A School House Studio Dream

Hi, I'm Lauren. I’m a mama, a photographer, a lover of the woods and a dreamer.

One dream I have always had is to create a space I could share with others. In college, pursuing a fine arts degree, I dreamt of a gallery space for young artists to share their work. As I built a professional career in portrait photography, a unique studio space to work in and share with others became my dream.

Down the road from where I live sits a little old one-room schoolhouse, built from Wisconsin cream brick, surrounded by years of overgrowth, among rows of corn and lonely country roads. I contacted the owner and after several months of negotiations, town board meetings, hundreds of questions, and some hard-earned cash, she was mine.

My dream is to transform her into a unique studio space to share with my community and my clients. I learned that she was built around 1900, and served generations of children as a one-room schoolhouse until she was sold in 1950. She sat abandoned, boarded up, overgrown and underloved for the next 80 years. I purchased the little brick schoolhouse in June of 2022 and slowly began the process of saving this local piece of our history. Her overgrowth is cut back, her windows replaced, her roof temporarily waterproofed, debris removed and her interior cleaned out. She is now ready for her next life.

If you've gotten this far, thank you for reading the first chapter of this exciting new adventure. I started this page with some reservations, but I've been overwhelmed with love and support from folks all over who support this wild restoration project. If you're here to watch the adventure, support the adventure or spread the excitement, I appreciate you being with me on this journey!

The next step will require purchasing an additional acre of land per my small-town ordinance to re-zone and receive a building permit. Your contribution will bring this historic old schoolhouse back to life. The country schoolhouse that once nurtured young minds, will live again to nurture fine art and capture keepsake memories.

Also, if you ever drive by and see me outside, stop by, say hi and feel free to grab a shovel! Thanks in advance for your support!