We’ve been working on the idea of Midheaven since the fall of 2020, and first conceived of it when we got married in 1996. It wasn’t until 2020 that I had the mental health and emotional capacity to handle even small projects. Simple things like removing childhood wallpaper, placing down carpet tiles, putting the kitchen stove into a more usable location, and clearing out cluttered spaces were first.
Eventually, we began to work on more complicated projects like opening space in the kitchen, streamlining walls that had been layered over the years, and replacing plaster that had fallen down. This year, we started to do more involved work required to create the open and public spaces we’re envisioning.
Regardless of the project we do, everything is done with what we have available for material, time, and psychic energy. Most material is reclaimed from the property itself or procured from local sources less than 30 miles away. Transformation is ongoing, iterative, intimate, emotional, and sometimes looks like a mess even if it’s a gloriously transitional one.
The primary project areas are:
- Hen house (pictured above) will be used as a public performance space and larger artificing studio
- Loft and stables will be transformed into a recording/livestream studio above and wood, metal, and maker studios on the ground floor with accompanying shopfront
- Grounds (10+ private acres of woods and fields, plus a small pond) will include hiking/skiing trails, swimming, private 1-2 person cabins, and places for public concerts and drum circles
We will release more detailed plans as the work progresses. Most of what we’ve done so far has been weatherizing and cleaning out junk in order to begin the more complicated remodeling work.
In celebration of that transformative process, we have a gallery of our projects in all of their beautiful vulnerability. Each project has an estimation of completion of photos of various stages. As we continue, new photos will be added.
