“I bought an old school! Now what do I do…………..”

Pinch me…… Am I dreaming? A couple of weeks ago an opportunity of a life time became possible. Ever since I was a little girl I have always had a vision that I would someday own my own schoolhouse. In my dream, this house would be a place for me to create as well as teach art. I saw myself everyday in a “creative bliss”.

Two weeks ago, on my way to volunteer at the Afton Museum I saw a “For Sale” sign outside of a cute little brick house across the street from the town park. I thought what a cute little studio that house would make. Little did I know……?

When I got to the museum I was telling Pam, the Museum Curator, about it and she said…. “Oh, you mean the “Old School!” … Wow, my head began to spin. Could it be that this cute little brick house, the old Afton School, was for sale!

Well, the beginning of this story did not go well. My partner, Mark, was out of town and so was my Realtor friend Tammy, so I wasn’t able to see it or do much about it until they returned the following week…. I mean what could go wrong in a week! .... Famous last words! An offer was made and accepted and it wasn’t mine!!!

across the street from the park

I was devastated…. How could that be! That school was meant for me….. I was terribly disappointed. I couldn’t believe it! In fact, you remember that blog I recently wrote about missed opportunities… The loss of that old school was the inspiration for that blog post….

looking from back to front

The back yard

But, that wasn’t the end of my story. No way was I going to let this go! I believed in my heart, that school was meant for me! The following Wednesday, at the museum, while telling my friend Sara about the “Old School”, she said “the school didn’t sell! The person buying it is going to back out.” 

I couldn’t wait to get home and tell Mark and Tammy.  And Yes indeed... the woman had changed her mind. All we needed to do was wait until the other buyer signed the necessary papers and my offer could be submitted! ….

The morning of February 14 "Valentine's Day" began with me racing over to Tammy’s to sign papers… AND, they accepted my offer! Afton’s Old School is now mine…..

I’m so excited I can barely breathe! I’m suppose to close, Feb 29, which is kind of cool because this is the “Leap Year” but I have the option to close earlier, which we will do. Possibly, yet this week. The school needs some renovations. In the 1960's it was remodeled and used as a home. It now contains two floors and a finished attic. But thankfully, it still has much of the original architecture!

From this moment on we will be keep journals, blogs and photos of our progress, as we renovate the “new/old school” into a fabulous art studio.

To do this I have created a web site. Please become a ‘fan’ or ‘like us’ and you can join in the fun. Simply click www.katesullivanstudio.com for more information…

And, as Always,

Keep Creating!

-Kate