Archive for the ‘Studio at Sassafras Farm’ Category
May
6
Am tired! But here I am, finally!
Casper, exhausted, though I’m not sure he did anything:
And we had a blast!
I’ve had one-day workshops at the farm since I moved here, but this was my first multi-day event holding the smaller, more intimate retreats that I want to do now. There were good and bad things about holding the large retreats as I have the last few years. Now that I am here, on a good road with close access to the interstate and my own health-department approved kitchen, I wanted to start holding retreats here. I wanted a more intimate atmosphere, the environment of the farm, in-depth workshops that don’t come and go in three hours, and a quality experience. The wool and herbals retreat this past weekend was the first, and I am so excited about how it went.
I’m pulling this review off of Sharon Brown’s Facebook note about her experience here:
Just got home from Suzanne’s retreat. Wow, what an awesome time we had! Laura P. is an amazing woman and teacher. She showed us how to shear sheep, skirt the wool, card the wool and spin the wool. She also held the herb class. This woman is a wealth of information and I’m so excited about the next retreat in July where she will do more on herbs.
I like these smaller retreats much better. At the big retreats Suzanne hardly had a chance to say hi because she was juggling so many balls in the air at one time. With the smaller retreats held at her farm she spends time with all of her guests and this is one funny woman- She’ll have you laughing until you have tears in your eyes.
Also, you really bond with the other attendees.
If you get a chance to do one of her retreats you need to go! You’ll have so much fun and leave with a wealth of knowledge.”
This comment comes from Kelly Myers (whose wonderful husband Mark cleaned out my chicken house):
We are so glad we went to the retreat. We learned so much from Laura and Suzanne and our fellow attendees, got to experience many aspects of farm life and country living, met such nice people, laughed a lot and made good friends!
We have been home almost an entire day now and we have talked about nothing but our experiences at the retreat. It was truly something we are both so glad we did and will look forward to attending again.
LauraP truly is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge and a fantastic teacher. I was so proud to have her here giving workshops, and she will be back at the retreat in July. It also felt so good to me that all of the attendees seemed so genuinely excited and had so much fun. I loved seeing people enjoying the farm, really experiencing the farm, not just passing through for a few hours at the party after the retreat as in years past. This wasn’t a milking retreat, but I took them all milking. There was bottle feeding Maia, there was egg collecting, there was walking and sitting on the deck overlooking the pastures and petting the horses and even chicken house cleaning (voluntarily!). The attendees were a fabulous, friendly group and they really bonded and made friendships, especially those who stayed all three days.
I did all the cooking myself and they ate well–leg of lamb and homemade pizzas and pies and ice cream from Glory Bee, just to name a few of the items on the menu. In this format, I was able to sit down with attendees, talk and laugh and tell stories and even show off a picture of my mystery man in Ohio.
Yes, there was shearing and skirting and carding and spinning and making herbal salves and all kinds of great learning experiences, but it was also a retreat to a farm. THAT is the foundation of the experience I want to offer here, and I love how it went.
Bottle feeding Maia:
Milking lessons with Glory Bee:
Practicing “sheep sitting” with one of the Tunis lambs. (They weren’t being sheared, but they were smaller for practice.)
My friend Sarah’s son Liam came to do the actual heavy sheep sitting job:
Laura demonstrating shearing with Crazy:
Attendees practicing shearing on calm pup Annabelle:
Laura, taking Annabelle’s coat off:
Happy skirting:
And then there was washing and wool drying on top of cars in the sun and the breeze:
And combing and carding and coloring and spinning and sitting on the back porch:
Joe and Lisa from Woolweaver Farms, where I got my Tunis lambs, came to demonstrate and discuss scrapie tags, and attendees got to do some sheep herding to round them up for tagging.
The herbals day included hiking and collecting and learning to make salves and tinctures and other herbal concoctions.
I have more retreats coming up!
Here’s what’s open for registration now.
June Cows, Cheese, Soap, and Baking
October Prepper’s Paradise
(The July retreat is full and closed to registration now.)
Come see us! Your adventure is waiting!
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Apr
19
Come learn at the farm!
June Cheese, Soap, and Baking!
