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Often the hardest task in any creative project is knowing
what you want. For many years I fantasized about having a
place where students could come to my studio to take classes,
and where I could surround myself with creative people. When
I built this building, I was lucky enough to be able to build
exactly what I wanted. I knew that I needed solitude for my
own creative process, so I put my personal design and sewing
studio on the second floor, and the shop, shipping department,
and classroom on the first floor, so I can continue working
when others are using my first floor spaces. This building
is far larger than I need for just myself. I designed it so
it could be filled with creative people, and I'm thrilled
that it often is.
My studio is designed to promote creativity and positive
energy. The art and objects I choose to bring into my space
are intentionally uplifting and inspiring. I welcome visitors,
so don't hesitate to stop by when you are traveling through
Western Kentucky. I am open by appointment or by chance. If
you call ahead you can be sure to catch me. If you ring the
doorbell and I'm here, I'm usually open. Click
here for information about our workshops.
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In 2005, when I built my studio/gallery/workshop center/home
in the historic LowerTown Arts District of Paducah Kentucky,
I was able to use the best features of my previous studios
and arrange them in my new space with plenty of room to move
around. I do all of my designing, publishing, and sewing in
one large room on the second floor of my building. I feel
like I'm working in a tree house up here, and I have a wonderful
view of my neighborhood from my second floor perch.
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| I do all of my designing, publishing, and correspondence on
one end of the room. On the design and publishing end are wraparound
desks, with computers, printers, scanners, and files, plus photo
archives of previous work and a counter top for drawing and
layout. |
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| Two domestic Bernina sewing machines and a Legacy industrial machine
with 21 inches under the head for quilting are set up next to windows
for good light. |
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| The industrial machine and one of the Berninas face each other with
a full 4 feet of tabletop space between them (needle to needle) to
support large quilts. |
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| Quick release clamps hang from the ceiling to hold the bulk and
weight of a large quilt so I can move the part I'm working on with
my fingertips. The quick release clamps can be found in the hardware
department of any big-box home center like Home Depot, or Lowes. I
drilled a hole in one handle, and a cord (called parachute cord) runs
through the hole to the ceiling hooks. The length of the cord (and
height of the clamps) can be adjusted by using cord locks. Cord locks
are the little push-button things you find on sleeping bags, camping
gear, and hooded jackets. |
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Next to the machine used for piecing is a counter-height
ironing board (below) made from a 32" x 80" hollow
core door covered with silicone fabric. Shelves support the
board, and hold ironing supplies, so the top stays relatively
clear. Beneath the board, within easy reach of my sewing chair,
are Alvin taborets (drawer stacks) that hold the notions and
threads I use for piecing.
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| Larger Elfa drawer stacks hold cone thread near the machine used
for quilting and six Alvin taborets along the end wall hold more threads
and notions. |
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| The fabrics on the wall in the pictures above and below were among
the happy surprises that happened occasionally when I was dye painting
fabrics. I couldn't bear to cut them up, so I just hung them on the
wall. |
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| The wall opposite the sewing machines is
my design wall, with four 4'x8' sheets of pinnable Homasote board
covered in cream-colored flannel. Homasote is that cheap (usually
under $10.00) insulation board, made of compressed sawdust, that you
can buy at the big-box home centers. You used to be able to find it
with a natural finish, but now it all seems to have a nasty black
coating of some kind. I covered my boards with unbleached muslin first,
and then covered them with a cream colored flannel. In each case I
bought 109" wide fabric which is intended for quilt backing.
You can rest your design boards on the floor, which I did in my previous
studio, but in this studio they would have covered my electrical outlets.
I bought white vinyl "J" channel in the vinyl siding department
and screwed it to the wall to hold the bottoms and tops of my boards.
In the cracks between the boards, half way between the bottom and
the top, I have screws going into the wall. Each screw has a 1"
washer slipped over the head, to hold the edges of the boards and
prevent them from bulging. This wall happens to be one of many in
the building that has a continuous layer of plywood behind the drywall,
so I could anchor screws anywhere I wanted them. |
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| An 11' square, level-pile rug, used for blocking and as a background
for many of my workshop presentations, lies in front of the design
wall. |
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| I do a lot of drawing and rotary cutting
on the floor, especially when I'm squaring up a large quilt, so a
5' x 10' rotary mat from quiltersrule.com
lies on the floor next to the rug. For larger quilts I roll up the
rug and use two giant mats side-by-side (below right). |
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| I have a low center of gravity and good knees, so I can work on
the floor. I also do Pilates three times a week to make sure I can
still get up off the floor. After many hours of leaning over a sewing
machine, it is easy to get a rounded back. I try to remember to stretch
out and do a back bend over a Pilates ball several times a day. This
helps strengthen the core muscles and reverses the direction of the
spine. |
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| In the center of the sewing area is a 40" x 72" cutting
table (below left). A light box, used for both piecing and designing,
is built into a counter top between the publishing/design end of the
studio and the sewing end (below right). |
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| A 3' closet with a custom 8' door holds extra 4x8 design boards.
A pegboard on the side of the closet holds tools. The best idea borrowed
from my previous studio: ceiling outlets with 30' retractable, cord-reel
extension cords. I can have power anywhere in my workspace without
jumping over cords, and my iron cord never drags across my freshly
ironed fabric. |
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All of the fluorescent lighting in my studio is 6500 Kelvin,
as close to sunlight as you can buy. The bulbs are GE SP65
four foot tubes.
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| My fabrics and quilts are stored in an adjacent 9' x 14' closet.
