In 2003, after touring around Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands on the way home, I stopped at my Great Auntie Margaret for an overnight visit. This story I am going to share is a foundational story for the design of Elemental Claycation. I'm realizing more and more that to create something remarkable one has to dig back into the "unremarkable" stories. Do you remember your sleep overs when you were a kid? So instead of Studio Stories this blog is about reminiscence of sleepover stories.
Auntie Margaret lived in a one bedroom apartment 90 years old, with her adult son living with her to help out. I had been camping for over a month, so felt that rolling out my sleeping bag on the "soft" carpet. Auntie Margaret had a huge bedroom with a single bed, so lots of floor space for me. Omar (her son) had a single bed set up in the livingroom so I couldn't sleep in the livingroom. Auntie Margaret would get up in the middle of the night so I didn't want her to trip over me so I set up my sleeping bag in the small space between the bed and the wall. Auntie Margaret was so excited to host me and when we got prepared for bed she took out of her hearing aids.
Picture this: I am tucked in my sleeping bag on the floor in the little space between bed and wall. Auntie Margaret is tucked into her bed. Lights are off and the inner little girls came out. For the next hour we giggled, gossiped, and chatted as we would have in our youth. The only difference was that Auntie Margaret didn't have her hearing aids in so we had to yell our comments to each other. I'm sure we kept her son Omar up for along time. After an hour, Auntie Margaret said I should have kept my hearing aids in. The next morning we both talked about how awesome our sleep over was. I still after over 20 years, remember this sleep over as one of my favourite sleepovers of all time.
When designing the third floor attic space for the Elemental Claycation, I wanted the space to provide amazing sleepover opportunities. In the busy and hectic world of life, the little moments that exist during a sleepover doesn't happen. The attic space has six beds in an open space
I have created visual barriers between the beds so you cant see the others sleep, but you can still hear each other. Adults do snore and can cause sleep disturbance, so once the "sleep over chatter " is done there are ear plugs and eye masks to allow a great sleep experience.
To be able to have a sleepover where everything is looked after for you just like when you went to your besties as a child is what Elemental Claycation provides. You just have to show up, and soak in all the various elements in the attic space and the studio space.
Marea Olafson
Freba Pottery