June 14 – June 15, 2013
The five-day July retreat for Cheesemaking & the Family Cow, Baking, and Soap & Herbs is completely filled now except for two available spots for the Soap & Herbs workshops. (If interested, see here for details and email me at CITRevents@yahoo.com.) There are also a few spots available in the upcoming Wool and Herbs workshops–see here, asap, because this one’s coming up fast, in less than two weeks, first of May.
Since we’re spilling out in cheese, soap, and baking, I’m going to open a combined two-day series of workshops on those topics for June. Cheesemaking and the family cow and soap will be combined in one day in condensed sessions with baking the second day. You can come for both days, or choose one, up to you!
Points to note–
Accommodations are not included. Accommodations in Elkview, WV, approximately 15 minutes from Sassafras Farm (closest and most convenient hotel to the farm): Elkview Inn & Suites. Their info is: 101 The Crossing Mall, Elkview, WV 25071, 1-304-965-9200. You can also find other options on the Suggested Accommodations page. (Come with a buddy and split your costs.) You’re responsible for making your own arrangements. If you’re local, you won’t need a hotel.
All meals are included. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks will be home-cooked and served right here from the studio kitchen, and will focus on fresh, culturally iconic and delicious West Virginia foods.
Teens are welcome. Mature teens 13 and up may sign up to attend retreats at Sassafras Farm accompanied by a paid attendee parent/guardian.
Spaces are limited. Smaller groups will allow a greater focus on the quality that I want–of each workshop, of each meal, and of the entire experience. But it also means–if you want it, don’t delay!
Open NOW for registration:
June 2013 CHEESE, FAMILY COW, MILK SOAP, & BAKING
This shorter June retreat will span two days, including one day of working with all things cheesy and the family cow along with making a milk soap, plus one day of yeast breads, biscuits, and pie. Choose to attend one day or both! All workshops and activities will take place at Sassafras Farm in Roane County, West Virginia.
CHEESE, FAMILY COW & MILK SOAP WORKSHOP – Friday, June 14, 2013
Dive into the joy of home cheesemaking with a cheesy adventure at Sassafras Farm! In the soft cheese session, experience making your own mozzarella from start to tasting. In the hard cheese session, we will make a hard cheese from pot to press, and you will leave with hard cheese demystified, ready to go home and make your own! And whether you are thinking of getting your own cow or just want to experience the whole process from cow to kitchen, we will also be at the barn where every attendee will get hands-on practice milking a cow both by hand and by machine and practicing handling fresh milk from filtering to skimming cream. Learn all about handling a cow, breeding, housing, feeding, and managing a calf along with managing a family cow, hands on. The day will also include a full hot process soapmaking session in which you’ll make your own batch of farm-fresh milk soap to take home!
Breads, Biscuits & Pie Day – Saturday, June 15, 2013
Carry on with the journey or just jump in for a day of hands-on baking secrets! There are few things more satisfying in life than taking a warm loaf of yeast-risen bread made from your own hands out of the oven. Using simple ingredients, you will learn the steps of mixing, kneading, and shaping to create your own fresh-baked rolls, loaves, pizzas, coffeecakes, and more using the Grandmother Bread recipe. With your own experience and individual guidance, you will leave this workshop with the knowledge and skill to make homemade bread a part of your daily life. Say goodbye to store-bought bread! We’ll work with whole grains also and even bake bread with whey fresh from the cheesemaking workshop. You’ll say goodbye to canned biscuits (yuck!) or frozen pies, too, because we’ll have a biscuit-making session followed by a pie-making workshop. Leave with the skill to make your own biscuits from scratch and the secrets of tender, flaky pie crust that never fails. Your family will love you for this one!
Cost
Write your own ticket! The Cheese, Family Cow, and Milk Soap Day, the Baking Day, or both. The Cheese, Family Cow, and Milk Soap Day is $90 per person. The baking day is $50 per person. If you choose both days, the total is $140.
How do you sign up?
Email me at CITRevents@yahoo.com and tell me what you want to sign up for (Cheese, Family Cow, and Milk Soap day, the Baking day, or both. I will need the full name, address, and phone number for each attendee. (You may sign up for a friend if you are coming together.) I will send you payment information at that time. Directions to the farm and other information will also be provided to attendees in advance of the retreat.
A 50 percent downpayment will be required to reserve your place. The remaining balance will be due by May 15. If you sign up, please plan to attend. Retreat reservations are nonrefundable.
