A Brooklyn Writer's American Dream: Studio Space with Other Artists

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A Brooklyn Writer's Dream: Artists All Around Me

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

At Golden Belt Arts in Durham, NC, I met a quilter with amazing work on the walls of her studio. Seeing other artists' work, being around them, gives me energy and inspires me. Enjoy an inside peak at some creative spaces built into a converted tobacco warehouse.

This is the facade of this restored tobacco warehouse.

A photographer's studio.

A painter's studio.

A studio waiting, for you?

A studio on the outside wall, enjoying southern sunlight.

This quilter takes pride in making the back a beautiful echo of the front.

Christine Hager-Braun is a Ph.D., comes from Germany, been in the U.S. 30 years, used to work at U of North Carolina, retired, and now plays with color and shape all day.

Here's part of her collection of fabric and thread.

Beautiful. Her website is www.soularpowerfabricart.com.

This layout of colors makes me itch to touch the fabrics, sew them together, and make the colors pop next to each other.

Here's an antiques restorer's studio.

A painter's.

Some of God's living artwork outside the Golden Belt: A witch hazel, which twists in such an appealing way. How about you? Itching to grab some colors? Comment below!

A Brooklyn Writer's American Dream: Artist's Space

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Brooklyn Writers: Let's Migrate to an Arts Space!

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

Reality has been pounding on my American Dream of "getting ahead" and having lots to retire on. No other culture in the world believes as much as Americans do in being able to outdo the previous generation in prosperity. This is true of us even though reality is proving to such a large portion of us that this will not be the outcome.

Maybe all I NEED is time to create. And a place. I'm in Brooklyn's Central Library now, at Grand Army Plaza. I can't work in my apartment alone all day. There are people around me here, working quietly, which is nice. Nobody is sniffing constantly or playing music in their earbuds so loudly that I can hear the cymbals crashing. 

This is fine. But to work in a space devoted to fellow artists? That would be so cool!

Recently I went to the Golden Belt Arts building, in a former tobacco warehouse in Durham, NC. It's a beautiful brick building (picture of the facade next week). It's been restored to create studio space for artists in Durham. Read more at http://www.goldenbeltarts.com/spaces/artist-studios/.

Golden Belt, along with BrightLeaf and the American Tobacco Campus, all in Durham and featured in recent posts, are part of an even bigger effort in Durham to save historic buildings and revitalize the town. It was devastated by the decline in the tobacco industry in the second half of the 20th century. Read about the challenges to pull it off in National Real Estate Investor magazine: http://www.nreionline.com/multifamily/durham-breathes-new-life-old-warehouses.

I rejoice that these buildings were saved from demolition! I crave space in one! How about you? Comment below!

The entrance to Golden Belt features an artistic cow.

The foyer.

Each artist's studio has a giant, manufacturing-grade sliding door with a window. I did lots of 

peaking in.

I just love the spaces where creative people concentrate! Don't you? (You're a creative people, too!)

Through the window, this artist's self portrait.

A hallway between the studio.

A bit of self-deprecating humor.

This is a metal- or wood-working studio.

Art is messy, just like life. A common sink in the hallway. Wouldn't you just love to mess with paint in one of these great spaces? Comment below!

Durham, NC: The American Tobacco Campus

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In Search of the American Dream: Puff on a Cigarette

Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

We pick up where we left off, at the Lucky Strike tower. Americans formerly aspired to look sexy smoking cigarettes, the way our movie stars did.  A huge portion of Americans used to smoke.

I read recently that, because of effective anti-smoking campaigns, and because the movie industry helped by drastically reducing the amount of smoking in scripts, the prevalence of teenage tobacco smoking is at an all-time low, less than 15%.

This was a powerful industry at one time, and you can sense it in the height of the tower, the sprawl of the factory buildings.

Ambience added with strings of lights.

Think of all the North Carolina workers who used to spend their effort behind these long windows.

On top: the sign for the American Tobacco Campus. Below, a very small plaque.

The small plaque says, "This is a smoke-free environment." Quite ironic, isn't it?

Another view of the Lucky Strike tower, a symbol of the way tobacco dominated so many lives, and so many painful deaths.

Cafe chairs next to the water feature that runs through the campus.

A croc in the water feature.

With these big windows, it's probably a pleasant place to work inside.

A playful tap outside a restaurant.

Somebody's having fun with the duct work.

Across the street, the baseball stadium.

Indoors, a model of the Tobacco campus. Note how small the people are.

Rent a LimeBike.

A clump of mistletoe in a tree next to the campus.

I love the brickwork. I think the bricklayers took great pride and joy in making their buildings, even factory buildings, more beautiful. How about you? Are you making something more beautiful today? Comment below!

Durham, NC: Manufacturing Power Subverted to Ambience

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Historic American Tobacco Campus

by Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

Just remember, as you peruse these photos, that every brick was put into place to process tobacco and make cigarettes, which have caused so much disease, suffering and early death. 

But this factory campus has been turned into a marvelous rabbit warren of shops, businesses, restaurants and coffee shops. There's a radio station here, too.

Here's a bit more spectacular brickwork from Brightleaf Square. The windows are reflecting the blue sky beautifully.

Now we're at the American Tobacco Campus, a huge former cigarette and tobacco processing complex that's been made into shops, restaurants, and relaxation space. Above, the chess set, which uses the Lucky Strike tower as the pawns.

You can sit and watch people play the game of kings.

Fantastic brickwork here, too.

The tobacco processing required lots of water. A huge water feature meanders through the entire complex. Here you can cross it via stepping stones.

More of the water feature.

A conveyor belt became part of the ambience.

Conveyor belts, brick chimneys: raw American manufacturing power--and cancer-inducing power-- turned into a feature for ambience.

Here's the Lucky Strike cigarette tower, almost a symbol of the city of Durham.

A Writer's Dream: A Studio in a Historic Space

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Durham, NC, home of Brightleaf Square, formerly a tobacco factory

By Norma Jaeger Hopcraft

I visit my offspring in North Carolina as often as I can, especially since there is a bouncing baby boy involved.

The men of the family, in plaid.

We visited Brightleaf Square in Durham. Please note the excellent brickwork details, especially under the eaves and above the windows. 

Inside, a spectacular staircase. How would you like to climb this every day to go to your studio?

Tucked under the staircase is the romantic entry to a restaurant.

The windows have their original shutters, which show some signs of wear and tear.

I'd like to look out of my studio at this beautiful tree with bright red berries.

Brightleaf still has all of its historic shutters. How about you? Do you enjoy American historic architecture? Comment below!