The Rose House, Edmonds, Washington

THE ROSE HOUSE, 555 Main Street, Edmonds, WA


Here's an email I wrote to my cousin Patti this morning. I wanted to share the same information here on my blog.

Hi Patti,

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. It has been a very busy time for me. I'm the featured artist at The Rose House, 555 Main Street, in the Edmonds Art Walk on Thursday night between 5 and 8 pm. Now that Betsy is nearly grown up and is so much more independent, I have found some time to start making my own pottery tiles and incorporate them into mosaic works. I still have a couple of pieces to get grouted for tomorrow night's Art Walk, though!

You are probably out of town now, but if you get a chance, stop by The Rose House any Saturday between 9 am and 3 pm. This is the big Victorian home at 6th & Main that used to be pink and then was repainted white about 10 years ago. There are Art & Wellness Fairs happening there each Saturday, and you can go into the house and enjoy the artwork of about 14 different artists. There will also be a few more artists selling their work outside and a garage sale going on in the back yard each Saturday.

There is a story that goes with the house. It is owned by a local company that was planning to tear it down or give it away so they could build a corporate headquarters on the lot. One of the blessings of the recession is that this isn't going to happen. The house is back on the market, and a nonprofit has been formed to try to buy the house before somebody else does and make it into a community center for the arts, wellness, sustainability and global understanding. I'm very involved in this effort. For the time being, the house is being rented month-to-month by Susan Blalock, the president of the nonprofit. She's working with major donors to try to come up with a down payment, as well as raising awareness and small donations so we can keep paying the rent until something bigger comes through.

I hope you'll get a chance to stop by the house...I'll be there this Thursday night and all day each Saturday for the foreseeable future (I'm in charge of the charity garage sale!). It's an elegant place that will be a perfect venue for lots of other nonprofits to use for their fundraising as well, plus it's a great space for all sorts of classes, lectures, cooking demonstrations, etc. Upstairs there are beautiful bedroom suites that could be used for artists in residence or to offer respite for health caretakers.

When I first heard about the multiplicity of goals that the nonprofit has for The Rose House, it all sounded kind of "whoo-whoo" to me. But once I stepped inside the house for the first time, I got it. It's just too nice of a place for Edmonds to lose. So many people have told me that they wish they could buy the house, but it's too expensive (currently priced at $1.1 million, I think). So the idea is to buy the house and make it a place that everyone in the community can use and enjoy. Oh my gosh! Did I mention the gardens, the green house, the gazebo, and the decks? Gorgeous!

So, anyway, I would love to get together with you when you're back home. You know where to find me on Saturdays so stop by, or give me a call and we'll meet some other day.

Love,

Sue