Not only does offering retreats in this way at Sassafras Farm enable me to provide a higher quality and more in-depth experience, it also allows the full atmosphere of the farm to become part of the experience. The Cheese, Family Cow, and Milk Soap day includes hands-on work with animals as part of the event, but every workshop at every retreat at the farm will include multiple opportunities throughout the day for attendees to visit with the animals, feed a goat a cookie, pet the horses, and join in farm chores if you choose–collecting eggs, milking Glory Bee, tossing hay, cleaning out the chicken house…. Did I sneak that last one in on you?
Evenings will provide casual time to enjoy a bonfire after supper. This is a real retreat to a farm, and I’m committed to making it an awesome experience for each person who is here. I will be welcoming each attendee not just to the studio and the farm but to my home.
Glory Bee’s waiting for you!
Let the adventure begin! See you at the farm!
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Nov
5
This past Saturday’s workshop in the studio was everything for which the studio was created. I had 10 people, 9 regular attendees plus the editor of Savor! West Virginia magazine. Ten is a good number and 12 would be the max I would allow for this type of workshop, which took place fully inside the studio, to keep the space comfortable and allow enough personal attention to each attendee. It was a good experience and opportunity for me to feel the space, scheduling, and attention for attendees. I’ve had a few smaller workshops since the studio was finished, mostly reward workshops with Kickstarter backers, but this was the first “real” workshop with paid attendees and close to the maximum number.
What I prefer about a workshop like this, in the studio (as compared to a big retreat), is the complete control I have over the attendees’ experience–the facility, the food, and the workshop itself. I must be a control freak! It’s so wonderful to have a workshop here at the farm as opposed to an outside facility, and it’s also so important to me to be able to prepare all the food myself, from scratch. It’s also a lot easier not to have to haul equipment and supplies somewhere else. The atmosphere is more relaxed, allowing me to talk to every attendee, expand workshops to include additional information because I have the time to go over more sub-topics within a theme, go off on tangents as guided by attendees’ questions, and provide the kind of personal attention to detail that just isn’t possible in the more hectic pace of a big retreat–where I feel like I’m always running. This is my dream of how I want to teach.
I had a fantastic group of attendees–Louse, Karin, Sally, Teri, Luann, Margarita, Aida, Margie, Sarah, and Mary. Some were from right here in Roane County. Some were from other parts of West Virginia, and some were from as far away as Alabama and Illinois.
We started the day with breakfast–an egg and sausage casserole with pecan pie muffins and fresh fruit. Originally, I was planning apple butter muffins, but squeegee1 had just posted this pecan pie muffins recipe on Farm Bell Recipes and I was captivated. I had to try it. It is delicious! I highly recommend this recipe. (I quadrupled the recipe to make 3 dozen muffins.) We all sat down to breakfast and there were so many questions! Which I loved! I got to talk and talk. After breakfast, we started queso fresco, a fresh cheese (not aged) that is put in the press. While the curds were setting, I led the group on a farm tour to the barn where they visited with all the animals and passed out cookies. I wrangled Glory Bee and brought her into the milking parlor to show everybody how that works, then brought her out to the alleyway for petting. Glory Bee was mostly well-behaved. She is always a little nervous around strangers, whether it’s one or ten, but she let everyone give her a scratch. If she had been in milk, I would have had everyone take a turn milking. (Next time!)
Back in the studio, I scooped out some curds to pass around in a little bowl for everyone to feel and we finished up the queso fresco to get it in the press. Then, everyone made mozzarella! Mozzarella-making is a lot of fun, very hands-on, and I love to see people make curds for the first time. By this point, it was time for lunch. I had made individual pizza crusts in advance for each attendee, so everyone fixed their own pizza with their own fresh-made cheese and their choices of toppings and I put them in the oven on pizza screens.
After lunch, we started soap.
While the soap was cooking, there was time to play with fragrances and choose additives. We had a break for dessert. I had made two apple-pecan-raisin pies.
There was homemade vanilla bean ice cream to go with it. Then we took a house tour, and by then the soap was ready to go in the molds for take-home.
Unfortunately, I didn’t take a lot of photos. I was very focused on the attendees. I need to learn to multi-task, at least enough to use my camera! At the end of the day, Mary from Savor! West Virginia magazine rounded everyone up for pictures.
