Many great people have lived in The Bloom House for short periods, have been a guest, or just came over to help us paint (which the house so constantly needs!).
Derek Chapman is one of the founders of The Bloom House and our general creative maestro. The son of traveling pastors and singers, Derek grew up understanding what a stage means. In high school he fronted a band called Busy Hands (after the Bob Dylan song), later working as a part-time clown, dancer, art therapist and counselor. He’s lived from Jerusalem to San Francisco. The kind of adventurer who loves timing his camera to shoot off the back of his motorcycle, he loves to inspire and encourage artists of all stripes. He has a site at Ivan the Dissident.
Amy Mac Chapman is Sir Chapman’s partner in crime. They dream up a lot of big ideas together. She has been a cook, barista, waitress, computer-fixer for elderly Jesuit priests, music editor, graduate student and world-traveler. She is often found working in her garden, one of her biggest projects, and writing. Amy writes at at Textural and started a small publishing adventure, Bread & Tongue Press.
Hannah Stoney is a permanent artist-in-residence at The Bloom House. She and her husband come to us from the beautiful UK. Hannah is a visual artist and writer and is currently responsible for organizing our visual art shows. Hannah also enjoys hosting events that lead people into meditative experiences. Recently, she has been exploring the use of line drawings in her abstract paintings and has produced a series of miniature works. She is currently working on a collection of short stories. You can find her blogging at The Thinks.
Mark, aka Stoney, is a professional musician. After a busy career in the exploding music scene in Sheffield, England, the Stoneys decided to move camp to Austin. He helped build a little studio in The Bloom House and is currently working on a new album with local and international collaborators. You can hear so many of these good things over on his site, stoney.mu.
Jenna White is a dancer and visual artist who lived in The Bloom House for six months in 2008. She’s been a great help to the house doing everything from painting windows to assisting film shoots; she is an active artist in the downstairs studio.
Past artists-in-residence also include Jen and Fran Mickelborough and Paul Pleasant. Jen worked for three months on a gallery show of her textile art and painting. Paul is a graphic designer from Austin, who was our longest resident and helped get the house off the ground in its early days.
Teresa Kwon is a friend of the Bloom House and helped with a number of our house-related events, especially Mangola. Teresa is a wonderful photographer and is currently pursing a graduate degree in non-profit studies.
And we also would like to give a special thanks here to Derrick and Maeve Smith and Bryan and Whitney Standerfer. Both of these families and their beautiful children lived for several months at the Bloom House and helped us develop as a community.
Titus is an unabashed lover of artists, happily purring in anyone’s lap whether they like cats or not. He came from somewhere, we don’t know where, but he has lived here longer than anyone. The neighbor’s kids called him Merlin, but we liked Titus.
