A Seat and some Colour
I opened the door to my van. I got out the tools. I even reached for a paintbrush. The van build has resumed for the first time this year. It hasn’t been easy; the weather still isn’t exactly outdoor friendly. I was rained on over the weekend and it wasn’t until I had admitted defeat and packed up that the rain stopped. I’m proud to say I got past my frustration, got the workbench back out of the van, and kept building.
I decided to start with something simple, an easy reintroduction, so I made the lid to the bench seat and its handy storage space. It is made using a panel of lovely pine from an old wardrobe of mine. The smell of the sawdust as I cut it to size was delicious. The smell of woodwork always transports me to the Design & Technology workshop at my secondary school, my favourite room in the building and the place I learned most of the skills currently being honed as I build.
Building the bench seat, like so much in the van, is more than simply cutting wood to size or working out practicalities. It is a glimpse into my future. This seat will be sofa, dining chair, studio bench. I will sit here reading, curled up enjoying the view, typing this newsletter to you all, eating, and making art. What single seat can claim so much. And inside it, who knows what you will eventually find, cameras maybe, or perhaps blankets? So much potential built into one small bench, so much future.
Once I’d made the bench lid I returned to my overhead cupboards, the thing I’d been working on before the winter winds and rain. These are for my clothing and my food: a wardrobe and a larder. Building then is made complicated by the curve of the van, which is particularly pronounced towards the ceiling. It means that a straightforward stud frame won’t fit into place. I haven’t been able to quite envision the full design and so am building them in stages, checking my design works with each step. I am hoping it will mean I won’t have to build, disassemble, and build again.
Standing there holding a timber frame against the van wall I suddenly had a vision of painting my cupboards and watching the paint drip onto the kitchen side and floor below. And so, I cracked the paint pots open. For every stage of building the overhead cupboards I will also paint them. Neat, tidy, and away from anything I can ruin. That meant that I spent yesterday enjoying the paint colours I chose so very long ago, back when I began the design process for my van. This is the first piece of purple painted for my van, and it has filled me with joy. Colour is important and inspiring. It is full of meaning, symbolism. It is also deeply personal. These are my colours, and they help make this little van my home. Or they will if I keep building. So, for now, I am off to paint the second coat, and I will return next week with more van stories. Until then, I hope you have a good one filled with comfortable places to sit and your favourite colours.