It’s a quarterly magazine and the winter issue is about to go to press. There will be some photos from the day in the winter issue, then a full article will appear in the spring issue. I can’t wait to see it!
We took the queso fresco out of the press and everyone got a taste–and a wedge to take with them, along with what was left of their mozzarella plus their take-home mold of their soap.
For me, it was a wonderful day, and I hope it was for everyone who was here, too. It was the kind of day the studio was made for, and I hope there will be many more just like it!
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Jun
29
Meet Mr. Health Inspector!
Photos taken today in the finished studio:
The inspector from the health department, inspecting:
He said my kitchen was perfect other than a couple of non-critical issues, so he filled out the paperwork and my permit will arrive in the mail in a few weeks! Meanwhile, he will be back next week to check up on me to make sure I fix the non-critical violations. (For example, the shelves have to be painted. Stuff like that. Guess what I’m doing this weekend?) He was pleased. I was pleased. I’m official!
In other news, hard to believe, but I am still working to send out photo reward orders. Let me explain, so you don’t think I’m just lazy. I sent out 15 yesterday, and 10 today, so I am working on them. Each order has to be placed online through my photo gallery on Smugmug. I’ve contributed to a number of Kickstarter projects myself, and I notice without fail that they send out the orders with a note thanking the herd of friends and family who helped them send out the rewards. In most cases, the rewards are all the same thing, and they have a big envelope-stuffing party. In my case, the rewards are all different–the photos are individually selected by each contributor, and in turn I have to individually select them online. Because each order is placed and paid for online, I have to do them all myself. (I love my family and friends, but I would feel uncomfortable dispersing my debit card information to a herd of people.) Out of over 400 photo reward orders, I’m down to the last 50. It takes about an hour to do half a dozen orders. Every time I can put together a couple of hours, I sit down and place orders. I won’t stop until I’ve finished the last one. Needless to say, I might have bitten off more than I can chew with the way I set up the rewards, but if you’ll bear with me, I’ll get there. (This could have been simplified by giving everyone the same photo, ordering in bulk, and then being able to have an envelope-stuffing party. Only someone who belongs in an insane asylum–me–would have set it up this way, but I hope the wait is worth it for the benefit of being able to individually select the photos. I do apologize for how long it’s taking to finish!)
The Kickstarter backers poster on the studio wall:
You can also find the backers Wall of Honor list on my website here.
Thank you so much to all of you who helped make this happen!
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Jun
20
Come see my etchings! (Ha.) Let me show you the art on the studio walls!
Below is a full gallery of photos showing all the murals painted on the studio walls in the past several days by artist Kelly Walker and her assistant Linda. I took some pull-back shots to give you the big picture then a number of photos to let you see the details of the many vignettes within the murals. There is so much to see, I still look and find new things. I could sit and stare at the walls for hours. I’ll say a little bit about the art here, then I’m going to let the art speak for itself.
Before Kelly came, she asked me–a couple of times–what I wanted. I refused to give her very much direction. Kelly is an amazing artist. I didn’t want to interfere with her magic–the best art is created with freedom. I knew if I left her to her own devices, she would come up with a far better plan than I could ever imagine. I asked for “The Studio at Sassafras Farm” to be lettered over the glass doors, pointed to which walls were available for art–and left it at that. And oh, did she make magic!
Kelly’s idea for the walls was to extend the glass doors that wrap around the main part of the studio by painting mural glass doors on the walls to either side of them–bringing the scenes hidden beyond the walls into the studio. To the right of the last set of glass doors is the barnyard, so she extended that view to include the barnyard.
To the left of the last set of glass doors, there is the garden–a huge hydrangea bush–and above that, fruit trees and the upper pasture, so she brought those scenes to life there.
Within those larger scenes are numerous smaller scenes of the animals and objects on the farm, such as the bird house. When she painted the fruit trees I’d planted, I asked her to paint them larger, with fruit on them! (In my dreams.) All of the animals in the murals are my animals, and as many of them were included as possible. I love Patriot’s bottom sticking out of the outdoor access stall. I love my blue goose in the yard. I love the Crooked Little Hen–who appears in more than one spot, which is JUST SO LIKE HER. (She’s such a busybody, she’s everywhere.) I love Casper and his feline sidekick Spice. I love my cat Maude over the TV. I love Mr. Pibb gazing up so pleadingly, as if asking for a cookie. I love the chicken over the towel dispenser in the bathroom. (Yes, they even went into the bathroom.) I love my Glory Bee over the door. But then, I could go on and on, because I love it all and can’t choose a favorite.
