Tucked behind a grove of oaks and cedars, is nestled a complex of rustic buildings that house and foster creative talent and their innovative, inspired endeavors. At 1605 Lone Man Mountain Road -AKA Fe29- it is all about the art. The discovery. The nurturing. The execution. The collaboration. The sharing. Walk through the front door and you will feel like you are in an art gallery-museum, but be assured it is also a functioning home.
Discovering Wimberley as a young girl by spending summers at Rocky River Ranch, in 1993 Megan Mickelsen returned, purchasing a former two bedroom hunting lodge where Lone Man Mountain meets Old Oaks Ranch. Megan claims the house, "...has been through many gyrations over the years." Walls have been pushed out, pulled-in, added to, raised...changed.
The former garage now houses a spacious master suite with a cathedral ceiling. The enclosed porch off this suite echoes the cathedral ceiling of the master, however the slender reeds of bamboo fencing that line its overhead expanse lend a tropical feel to the space.
The essence of Wimberley rustic, the residence is a union of raw wood, aged Saltillo tile, slate, and old stone. Furnishings echo the theme of the understated house with their neutral tones and warm, worn, and genuine antique feel; it could be the birthplace of shabby chic. There is no artifice and nothing artificial about or within these walls.
Venture outside and discover a bucolic world echoing peace, tranquility and charm; an eclectic landscape that mixes hardy Texas flora with unexpectedly lush banana trees and arum lilies. A bit further afield are two guest houses, one-quite rustic-a multi-textured building that is comprised of a former chicken coop and goat pen. Also open for exploration, a near neighbor to this guest house, is an eighteen-hundred square foot metal building known as The Art Lab.
But all of this is just a backdrop for what the home is now all about-the art within and without. Five years ago Cecilia Orr walked into Megan's life and changed the complexion of the home's gyrations forever.
Cecilia first came to love art while traveling the world as a management consultant, nosing around the back rooms, basements and attics of art galleries across Europe. Her finds, a multitudinous variety of antique prints, adorn walls throughout the rural compound. Discovering this love of art, and buying what she loved, was the impetus for the start of a new career.
Hailing from New Zealand , and an imaginative artist of great diversity and limitless energy, Cecilia has touched this valley. Organic in scope, echoing fire, wind and craggy peaks-her art is of the earth; copper, zinc, steel, iron, aluminum, wood, and glass - her pallet.
She uses her love of art to find, nourish and collaborate with other creative individuals, where the sum of the parts is a remarkable melding of ideas and disciplines. Along with these joint efforts are pieces displayed by other artists. Among these endeavors are ceramics created with wrinkles and crevices and specks of dirt that are reminiscent of fossils from the beginning of time. Other sculptures are wrought from steel with the feel of an incomplete visionary machine torn from the pages of Atlas Shrugged. Wall art is burnished, torn, rippled, stark and touched with hidden significance.
Wander at will. Let your mind soar; this is a magic place. Expect the unexpected. You will be amazed at what you discover in this home-art gallery-museum-bucolic multi-acre-wood.
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