STUDIO IN THE GARDEN: A PERSONAL VIEW

by Ben Glennon |  29 Apr 2020

 

I first met my wife Belinda while living in Edinburgh in 1999.  One day she popped into the meadows pottery to buy a friend of mine a present for her birthday, shortly after she started attending classes in the basement of the pottery with Paul Tebble, learning how to throw.  To cut along storey short twenty years, two house renovations and three children later Belinda is a successful professional potter producing pieces inspired by the landscapes of the Outer Hebrides where her heart lies. She now shows in prestigious ceramics fairs and galleries across the county and teaches new students.

 

 

To develop a ceramics career mixed with the pressures of a family life has its challenges. For instance, you cannot just leave a kiln firing to 1300 degrees, it needs checked regularly often overnight.  If it rises a few degrees too high or the temperature goes up too quickly you can ruin your work. A logical step for our family and for Belinda was to develop a home studio.  This provided flexibility for the family and work hours with the Studio to hand. Initially we converted the old wash house which is now still the kiln room. This was quickly outgrown and there was a need for a lighter and more inspiring space to work in.

 

 

So we decided to build a new studio next to the house. The aesthetic we chose was a natural one, high ceilings and rooflights providing an inspiring space. An oak framer friend made a Douglas Fir truss as the centre piece of the vaulted ceiling, second hand windows where sourced from a local window firm, slates from gumtree and an old stove from a youth hostel in the lake district. Larch cladding came from a village sawmill.

 

 

Belinda has now been working from her lovely studio in the garden for a few years which is the admiration of many of the village artists. Although shows have recently been cancelled orders are still coming in and she is as busy as ever.

 

 

After the current pandemic subsides it is my view that people will seek to continue some level of working from home having enjoyed the flexibility and lifestyle benefits it can bring.  This will need new or re-planned flexible spaces conducive to home working, this might be a garden studio or office, converting an outbuilding or adding some rooflights to an attic.

 

 

As Architects we approach every project with you at the centre. If you want to build it yourself or alternatively get a team in to do it for you we can work with you to achieve your vision. Please get in touch if we can help.

 

 

Take a look at Belinda’s lovely work at belindaglennon.co.uk

© 2020 Aitken Turnbull