Kelly’s process begins with taking photographs of the animals. She prints them out and tapes them to the wall, using them for inspiration in recreating specific animals in the paintings. She outlines them on the wall then sets to work. I can’t say much more about her process than that. (I’m no artist!)
Note how the art goes right over outlets, light switches, a breaker box, wall trim, even cords (for semi-permanent objects, such as the window air conditioner), making them disappear into the art.
Thank you so much to Kelly and Linda for breathing vibrant life into the studio walls, transforming the studio into a light, bright, happy, and creative space–a setting just perfect for the creative workshops that will take place there.
See more of Kelly Walker’s art (and check out her blog posts of her visit to Sassafras Farm) here:
Kelly Walker
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May
25
Yesterday, I had my first company in the Studio at Sassafras Farm! It was an absolutely wonderful day.
Our day: Pat and John from North Carolina, Kickstarter backers, arrived around 10 a.m. The studio is not quite finished yet, so I spent the preceding couple of days laying in supplies and setting up to make-do. I still don’t have a couple of crucial items to make cooking and teaching in the studio more convenient, including my stainless steel worktables–but we managed! The first thing I did was burn the sausage before they arrived. I haven’t used these stoves before so I wasn’t being quite adept at adjusting the heat PLUS I left the sausage alone for a few minutes while I went back to the house to do something. When I came back, the sausage was burned. I gave it to the dogs and started over. Luckily, I had more sausage. And also luckily, that was the last of my kitchen trouble. For our brunch, we had French omelets (Julia Child-style), sausage, fruit, blueberry muffins, and Grandmother Bread with blueberry-lime jam and some Beulah Petunia butter from my freezer stash. I had roses, rosemary, hydrangea, and lamb’s ear in a quart jar on the table. It was quite lovely!
But, before we ate, they were ready to tour the farm. I took them through the house and out to the barn and the fields. Everybody got petted. Pat collected eggs. Here’s Pat and Chloe checking out the cows, who were napping by the creek and didn’t come up to say hello.
Back in the studio, we had brunch. I made some fresh croutons for our salad later and popped those in the oven while we had a breadbaking workshop. Dinner was going to be pizza, so we made our doughs and set them to rise while we took off for a little drive down the backroads. We stopped at the slanted little house, where I lived for two and a half years when I first moved to West Virginia, and visited with my cousin’s wife, Sheryl, and Georgia. Then we drove to Stringtown and toured around there. By the time we got back to Sassafras Farm, Morgan was off the bus and she had a little fun with my camera while waiting for us to show up.
Beautiful dork. That’s what happens when I leave my camera behind.
For dinner, we had Swiss, bacon, mushroom, and onion pizza with salad, and there were enough desserts to serve a small army. Pat and John brought some delicious desserts with them, too, including an awesome chocolate sauce and ice cream. (She has promised me the recipe! Morgan LOVED it.) We ate dinner in the perfect, cool evening air on the studio decks overlooking the pastures. The chickens provided redneck entertainment when we tossed them pieces of pizza crust, one chicken grabbing the piece and running with ten more chickens in chase. We had shut the front gates and let the horses down from the pasture, so they were grazing about the studio and gracing us with their magical presence. It was truly a sweet day. I had more planned for the day than could be fit into the day and we skipped some activities, so I’ll have to remember that in the future. Don’t overplan, Suzanne! People want time to sit down and just enjoy the farm.
Morning after in the studio…. Time to clean up!
By now you’re either wondering what the title of this post is about or you’ve forgotten about it entirely, but back to the sinks! If you’re planning a remodel to your kitchen, or even just dreaming about it, here’s an idea for you. My sink setup in the studio came about due to the requirement of a three-bowl sink for health department approval. (The three-bowl sink is for dishwashing purposes–washing, rinsing, sanitizing–separate sinks for each. You must also have a handwashing sink and a mop sink–those are located in the studio bathroom.) Last year, BuckeyeGirl had generously donated a three-bowl sink for my workshop kitchen. It had been disposed of during a restaurant remodel.
