Alsea Art Farm - Dreaming of Retreats Being Held Here!

. . . . as promised on Kelly Rae's e-course, I will post more info about my proposal to have 1 or 2 nearly free creative retreats (6-8 people) here at what I like to think of as "Alsea Art Farm".  Probably by tomorrow you can expect more information.  Here's one photo to show you what a beautiful drive it is to our property!

From Corvallis to Alsea, this is going up Mary's Peak and there are only 2 miles of curvy road (for those that get car sick)

This is the new home we've been building for the last 7 years and we're almost ready to move in.  I will have a studio upstairs and I'd love to have some play date weekends / small retreats!

This is one view of the river from the back deck.

And this is the deck. . .

We've even hosted 3 weddings so far.

This is the great room (much will be unfinished even as we move in next month)

Below are just a few small shots of the landscaping and special places I love.

      

Here's the island and a view of the front of the house as you drive up.

The second dwelling on the property is a MF home and it will be empty in about a month. . . so before we get it rented, I'd like to offer it as a place to camp out. . . . it can sleep 8.  It really would have to be like camping (but fancier) you'd have to bring sleeping bags and mats or blowup mattresses, towels and personal stuff.  There won't be any furniture - so just a place to crash.  I'll keep the TP supplied!  There's also a washer and a dryer, a dishwasher (oops no dishes - guess you'll only have the snacks you bring).  A fridge and a microwave will still be there too.  I imagine simple meals will have to be arranged.  Alsea has no restaurant at this time because it's closed and up for sale.  There is gas and a store.

This is one of our two shop kitties - but they're a little shy with strangers.

Our homes are smoke free but animal friendly.

So that's our place - a little piece of Heaven and people who come out here absolutely love it.  The other special spot I don't have photos of just yet is the creek that runs along side the lower end of the property and the patio sitting area.  You can literally sit there with a cool drink, hear stereo creek sounds from two sides as is winds through, the birds chirping like crazy and you just melt away into bliss.  It's my favorite spot to relax!

And there are endless ideas for what to play with, fiber, paints, papers, stamps, photos, you name it.  I also like the idea of renting a workshop from  www.artworkshops.tv

 , oh and here's the best tip I can give you. . . .if you sign up for their newsletter you will get to view free videos with every newsletter.  This weeks newsletter has this video free to watch.  "Beeswax Collage with Claudine Hellmuth"  And I've watched free videos of Sherrill Kahn and Ann Baldwin - both ladies that I've taken workshops with.

If you teach workshops - you need to know about this company!!!!!

OK, I need to get back to mowing and weeding!  Enjoy that link ;~)

Much to our surprise it snowed this morning.  Mike and I were reflecting back to an April 1st snow storm that dumped a couple of feet on us and we were without power for 4 days.  It's not a fun time since we don't have a wood stove or a fireplace in this rental.


See that long line of fir trees along our driveway. . . well at the end of that driveway is the new house that we've been building for almost 7 years.  The super good news is that yesterday we got our final inspection, passed and signed off with the county building dept.  Woo-Who!!!  So now we'll be able to pursue refinancing - Finally.  It took lots of little and not so little loans to get this thing close to completed.

Next step is laying the wood floor downstairs so the finisher can come in and make it beautiful.  Then we pick carpet, have it installed and move in.  Last step * * * P A R T Y  O N!!!

Back to reality - we'll need to rent out this MH and that's something we don't look forward to at all.  I can tell you we've have more "bad" (or let's just say "interesting" renters than we've had "wonderful" renters.  Then there's the big idea I have rattling around in this mental maze of a brain, to turn the space into a workshop / small retreat type spot, all set up with work tables, etc. with room to sleep up to 8, full kitchen, two baths and a washer and dryer.  I can see quilters, painters, scrapbookers, mixed media artists, and girlfriend gatherings utilizing this space.  Most importantly it would be a place to escape to. . . away from the tv, the phone, the kids, the to-do lists.  A place to indulge ones-self in creative exploration or simply to finish a project.  And that's part of my vision for "Alsea Art Farm".