In my previous studio, the boxes of fabric lined several walls and
they were not the most attractive feature of the room. I fantasized
about having an 8' extension on the building behind my design wall
where the fabric could be stored. This is exactly what I built into
my new studio. This 9' x 14' closet is behind the design wall. It
has heat, air-conditioning, and color corrected work lights, but no
outside light to fade the fabrics. The quilts that are not hanging
in my gallery are also stored here. |
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| I moved to LowerTown Arts District of Paducah under the city's Artists
Relocation Program, and one of the requirements was that artists live,
work, and sell under one roof. My building is about 8000 square feet.
(See diagrams below) |
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| The building includes: |
| A small gallery/shop, where I sell the fabrics I design, my publications
(patterns and workshops on CD), supplies needed in the classes I teach,
and gift items with images of my work. Most of these items are also
available through our Internet
Store. |
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| 900 square foot (30' x 30') center room that serves as gallery,
community meeting room, and state of the art workshop space, with
built-in projector, pull down screen, and overhead outlets (each wired
to a separate circuit so we can run 20 sewing machines and 10 irons).
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During the big quilt show every April I cover the windows,
and hang an exhibition of 20-30 art quilts (my latest work
and an invitational exhibit of work by guest artists).
The rest of the year the walls are hung with my most recent
work and selected older work.
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We offer in-depth workshops throughout the year, and can
comfortably accommodate up to 20 students in design classes.
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| Our fiber arts group and other neighborhood groups meet here regularly,
and the space is occasionally rented out to other community groups
for meetings and lectures. |
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| Dye studio with floor drains and an industrial epoxy floor. It has
double doors and is next to a patio, which can be used as an additional
dyeing and painting area. This room also doubles as gallery space
and auxiliary classroom space. In an adjoining utility room there
are two washers, a double sink, and a dryer. |
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| Entry hall and great room with some of my personal collections of
art quilts by others, work from my LowerTown artist neighbors, and
folk art from my travels around the world. This room has a 21' ceiling
and the top half of the room is painted with blue sky, clouds, and
a single bird. |
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| Kitchen with 4'x10' island and room to seat thirty comfortably for
lunch or dinner. This is a much larger kitchen than I need just for
myself. We have catered lunches during our workshops, and when the
National Quilt Museum has workshops I invite the classes over for
lunch one day during the week. When I began planning to move to Paducah,
I learned that virtually all the entertaining in the LowerTown Artists'
community was potluck. I realized immediately that I had no need whatever
for a formal dining room. |
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Guest accommodations:
We call it the Bryerpatch Studio B&C (bed and coffee, I don't
cook breakfast but breakfast is available nearby). We welcome guests
throughout the year, and can accommodate up to eight overnight guests
during our in-house workshops. If you are traveling through Western
Kentucky, or taking a workshops at the National Quilt Museum, consider
staying here. |
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 Each
of our guest rooms has:
2 comfortable twin beds ~ 2 comfortable chairs ~ 2 bedside
lamps with daylight bulbs ~ 9 spacious dresser drawers ~ desk
with (free) ethernet port (our whole building also has free
wireless) ~ private bath with full tub/shower and 5' vanity
~ 5'+ closet ~ door onto balcony ~ access to coffee maker,
microwave, mini-fridge ~ elevator. Click
or scroll down for more pictures and information.
We are smoke free- perfume free- pet free.
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Overflow Room
When our guest rooms are full we also have an overflow room
with four beds. We call it the quilters hostel. NOTE:
This room is only available when our other guest rooms are full.
Click
here for information. |
Click
on the small pictures below for larger images
Use your BACK button to
return to this page. |
Guest Room 1:
2 twin beds |
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Guest Room 2:
1 full bed &
one twin bed
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convenience
room
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We have a convenience room in the guest wing. It includes
a mini-fridge, microwave, coffee maker, filtered drinking
water, hair dryer, iron, ironing board and extra supplies
for your room.
Back
balcony: accessible from both guest rooms and the main
second floor hallway. It's a great place to sit out and have
coffee in the morning.
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Elevator
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If you can't climb stairs, or if you just don't want to lug
your suitcases up, no problem. We have an elevator in the
guest wing.
Our comfy guest lounge is also available for you to enjoy.
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Reading
& TV room in guest wing.
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I designed the whole building, full size, in Corel Draw, which is
the same program I use for designing my quilts. I measured all of
the furniture I owned, and all of the furniture I hoped to own, and
arranged it the way I thought it would work the best. Then I drew
walls around the working and living areas. I made the building L shaped
to save the mature trees on the property, and added bays and bump-outs
to make it look more interesting. I had six months to decide what
I wanted, so I watched myself going through my work day and preparing
for my travels, and tried to think of as many things as possible to
make these tasks flow easily in the new space. My plans evolved as
I thought of each new idea, just as my quilts evolve from a pencil
sketch, and the building that was finally built was version #20 of
my original plan. Like the lines in my quilts, most of the lines in
my garden, walkways, and flower beds, are curves. I designed two stained
glass windows that are based on my quilt designs and had them made
by one of my artist neighbors. Many of the windows are topped by curved
transoms, because they look graceful and fit well into our historic
Victorian neighborhood. |
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Front door of shop, with stained glass transom designed by
Caryl and made by Wanda Sanders of Paducah. |
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Above the whirlpool tub is a stained glass window based on
one of Caryl's quilt designs. The stained glass made by Wanda
Sanders of Paducah. The whirlpool tub is surrounded by a lifetime
collection of pebbles and shells picked up in my travels around
the world. |
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more pictures click here. |
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