Unfortunately, when the inspector took a look at the sink, he nixed it. While it does have three bowls, the middle bowl is smaller, too small, and it doesn’t meet health department requirements for a three-bowl sink. (With BuckeyeGirl’s permission, I’m passing the sink on to CindyP, who will be using it as a garden sink, so it won’t go to waste! I’ve got it stashed in one of the stalls in the barn for now.)
You can see the three-bowl sink in this photo–notice the smaller middle bowl.
Three-bowl sinks are expensive, usually running $1000 or MORE. Yikes. But they’re required. Fortunately, I discovered upon discussing the sink situation with the inspector that the three bowls DO NOT HAVE TO BE ATTACHED. They just have to be placed fairly close together. Wow. That was like the sky opening up. With approval from the inspector, I bought a new, deep two-bowl sink (for around $269) and a huge, deep one-bowl sink (around $159) and placed them together. (Sinks purchased at Lowe’s.) For under $500, I had a three-bowl sink.
These fantastic faucets have pull-out sprayers. I love them.
Between the deep, deep sinks and the tall, tall faucets with pull-out sprayers, I will easily handle large pots for cheesemaking and canning. (The faucets were around $129. Also from Lowe’s.)
Yesterday evening when Morgan and I were together at the sinks in the studio, both of us running water and working at the sinks, it felt amazing. In the house, we’re often nudging each other out of the way when we both want to get to the sink. An additional benefit to having the two-bowl and the one-bowl over a standard three-bowl is that you have TWO FAUCETS.
It’s not too unusual for people to add an extra small sink in a home kitchen, but if you’re thinking of something like this for a remodel in your kitchen, or are building a new house and planning a kitchen–if you have the space, and especially if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen and/or have a big family, think about a second LARGE one-bowl sink. It is wonderful! The one-bowl sink is actually sold as a laundry/utility sink. It is an oversized and very deep sink–perfect for huge pots.
I love the deep two-bowl sink so much I’m planning to replace the awful sink in the house with one just like it. The faucet in the house is also terrible. While I can’t do a kitchen remodel right now, I’ll be happy to just replace the sink and faucet. (No room in the house kitchen for an additional one-bowl sink, of course!)
But if you have room for a sink setup like this, you won’t regret it!
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May
23
How gorgeous is that? This painting was created by artist Kelly Walker from a photograph of Patriot and Zip, my two rescue horses. This painting will be made into a print for the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue benefit at my studio grand opening party on June 16.
You can get more details about the party here (you’re invited!), but even if you can’t come to the party, you can participate. Every individual or family who donates at least $25 or more to the Heart of Phoenix for this event will receive a print, suitable for framing, of the above art. Attendees at the party can take their print home that day. If you can’t attend the party, your print will be shipped to you. ALSO, every person who makes a $25 donation to the Heart of Phoenix for this event will be entered in a drawing for a custom pet (pets, farm animals, etc) portrait by Kelly Walker. (THAT is an amazing prize. But even if you don’t win, you will still receive the print.)
Checks should be addressed to: Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue.
Envelopes should be addressed to: Chickens in the Road, P.O. Box 858, Clendenin, WV 25045.
Coming to the party? Register here.
Find out more about the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue here. HOP is a 501(c)3 charitable organization and your donations are tax-deductible.
See you at the party (or in the mail)! The grand opening party is my first charity event–and my very first event, period–for the studio. Please help me make it a big success for HOP and the horses!
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May
12
I was going to wait until Monday, but I’ve got everything ironed out, so I’m posting today! (See, sometimes I reveal a surprise late, but sometimes I’m early!) The studio project is winding down, and everything should be completely finished in the next few weeks. By or before the day I receive my health department permit, I promise to have every last Kickstarter photo reward out, so if you haven’t received yours yet, hang tight, we’re near the end! Meanwhile, I’m already planning my first event–a grand opening party with a benefit for the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue.
When: Saturday, June 16, 2012, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Sassafras Farm, Roane County, West Virginia.
How: This is a free event, but you must register to attend and receive all the info for attendees, including directions to Sassafras Farm. Please do not attend without registering–I need to know how many people to expect. Find the grand opening party registration form here.
You’re invited! I will be hosting a cook-out with hamburgers, hot dogs, and all the fixings, plus chips, cookies, ice cream, and beverages. This is not a potluck–you don’t have to bring a thing. This is a thank-you party for all of you who have helped make the studio happen, whether it was by being a Kickstarter backer or by your support and encouragement along the way. The party will also be a fundraiser for the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, as my way of starting to pay back by giving on.
