New House. New Home.

Something about the ox blood red of these walls drew me in from the first moment I walked into this house. They complement these beautiful acid green ostrich, feather fans that I constructed and dyed by hand. Each feather is vintage, from my collection of vintage feathers, that I occasionally turn into Burlesque Fans. This set is deeply personal for me, because I originally made it to go with my treasured Hedy Jo star costume. I know I haven’t really spoken much about the house that Jeremy and I just bought in Iowa. Maybe partly because I like to keep some things just for myself for a little while. There is a certain vulnerability in sharing everything all the time and sometimes I just have to wait for the right time to share. Let me tell you about this beautiful house, and why it grabbed our attention.

Obviously, as you can see the house lends itself to incredible photo shoots so that’s a plus right there. Beyond that, the house comes with a ridiculous amount of history! I will be divulging pieces of that history bit by bit. Again, there’s a certain amount of vulnerability in getting too personal, but the previous owner, who passed away about two months before we purchased the house, had a huge personality! She was not a famous person, at least not internationally famous.

She was quite the local celebrity, however.  She spent a lot of time singing on stage and raised a beautiful family in the process. I’m extremely fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to get to know her family through the purchase of this house. Oddly, her daughter and I had been chatting online since about 2016 and I had no idea that a month ago I would be buying the house that my Instagram buddy grew up in.  Thanks to my Instagram buddy, I know so much about the home, the owners of the last 50 years, and so much more about my new home and it’s wild history.

Upon first inspection, all of the rooms were brightly painted, bright lime, green, bright blues, and the hallway was intentionally painted red to mimic the look of a Mexican restaurant that this lovely woman frequented. It’s all cute and quirky and some of it’s laughable, but I find cute and quirky and laughable to be just might speed. The house is a 1930s Caribbean style original stucco house smack in the middle of Iowa. The fact that it was a Caribbean style house obviously warmed my heart. We love our home in Puerto Rico and it was incredible to find a Caribbean style 1930s home in Iowa. The list of previous owners, and the history of the land is unreal. Truly remarkable history that I’m still processing, living here day to day, with the echoes of the past, gracing these hallways every night. I have never felt more inspired to move my body, dance, fan dance, be a showgirl.

I definitely believe it is the resonating spirit of the previous owner that inspires me. I don’t know if she still exists in this home beyond her fantastical life here or not but I feel her presence regardless. I feel her spirit in the walls, in the impeccably kept molding and original Wood floors. I feel her love for this house in every immaculately kept original fixture from 1930 or the grand fireplace. I feel it all and it informs and inspires my artwork. It’s a moody house for a moody girl. It fits me perfectly in my sullen bipolar world. But there are so many bright spots in this home as well. The way the sun passes through the windows filtered by the trees outside is breathtaking and ghostly.

She’s a money pit and probably way too much for me to handle but she has so much soul and a lot of life left in her. I’m proud to own this home, I’m proud to restore it back to its original condition with my husband Jeremy, and I’m proud to use this beautiful home as a backdrop for our artwork. It could not be more perfect! More details to come!

See the full photo set here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/104814087