents bring their children out there, and how cool it would be as a kid to have that experience. There were lots of left over bubbles hanging around on the shelves.

As night began to fall, I lit the oil lamps and started a fire in the wood-stove. Something I was looking forward to all day, but it was too warm to build one earlier & this just took the coolness out of the air.

Pink sky over Seagrass

Reflection late in the day

Dusk - day one

Nice little Jotel Wood Stove

Here is my studio table, and new wall behind

I begin to get my art stuff together. I decide that I was going to do some painting and realized that the encaustic pallet was too big to fit on top of the wood stove. I was trying to come up with all sorts of ways to melt my wax, when I realized I can just put the little metal pots directly on the stove. I brought a nice little thermometer that rested on the wood stove, so I can see what temperature it is. I don't want it to get too hot, as it is not good to breath the fumes. It worked great!

Amazing how close Provincetown really is, only a few miles away

Flowing Seagrass with the Atlantic Ocean

Two Seagulls facing West

The next day I bundled up for a nice walk over the dune to the ocean, the hill changed a lot from all of last winters storms, it was steep and I was a little worried about getting back up, since I have been feeling so asthmatic.....the ocean was full, the waves were crashing, the beach had no footsteps, there was a random fisherman and a seagull with a broken wing.

I wondered for a while and gathered up some kindling then went home and painted.