Along with the free food, during the party there will be art demonstrations by Kelly Walker, who will be at Sassafras Farm that weekend painting in the studio. (Remember Kelly’s amazing murals at Stringtown Rising? She’s coming to bring her gorgeous touch to the studio now.) Watch Kelly transform the studio walls right in front of your eyes and find out more about her process in creating her incredible art.
Tinia Creamer from the Heart of Phoenix will also be here giving a basic horsemanship clinic. If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a horse of your own, or just love to be around horses, come learn more about what it’s like to bring one of these magical creatures into your life and all about their basic care, tack, etc. Tinia will also be here to talk about horse rescue. Don’t miss the chance to meet this amazing and big-hearted horse expert.
THE PARTY IS A FREE EVENT. Donations to the Heart of Phoenix are suggested, but not required, for attendance. Along with the art and horsemanship demonstrations, enjoy the Sassafras Farm petting zoo, tour the farm, hike a nature trail, or just kick back with a plate of food.
But! I think you’ll want to donate! Every person who makes a $25 donation to the Heart of Phoenix for this event will be entered in a drawing for a custom pet portrait by Kelly Walker. You can enter more than once to the drawing–for example, a $50 donation will give you two chances in the drawing, a $100 donation will be four chances, and so on. The drawing will be held live during the party. Donor names will be on slips of paper and Tinia will draw from the bucket for the winner. (Note: The custom painting is for a pet portrait only, not a people or landscape portrait. The winner will send photographs of their pet or farm animal and work directly with Kelly as she creates their one-of-a-kind work of art. If you have no pets or farm animals, I’m sure Kelly would be happy to paint one of the Sassafras Farm critters for you from a selected photograph!) The painting will be a 6″x8″ framed canvas, or a 12″x12″ unframed canvas–ready for you to frame, your choice, and is valued at $150.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! You can enter the drawing for the pet portrait even if you can’t attend the party. If you plan to attend the party, feel free to bring your donation directly to the party–we’ll fill out your slip and get your name in the drawing bucket. If you can’t attend the party, mail a check addressed to the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue, in an envelope addressed to Chickens in the Road, at P.O. Box 858, Clendenin, WV 25045. Checks must arrive no later than Friday, June 15, 2012 in order to get your name in the bucket. (I’m not responsible for entries that arrive too late for the drawing! I can’t control the mail. Put your envelope in the mail early!)
Important!
Remember!
Checks should be addressed to: Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue.
Envelopes should be addressed to: Chickens in the Road, P.O. Box 858, Clendenin, WV 25045.
Coming to the party? Register here.
The checks will be collected by me to tally the total raised by this event and will be presented to Tinia Creamer at the party. One hundred percent of the donations from this fundraiser will go to HOP. All expenses for the party are being carried by Chickens in the Road. After the event, I will post how much we raised to help save neglected, abused, and starved horses. Let’s do it!
BUT WAIT, THERE’S STILL MORE! Every individual or family who donates at least $25 or more to the Heart of Phoenix for this event will receive one print, suitable for framing, of a painting that Kelly is working on now of this photograph of Patriot and Zip, my two rescue horses saved from starvation by the good work of Tinia and HOP.
Even if you don’t win the pet portrait, you will still receive the print. Prints for every donor are being provided by Kelly Walker. Attendees at the party can take their print home that day. If you can’t attend the party, your print will be shipped to you.
Please note that to receive the print and to be entered for the custom pet portrait, you must donate at least $25 to HOP for this event, in person on June 16, 2012, or arriving via mail by June 15, 2012. Again, donation to HOP is not required to attend the grand opening party, but you’ll miss out on receiving the print of Patriot and Zip as well as the chance to win the pet portrait. You can still enjoy the free food, petting zoo, nature trails, farm tour, and art and horsemanship demonstrations.
Check out the Heart of Phoenix Equine Rescue here. HOP is a 501(c)3 charitable organization and your donations are tax-deductible.
Visit Kelly Walker here and see some examples of her beautiful work.
Please come out and celebrate the studio’s grand opening with me! Don’t forget to register if you plan to attend. Find the grand opening party registration form here.
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Posted by Suzanne McMinn |
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