In 1988 my parents gifted me with a lot on Camano Island, WA. I dreamed of building an art studio there that would share the beauty of Camano Island with the world. Ten years later, in 2008, I had the lot cleared, graded, and planted with grass. But it wasn’t until the summer of 2010 that I got a clear picture of what I wanted the studio to look like. Here is that story.
That summer our family spent a couple of weeks on Camano Island as part of a 3 month sabbatical I had been granted. One day Jenny and I were driving on west Camano Drive. A house that was for sale caught my eye.
The “Manaco Beach Home” was a 2 bedroom, 1 ¾ bath home with a sunny kitchen on the first floor and vaulted ceiling on the second floor. What caught my eye was the modern lines, the feel of a beach home, and the thought that a version of this would make a perfect studio.
It turned out the builder of the home was an old friend from Stanwood high school, Jim Spane. Jim had graduated a couple of years after me. His company, Spanebuildings www.spanebuildings.com, specializes in building high quality pole buildings, barns, and homes.
I contacted Jim. He came out to my property and I shared the vision of the studio. Jim worked with me to design a Studio/apartment and everything was ready to go.
But I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger. My hesitation lasted for almost 5 years.
Then in the spring of 2014, I contacted Jim and told him I was “close” to being ready to move forward on my project, that I was spending the month of July on Camano, and I wanted to start moving the project forward. While I was on the Island, I visited Jim at his office. We toured one of his buildings. I was impressed with his work and felt even more excited about my project!.
At that point the only thing stopping me was my fear. I had the highest confidence in Jim. I had a beautiful building design that I was excited about. I had thought long about the Studio’s mission, and had a plan to carry it out. But I was still too scared to pull the trigger.
Then in January of 2015 my mom was diagnosed with cancer. That was a game changer for me. I realized that I was either going to go for it or not. I pulled the trigger. That is another story.
Then in January of 2015 my mom was diagnosed with cancer. That was a game changer for me. I pulled the trigger. But that is another story.