Visit Dozens of Incredible Artist-Built Environments, Homes, and Studios Around the U.S.

Whether a self-taught artisan or a contemporary art titan, one can make artwork just about anywhere. As the saying goes, the only limit is your imagination. And when art and life intersect, sometimes the distinction between the two disappears.

As the National Trust for Historic Preservation can tell you, homes and studios from rural Kansas to the hubbub of Manhattan have been the locus of eclectic, quirky, and innovative ideas that illustrate how creativity and daily existence are one and the same.

a photograph of a woman known as Grandma Prisbrey outside of her house in California, which is made of glass bottles — Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village, Simi Valley, California

Last month, the NTHP announced the addition of 19 new property members to its Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program. Comprising locations that range from houses and workspaces to quarries and hand-assembled fantasylands, the new spaces bring the total number of network participants to 61 across the U.S.

Colossal readers might be familiar with one of last month’s additions, the Kosciusko, Mississippi, home of L.V. Hull (1942–2008), which was included in the National Register of Historic Places last summer. The designation was the first to honor the residence of an African American woman visual artist, and it was also the first time a home art environment by any African American was on the list.

Women feature prominently in this year’s announcement, including Pope’s Museum in Ochlocknee, Georgia, which is distinguished as the oldest surviving artist-built environment by a woman in the U.S. A self-taught maker, Laura Pope Forester (1873–1953) created elaborate exterior installations, including murals and other works that pay tribute to women’s achievements, military veterans, and literary figures. The crochet-like white facade is composed of sewing machine parts.

Additional places include the homes of groundbreaking women artists Louise Bourgeois and Carolee Schneemann, along with remarkable creations like Grandma Prisbey’s Bottle Village in Simi Valley, California, and Mary Nohl’s unique environment in Fox Point, Wisconsin.

Plan your visits on the Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios website.

the facade of a Georgia home with an installation around the balcony and entrance made of metal that resembles crochet — Pope’s Museum, Ochlocknee, Georgia

the interior of a loft apartment in New York City, home to artist Shigeko Kubota, who made video art — Shigeko Kubota Video Art Foundation, New York City

an architecturally eclectic house on a promontory, viewed from the air, designed in a spiral configuration — Spiral House Park, Saugerties, New York

a photograph of a home's exterior with numerous forms and passageways created from pebbles and concrete — “Enchanted Garden” and entrance to the “Troglodyte Cavern” at Valley of the Moon, Tucson, Arizona

the exterior of artist Mary Nohl's house in southeastern Wisconsin, featuring a small white house among some pine trees with sculptures interspersed on the lawn — Mary Nohl Art Environment, Fox Point, Wisconsin

the interior of an artist's home with custom-designed furniture and sculptures — Interior of the Mary Nohl Art Environment, Fox Point, Wisconsin

an art environment interior with pews facing a stained window and the walls coated in papers and drawings — Dog Mountain, Home of Stephen Huneck Gallery, St. Johnsbury, Vermont

the interior of the Reuben Hale House, featuring shelves of hundreds of brown bottles — Interior of Reuben Hale House, West Palm Beach, Florida

the interior of an artist environment with painted walls inspired by stained glass and an altar in the middle of the room — Interior of Prophet Isaiah Robertson’s Second Coming House, Niagara Falls, New York

the interior of a unique handmade home in California, where the walls and windows are made of colored bottles — Interior view of Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village, Simi Valley, California

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