Work Update! (with pictures!)

Just a little update for our followers!  We have started working on the building we bought in Baker City, OR.  We have got a lot done, and we have had some help from some great people!  Here's a little bit of what we have been working on.  The primary siding of the building is synthetic stone, the secondary siding is cast iron.  So this has been just a bit messy!

You can see in this picture where the stone has been removed from the corner of the building.  This is a cast iron post that has been covered by the stone siding.

We're working on the inside too.  We will try to keep posting updated pictures as we go.

Another dumpster full!

A couple of our volunteers that we're VERY grateful for!

More help :)

We also found some interesting pieces while working.  There is so much history in this building! The next picture is a display we had at the Last Chance Dance of some of the good stuff we found.

We want to give a special shout out to our help.  We are very thankful for our volunteers, they have helped so much! So THANK YOU to Corrine, Brian, Barbara, Jeff, Ann, Daniel, Suzanne, Gary, and Robert! Thank you all so much for everything you are doing!

Exciting News!

In case you haven't heard, we bought a building! We are currently working on having a brick and mortar store in Baker City, Oregon. The building is located on the corner of Main Street and Court Avenue in historic downtown. There is a lot of work to be done. The building will be completely renovated, and there will be spaces available for lease in a couple years. We will still be traveling, helping artists, and posting more updates on social media and our blog.

In the meantime, we are working on getting the building ready for the Parade of Lights on December 7th. This building has a lot of history. It is known as the Kennedy Building on the Historical Marker Database, but has also been known as the Shangrila and Arlington Hotel, among others. There is a stainless steel dance floor in the building from when it was the Shangrila, and we have heard from several people it was one of THE places to go. We will be featuring that dance floor when we host a "Last Chance Dance" following the parade and lighting. This will be an opportunity for people to get a peek at what we're doing, and a chance to take a little bit of history home. We will have pieces of some of the dance floor available to purchase. The pieces are close to the size of a coaster, and could possibly be used as a Christmas ornament or a souvenir. The steel is available for purchase for $15, and can be used as a dance pass.  This piece will also be etched. If you aren't wanting the souvenir, you can come dance the night away (we mean midnight) for $5.

After the dance and Parade weekend, we will be working on renovating. We are hoping to have the store operational by May 2020.

ICYMI: We're off to NWWRF!

NWWRF is finally here, and it starts tomorrow! If you missed it, here's us hitting the road with the bus and the animals! We are super stoked, and have been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time. If you like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, you're not going to miss anything!

Work in Progress: Part 1

It's been a few weeks since the fun, multiple day journey from northern Idaho to home with our new-to-us vintage bus. If you missed the blog about that delightful trip, be sure to check out our blog archive! Also in that blog, there are pictures of the interior. As much as we love the outside of the bus, the inside reminds us a little too much of permanent waves, plastic covered couches, and bell bottoms (and not in a good way).

We've been working on basically gutting the bus to remodel the interior. We've been removing parts of the inside, because we think a find like this bus deserves a second life. So far, we have removed the carpet, taken out the mattresses (Chappie doesn't get dibs any more), and the couch is out. We did find a little bit of rot behind the couch. While that is a bummer, we're still extremely pleased with the bus and its potential. Considering the other vintage vehicles we were looking at and the condition they were in, we still think we made the right choice.

Carpet's out!

Chappie thought he had dibs on the beds, but now he's going to have to sleep on the floor!

This is where the couch was

And hopefully, it won't be too much of an issue :/

Since we are going to be taking this on the road and need to be able to transport our art, we need to be able to tow a trailer. We've taken off the bumper so we can add a trailer hitch. The bumper was also a bit crooked, but now it's looking better. So that we can be ready for the Reggae Festival next month, we are going to go with a receiver hitch. It's not quite as exciting as taking out the guts of the bus, but one of the nice things about older vehicles is that they are a bit more owner friendly than new vehicles.

Digging around in the rear...of the bus

Bumper's off so we can re-mount it, hopefully straight this time

New receiver :D

Be sure to keep checking back as we make progress. We are looking forward to having a bus that's inhabitable and ready to be on the road. We're also pretty stoked about the process. We're hoping to have enough of it done so we can use it for the festival, but it won't be completely done by then. You can come see us at the Northwest World Reggae Festival (NWWRF) July 27-29 in Oregon! Check out their website for more info www.nwwrf.com

Introducing: Shaun Galbraith

We've added another artist to the caravan! Shaun was raised, educated, and currently resides in Idaho. In his spare time, he also sings, plays guitar, and writes songs. He also has interest in the culinary arts.

