SubtleTea - Your Lair

Most studious and artistic folks have some type of office, work space, den, lair, corner, closet, hovel or dungeon where they study, compose their art, relax, worry or curl up and weep. These areas are birthplaces, so let's celebrate by kicking out that fourth wall and letting friends and strangers take a long peek into them. SubtleTea invites you to submit photos of your lairs. (The idea was inspired by poet/novelist Collin Kelley posting a pic of his work space at his blog recently.) Details, such as how many will be shown at a time and when, will be decided later. Meanwhile, send up to four different pics of your lair, in JPEG or GIF format, no larger that 700 pixels high or 900 wide (going over these limits a bit is OK). If you'd like, include a description, blurbs or captions.

Let's throw a bone to all those Peeping Toms and Nosey Nellies out there! Email: doomsinger@subtletea.com.

From Collin's site, Modern Confessional: It's a pretty basic: there's my trusty MacBook, my wireless Mac mouse on a Roy Lichtenstein mat of his House sculpture and the books on my desk are what I'm currently reading or referring to often (Mark Doty, Sharon Olds and the Pushcart anthology are in there). That bookshelf is full of poetry and there's another one just like it on the other wall, also full of poetry. The red book facing out on the top shelf is a limited-edition, autographed copy of The Book of Folly by Anne Sexton. One of my prized possessions. If the apartment ever catches fire, I'm taking the Mac and that book.

View looking into the room from the doorway. Besides the Dylan memorabilia, my favorite piece is the little dresser I saved from death at a salvage shop. The back was missing, the drawers were in pieces and the entire thing was stained and full of old stickers. I brought it home, nailed it back together, sanded it down and my daughter and I spent one afternoon re-painting it. We liked the idea of multiple colors. Kind of like people or moods or ideas.

The Heart

Computer area/Creation station- Mac OS X. I never thought a person could fall in love with a thing, but damn it if I don't love this computer. The concert poster was purchased by my sister Jennifer in London. I love it too. So now I love two things, madly.

About 1/3 of my book collection. The rest are wayfaring around the house in various rooms in other bookshelves. More Dylan memorabilia including a fantastic piece of pointillism (far right on book shelf) of Dylan done by amazing young artist, Courtney Smith. B Dylan license plate which used to adorn my old car. I was rear-ended on my way to work one morning and was more upset by the dented license plate than by the broken car.

The Brain

Surrounded by genius, how could I not be inspired?

Pure sunshine emanates from my special writing place when I cross the threshold. The walls are covered in soft yellow wallpaper with a rag-rolled effect and an intertwining of flowing green tendrils rising from floor to a ceiling border growing cerise and cerulean blue flowers.

My vast pine writing desk, opposite the sofa, (with over desk storage), is covered in creative chaos with piles of papers, paperweights, pots of coloured pencils, pens and brushes, my phone, reference books and a digital calendar with time and temperature. Ornaments, an extension of my inner self -- all with sentimental value, spread their forms over most surfaces, while two smaller chests of drawers contain more chaos hidden tidily away.

The carpet is called 'Mimosa' and reflects upwards catching golden light from two yellow-curtained windows: one at each end of the room. A small desk under the front window hosts my computer and scanner/printer while a white ceiling slopes away on the right meeting two large pine bookcases crammed with books on poetry, art, novels, stories, Native Americans, spiritual themes and photograph albums. In between is a pine sofa, cushions hidden by a soft woollen blanket with a blue, red, white and yellow design based on a blanket used by the famous Nez Perce leader, Chief Joseph. It is here I rest when I become tired, for I have M.E.

It is here, at this desk, that also I paint and the walls act as an art gallery for my pictures, which spill out onto the walls all round the house, as my poems flow out in to the world.