I apologize, readers; I am running way behind. This happens every season. The events of the cooler months gallop past me. I keep up for a while, but then, one little stumble — one lost afternoon when cousin Greg shows up with his wife, best friend and best friend’s wife and… well, the work I had scheduled falls behind.

Of course, this time of year, with winter blizzards and frozen floods raking the “temperate” zone, all my mid-latitude friends and family will turn up on the gangplank. So now the end of the season is looming and I’m panicked — there is so much I haven’t seen or done!

Fortunately, both the downtown theatres have another play — I haven’t even mentioned them lately. We’ll be getting to that soon.

Meanwhile, one of the most active places in town:

TSKW – Part 1
The Actual studios at The Studios of Key West

I’m curled up on a shaded wooden bench in the breezy sculpture garden of The Studios of Key West. A grey cat has consented to my presence.

Inside the landmark Armory Building, a workshop has just concluded. Lauren McAloon, facilities coordinator, is quietly, efficiently moving chairs around. Folding up the workshop tables and moving the flowers to the side. She is preparing the room for the regular Wednesday evening figure drawing session. The figure drawing session will be next week’s subculture tour.

This week I wandered through the second floor artist studios — the actual studios that give the organization its name. Director Eric Holowacz has his office up there on the south side of the building, overlooking the sculpture garden. He is looking forward to the upcoming transformation Rick Worth has planned for the office. It includes a picket fence wainscoting, a tree and some grass so the office will have the ambience of the out-of-doors. The window by his desk overlooks the sculpture garden where I am sitting with my laptop.

Lauren McAloon in her studio

In the northwest corner, McAloon shares a tiny light-filled studio with 15-year-old Jean Azard, recipient of the Budding Artist Scholarship Fund award. Manifestations of McAloon’s unusual perception of her surroundings hint at sculptures to come.

Perhaps this balmy, low humidity 74-degree sunny day under a brilliant blue sky with soft white puffy clouds makes everything seem peaceful and glorious, but the studios, strewn with tools, project parts and starts, and reference materials have a fresh, expansive feeling in spite of their small size and visual clutter.

Marc Caren was pondering recently finished work when I encountered him. Caren has been in Key West two decades and has a recognizable body of oil paintings that feature perfect drawing, and sophisticated painting techniques. The lively surface textures make his work a rich viewing experience. The colors in recent paintings are more vivid and warmer in tone than his early work.

“I had a studio on the south side of the building,” said Caren, “but the sun was always changing, creating glares and shadows. Now I have a north light studio and it’s always like this,” he said gesturing toward the soft reflected glow saturating the room.

Downstairs, Elena Devers mans the entry while quietly wreaking PR order from a chaos of materials. Always calm and always efficient, Devers is the sunny face of TSKW.

Studio residents currently include, in addition to McAloon and Caren:

writer Mark Hedden, and artists Debra Yates, Letty Nowak Peter Vey, Marky Pierson, Andy Thurber, Guillermo Orozco and Sherry Sweet Tewell.

The Studios of Key West is at the corner of Southard Street and White Street in Key West and also at: www.tskw.org.