Under Water

This past friday there was a big mess that occurred in my home studio. I noticed water pooling under my desk near the wall where the molding was. It was creeping up over the carpet quickly and it was at that point I freaked out. I grabbed the scanner which was on the ground, inches from the water, grabbed the laptop and started to grab every framed piece of artwork that was on the floor. Then I noticed about 3 1/2 feet up from where the leak on the ground was, the drywall was starting to bulge. It was at that point that a hole about 2" in diameter suddenly appeared in the wall and freezing cold water started gushing in like a fire hydrant. I'm sure it looked like a cartoonish situation, with me trying to block the hole with my body, a natural instinct I think when something like that suddenly happens. Needless to say, the water got shut off eventually and I finally surveyed the damage. Luckily, the computer and artwork were pretty much ok since I grabbed those before the wall exploded. The carpet absorbed about 20 gallons of water and currently has huge fans blowing air underneath it to dry it out. The wet portion of wall had to be cut out, and the pipe still needs to be fixed. Ugh. What a huge mess. The water in the pipe froze in the first place because the pipe was installed in the wall, OUTSIDE of the insulation where it was susceptible to our harsh cold Michigan weather. All my business cards and zines got ruined, along with many piles of papers I had on the desk. If you think about it though, it could have been MUCH worse, so I am grateful it wasn't.