Take me to Church....

We had such an amazing stay this past weekend in Virginia. It was our Anniversary (14th OMG!) and we planned to have a get away in one of our favorite places on earth- Shenandoah Naitonal Park. We booked an AirBnB in a church converted to an artist retreat -thought it would be quirky and cool space to lay our heads after hiking Shenandoah National Park! The place, and the hosts,were so amazing they became a big part of the experience instead of just a comfy place to be. Rusty arranged for Lumen ,a native of the Philippines, to prep a dinner for us. When we arrived after a day of hiking in chilly weather- jazz music was playing , fireplace was roaring and a beautiful table was set in this intriguing house!

We came to learn the residence was at one time the Church that the people of the Mountain moved piece by piece from the valley below. In 1966- an artist of some notoriety named Robert E. Kuhn - bought the church complete with a parsonage and one house school house to live a reclusive life for the next 34 years, until he passed. His son, Nathan also a "pop" artist of some acclaim ( he exhibited with Andy Warhol and his style is reminiscent of AW) was our host. We enjoyed learning about this crazy space and its contents by exploring and listening to the stories, generously shared, by his son.

The church building was transformed into Robert's house, and then spiffed up by Nathan 3 years ago to be a retreat rental ( the property is now for sale). The church has art from both Robert and Nathan throughout.

Robert Kuhn transformed the 3 acres of land into a Sculpture Garden:

This is my very favorite of all the sculptures because of the story behind its creation. Nathan explained to us that his Dad ( Robert- the artist) came upon this man sitting on a bench in Chicago feeding the pigeons. The man was in his best suit and looked out of place for the neighborhood. Robert sat and came to learn from the man that the man was a farmer and he never before been to the big city (Chicago). The man had promised his wife that he would make it to the big city one day. The farmer's wife passed and he was there, in his finest, to honor her memory. The farmer explained he was used to feeding chickens - not pigeons and was caught off guard by the flying cluster. Isn't it great?

Nathan was kind enough to give us a peep at his Father's studio in the Old One Room schoolhouse. He was so generous- he gave us 2 hours explaining the different pieces!

We were so intrigued with the many art filled nooks and crannies...we veered way of course of our planned itinerary...but we still were able to get in a winery tasting and lots of beautiful playtime in Shenandoah !