CHAPTER 3: E.R. Detour, Lumber and Putting it All Together

Picture CERF+ (The Craft Emergency Relief Fund) is an organization whose purpose is to support and provide assistance to artists and craftspeople during times of natural disaster. One of their programs is the CERF+ Get Ready Grant. The CERF+ Get Ready grant is a $1,000 grant to assist artists "to safeguard their studios, protect their practices, and prepare for emergencies". In December 2025, I was approved for this grant, which I intend to use to weatherproof my outdoor kiln area, and create a safe and comfortable space to work and teach. One of the things CERF+ encourages grant recipients to do, is to document how they use their grant. My grant will cover enclosing my outdoor workspace, and provide much-needed storage and sinks. A small windfall I received in 2025 will allow me to complete this project in total. I'm really excited to share my progress with you, and encourage other artists and craftspeople to apply for this grant. So, let's begin with the current status of the outdoor (kiln) space, and the overall plan...

CHAPTER 3: E.R. Detour, Lumber and Putting it All Together

12/31/2025

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Yesterday was a weird one.
It was the last day to get my lumber before a predicted week of rain. The truck I'd borrowed was waiting in the driveway for me, and I was getting dressed, drinking coffee, and reading emails, when the left side of my face became numb.

Well, it's probably a pinched nerve I thought (it's happened before, though never to this extent), but heeding Murphy's Law, I figured if I didn't get it checked out, I was pretty much guaranteeing myself a debilitating stroke, so off we went to the ER. When you walk into the E.R. with potential stroke symptoms, you go right to the head of the line. Long story short, after a CTscan, bloodwork, and several machines that went "PING!", the consensus was that I did actually have a brain, it was surprisingly "normal", and it was indeed most likely a pinched nerve.
Cleared to head to Home Depot!
By the time I got home, and unloaded the truck, I was beat, so spent the evening going over my next steps in my head.

This morning, I jumped right in and made great progress! I had all my feet and caps printed and installed on the shelf posts, and had a plan...
First step was the cleat that will support the countertop against the wall. Next, I had to wrangle the (very heavy) countertop into place. Once that was done, I laid out the position of the sinks and faucet, marked them, took a deep breath, and started cutting holes in my brand new countertop. In my life as an artist, I am definitely not the measure-twice-cut-once type. But I had a long talk with myself about countertops and grants not growing on trees, and took care to double check my measurements, took my time with my cuts, and am very happy with the result!
Everything is dry fitted at this point, I need a little PVC to run from the clay trap to the sewer line, but everything fits and it's the sink station I had hoped it would be. Tomorrow I will attach everything permanently in place, and then move on to the work/spraying station.

Stay tuned...
CMCK