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: Moving up in the world!

New steps went in two weeks ago, and now it is possible, quite literally, to move up in the World! Up to the second floor of the barn... starting at the top and working down, with a plan, rehabbing/repurposing continues (And provides a metaphor for living!) 

Storage: Half of the second floor.

Of course I'm using part of the second floor for storage...old frames (cheaper to get them at flea markets and garage sales than at a frame shop), canvas panels, wrapping materials for the gallery, etc.
 And this is New Hampshire...winter sports equipment has to go somewhere from March to December. And that large piece of fitness equipment that fits nowhere else conveniently. 

This Great White Barn, however, has larger than storage purposes.

Art Gallery! Yoga classes! Art and "other" workshops! The Dream has its requirements.

Strapping across the beams to hold the plastic!

The barn space has to be heated in the winter. In NH, there are really three seasons that require warmth, and even summer nights can be cool. Wooden barn walls are not enough. In this case, insulation is crucial, from the top down.

First step, vertical posts and poles to extend the depth of the walls, supported space for the insulation, downstairs and upstairs. Then "strapping" across the ceiling beams to hold the plastic which will ultimately hold the attic insulation.

Getting ready for insulation

I'm thinking about this barn rehabbing/repurposing process. The steps are a simple metaphor for any change we might want to make in our lives! Times have changed and I can not, nor would I want to, rehab the barn to its former glory of housing animals or being a carriage house, but that doesn't mean it's time to let it fall into disarray. And how many of us have rehabbed a house, refurbished a room, a piece of furniture or our wardrobe?  What about rehabbing a career, even our beliefs...science and society have changed...Not all of what went before is appropriate now. 

Installing the plastic...

My own passion for yoga and fitness leads me to think of rehabbing our bodies. We all have bodies, but with time and age, our bodies change, but have we "let ourself go"? Or maybe not been attentive to possibilities in the beginning? How many people do I have tell me they can't take yoga because they have never been  flexible? It is possible to rehab/improve our bodies just as it is possible to rehab a barn. 
Our body is a structure that requires renewal, that responds to rejuvenation, just as a house, a garden, a barn does. And, like a house, a garden, a barn, the renewal/rejuvenation/rehabing, is not going to happen quickly, and won't happen without purposeful planning. But yes, muscles can be made stronger again, (including heart and lungs), body AND mind parts can be stretched and made more flexible. 

So take on the challenge. Make a plan, figure out and build in the steps necessary,  and move up in the world!  Remember, whatever you take on is a process, not a happening. Time is NOT your enemy unless you expect it done tomorrow! May as well start today! and enjoy the process even over the next few years if that's what it takes!

(also check my website, barbaramcevoyartist.com and artist blog