FREEDOM GALLERY: Upstairs, Downstairs

UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS, WALLS AND DOORS

Upstairs

A phrased often used to describe the development of a New England home site is,"Big house, little house, back house, barn...You can't travel far in New England without seeing the big house, little house, back house, barn...with the barn often connected to the big house.   

As the rehabbing progresses, I find myself thinking, upstairs, downstairs, walls and doors.


 
Upstairs (actually 2/3's of the upstairs) is being dry walled, both walls and ceiling, with the second floor and stairwell insulated and heated separately from the downstairs. Drywalls, taping and sizing are in process. Insulation has been blown in, or fiberglassed, varying with the situation.
Retrofitting barns with insulation wasn't something anyone thought about 30 or 50 years ago.

Downstairs will have a different look. Ceiling beams are maintained and a second "shell" of barn wood creates the inside wall, hiding the insulation. 

Downstairs

Because effectively insulating barn doors and old windows with old glass is difficult if not impossible, several strategies are being used. Window frames are insulated and thermal "interior" storm windows will be installed. The glass next to the open barn door, pictured above, is ready and waiting. 

Of the four sets of barn doors visible from the exterior, the two middle sets will be hidden inside behind insulation and walls...a gallery needs hanging space.


The far end will be left as is, operating as garage doors, and the near end will be left working and visible from the interior, but a thermal 8 foot slider will be inset with  a narrow shelf above it reaching to the ceiling. The structure for the slider is also visible above.

Details waiting!

The garage portion still holds some of the details...rennai waiting to be installed and several doors, furniture displaced, waiting to return.

And so, the Great White Barn is shifting with the times, entering the fifth phase of her life since 1865. Neither connected nor close to my house, by New England standards, she started smaller, was doubled in size towards the back, with her loft out the back and her barn door in the front,  either connected to or very close to the Merritt House which was moved out of town and has since burned down.

At some time after the property switched hands, The Great White Barn became a carriage house with four sets of doors on the side, as pictured to the left.

With Mary Hockmeyer, the barn took on the new role of gallery and meeting place with some fun parties as well, accompanied by an old player piano. And, also started with Mary, the Old Home Week Annual Lawn Party.
Barn, bigger barn, carriage house, gallery and meeting place, and fifth phase, winterized gallery, meeting place for continued fun activities Times change...

No official opening date yet, but aiming for mid-October with an exhibit of regional art...White Mountain Landscapes, Townscapes, Lakescapes! And of course Freedom Rings in the Holidays.  Classes, yoga, and creative workshops in the new year.

FREEDOM GALLERY: Interlude

Freedom Old Home Week Lawn Party

My "other house" sold! 
Capital available, time to get ripping on renovations...Full speed ahead! 

But wait!
Freedom Old Home Week is the first week in August, this year being the 119th year for the event.  For almost thirty of those years, there has also been the tradition of the opening event, the Friday evening lawn party, held on the lawn of "The Great White Barn."

Me pointing to Peg Scully's  "painting corner." 

Joel's Wall

Mary Hockmeyer, former owner of the barn and house at 8 Elm Street, started the lawn party tradition. What better place to hold the opening of Freedom Week Festivities than the lawn of the barn located in the center of town. For the first seven years I lived in Freedom, that lawn party was one of my favorite events, so when neighbors and acquaintances in Freedom learned I was to be the new owner, the big question was, are you going to have the lawn party? My answer, "Of course, I can't think of anywhere better!"

Sarah's Wall

New owners of course put their own stamp on things...mine was to have four other artists in town share my space with me, announcing, as it were, that the barn would be a gallery. This year ALL Freedom artists were invited to bring three works of art. A recent book I'd read, Show Your Work, inspired me to spread the message. We managed to add 6 artists to the fold, including 4 excited "newbies" to the world of exhibiting, with plans to expand to the second floor next year! 

Terri's Space and Ian Marshall's Memorial

Think of the complexity of closing down construction...interrupting the work, cleaning and clearing the space completely for the exhibit, than full speed ahead again two weeks later. My contractor, Ray DesMarais, understands about artists. His wife is one.  

Interludes and deadlines...because another, bigger exhibit is on the planning board for October 13/14/15.
Probably the official opening, as well!

Deadlines...exhibit interludes! 
Mind changing!
(I expect working with an artist is not always easy, we're known to be quirky)

Thank you to all the artists who participated and to Ray DesMarais for engineering the "interlude" seamlessly.  

NEXT EXHIBIT will feature White Mountain Scenes from photographers and artists who live,  hike, play, and practice their art in the region they live in. Possibly on view as early as October 9, there will be a special preview for Appalachian Mountain Club members the weekend of October 13, 14, 15, followed by the official opening of the Freedom Gallery.

Keep watch on this blog...

Coming to the gallery as well:
Freedom Rings in the Holiday, November 17,18  will again feature mainly local artists.

Yoga in Freedom will expand its offerings and switch from Town Hall to the gallery as soon as the down stairs is heated sufficiently and work upstairs finished. 

Classes on "Creating on Purpose," "Finding and freeing your creativity," and other classes will be offered starting in January.