Our Story
I'm Erin Drakeford, a working artist passionate about creating and building a strong art community. Art has the power to heal and change, it makes the world more beautiful, and it encourages new perspectives and fresh ideas. I started Bell Moon Arts to create a sacred space for artists to connect with the earth and each other to build stronger relationships and support their artistic journey. Making art in a silo is lonely, and work gets stagnant. To grow and expand as artists, we must meet together to talk about our ideas and share our knowledge.
Bell Moon Arts provides a space to do fantastic work but also room to experiment, mess up, and learn. It is also a space to connect with your body through yoga, guided meditations, and various new healing techniques. There is space for quiet and solitude and opportunities for connections with fellow creatives. Balancing those is up to each retreat attendee; you can choose how you spend your time here.
“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.”
Mary Lou Cook, Actress
Scholarship Opportunities
Bell Moon Arts strives to keep our residency affordable so artists of all economic situations can attend. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and our donations go toward supporting artists by supplying materials and financial assistance. Send an email to apply for aid, and Bell Moon Arts staff will guide you toward the best options. Teaching opportunities for resident artists are always available to help offset the cost of the stay.
Support the Artists
Bell Moon Arts is a father-daughter collaborative effort. Erin and Jim Dutton have been working hard renovating the old stable buildings to create beautiful and rustic resident studios and workshop spaces. They are preserving as much of the original materials as possible while making the space functional to support various art mediums. For our first season, we will accommodate painters, sculptors, woodworkers, and ceramicists. As our community grows, so will our offerings. We plan to offer photography, printmaking, and metalsmithing with your donations and fundraising. Money donated also goes toward resident artist sponsorship and scholarships.
