Off and Running

I am beginning a Journey. One that I hope will help me find direction and meaning in my life. For years I have been working full-time and doing art, designs, and murals "on the side". I am both an artist and a Designer but I have a real passion for large-scale exterior mural painting. I have painted murals around the United States and Canada so far, and would like to expand my horizons in that area of my life. In order to do that I will need to build a LARGE studio. So, I am calling my blog and business venture, Studio in the Sky. I figure if I am going to build on a dream, I might as well have my head in the clouds!

In order to build my Studio in the Sky, I will first need a place to return to and be able to call home.

For the last few years I have been on the move. In the Fall of 2006, I accepted a new job and relocated to Vermont. After nearly two years of working, living, and touring New England, I decided it was time to return to Wisconsin.

I have now accepted a new position and am living and working in Oak Creek, WI, just South of Milwaukee. After living in an apartment for a good part of the last year, I decided renting was just not working out for me. I need a home base that I can build an Identity and network out of. I found that it is very difficult to build a network and business if I am moving and not really established. So first comes the home.

For the last few weeks, I have been learning how to shop for houses. I think I have seen most of the wrecks in Milwaukee County. I have also been tempted to make an off on a house that was at the outer fringes of my budget. Not willing to stretch the purse strings too much, I started looking at the problem from different angles. Because the taxes were very high in Milwaukee County, and most of the houses in my budget were not worth buying, I turned my search to the South. Taxes and house prices in Racine County were more in line with reality so I went looking there.

Last week I found a nice house on the North side of Racine and put an offer in on it.....Here is what the little place looks like.....So far!

In the coming weeks I will be traveling to Pontiac, Il to add another mural to my portfolio and one of 16 being painted there in 4 days. I will hopefully bring back photos to post here from the event. I will also be trying to close on the house and start my path to building a Studio in the Sky!