Shaun's pieces are his original pen drawings. There are no prints. He has worked on developing his unique style over fifteen years. When describing his process, he continues to add and enhance his pieces until he is satisfied. Even if it starts to go off the rails a little, he perseveres, continuing rather than throwing it out to start over.

Shaun and "Tree of Tribe"

His pieces are available in our store, at www.artroamers.com. While you're there, be sure to check out the art pieces available from our other artists!

Want more information about representation? Contact us on Facebook or Instagram @artroamers or comment on this blog!

We'll be doing monthly artist highlights, so stay tuned for a more in-depth piece about Shaun in the coming months. In June, we'll be highlighting Kylee, our resident glass artist.

We Bought a Bus

For the last couple of months or so, we have been toying with the idea of getting a vehicle for our trips. We weren't 100% sure if we wanted to find a vintage cab-over or a motor home to make road accommodations easier. After spending time browsing Craigslist, we would call to find out the vehicle had been sold. Or we would drive to look at it, to find that the condition of the vehicle didn't match the price. We finally found a possible prospect in northern Idaho.

Susan and Jeff drove up to Hayden, which is just north of Coeur d'Alene last Tuesday. They were there to look at a 1962 GMC Private Coach. The seller hadn't used it in quite some time, it had been sitting in storage for ten years, and it would still run (bonus!). Before hitting the road, there were some items that needed to be taken care of right away. As you can imagine, having a bus sit for ten years, the tires weren't really road worthy any more. On Wednesday, we hit up Les Schwab, and they had three tires in stock. We waited another day for them to get the other three in. There were some electrical components that were a little less reliable than we would have liked, but some fuses and wiring would get that squared away. Chappie wriggled his way out of the back window of the truck, so we had the pleasure of chasing him down. The bus was also full of dead hornets. Those got vacuumed up before hitting the road too. That would have been way less fun if they had still been alive.

Before we took it

Yumm-o

 On Thursday, we were on the road. We had to make a stop in Kellogg, at another Les Schwab, to have the tires tightened. For something like this, we definitely didn't want to take a chance having something go terribly wrong. Just down the highway, we stopped in Wallace when the electrical started to act up again. Without the gauges working, we would have been taking a bit risk of blowing the engine. After checking more fuses and wiring, we called it a night.

At the Les Schwab in Kellogg with the new tires :)

Friday morning, we got up and hit the road again. Friday was much less eventful. We made a stop in Missoula to have the radiator blown out, and then were on our way again. We made our pit stops throughout the day without having any more real issues. The weather in Pocatello was terrible with thunderstorms, wind, pouring rain, and flash flood warnings, but we got through it. We were able to make it all the way home, which made for a very long day (about 13 hours). As you can imagine, when we pulled into the driveway, we were so relieved to be home. The icing on the cake was realizing the power at home was out.

At the Idaho-Montana border on I-90

 Here are some pictures of what the bus looks like now. We have found that it appears to be a custom build (as many motor homes this age would have been). The outside is in pretty decent shape, but the inside, while it isn't horrible, is very dated. There has been a little bit of leaking where the seals have given up. It has an air conditioner and a solar panel, but they may not be the most efficient models available any more. We are looking forward to making the inside more comfortable for us when we go on the road.

Velvet, for your comfort

Chappie calls dibs on this room

Harley will just sleep on the couch then

Basically the

Same amenities as

home...wait...I'll need new glasses to watch this TV

AC!

Pretty good chunk of lichen we got here

Solar panel

There's an awning too!

Some Minor Updates :)

If you follow us on Facebook you already know that the elephant, rhino, and giraffe sculptures have been sold. They will be at their new home soon, and the buyer is private, so we can't share much more than that. We are grateful for all of feedback we got from Art & Soul and from the Customer Appreciation day at First Federal in Rupert. It has been an absolute joy to share Samuel's artwork with you all.

Looking for the big cats? You can see them at Potter's Tea House right now! Potter's is at 917 North Main Street in Meridian, Idaho, and their hours are Monday-Friday 7 AM-8 PM, Saturday 9 AM-8 PM, and Sunday 10 AM-5 PM.

We do have an order coming from Samuel for small pieces. We are extremely excited about what he is sending us, and we'll have pictures to update you soon. We expect to be able to update you in a few more days.

Do you know what you are doing July 27-29 this summer? We know where we'll be! The Northwest World Reggae Festival just outside of Sandy, Oregon! We're a proud sponsor and vendor at this family friendly event. It is a three-day event with weekend and day passes available. There is also on-site camping if you want to join us. Check out their website to see the line-up, tickets, and more information for the event www.nwwrf.com. 

One more thing: we are on Instagram! Follow us on there for more pictures and to see what we're up to! @artroamers If you see our art, take a picture and tag us or use our hashtag, #artroamers