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Artist Terri Meyer opened the Creative Chateau in June 2002. Located in a renovated 19th century barn, originally the space was the home of many generations of dairy and beef cows. When Dan Meyer, (Terri’s husband), purchased the property in 1996, he stabilized the foundation and dug 5 feet of dirt and accumulated cow dung from the floor so that you would not hit your head on the ceiling. In 1999 a concrete floor was added to the bottom section of the barn to utilize it as maintenance facility for his construction equipment. In 2002 he sectioned off a third of the lower barn to make space for a maintenance office. As plans go, he never realized his maintenance facility/office and relinquished the space to his wife as an artist studio. By the end of 2002, another section was added as a saw shop so Terri would have more space to make and store frames. As business continued to grow the space was cramped and in 2005 a gallery space was added by knocking out an arch doorway to the west wall, adding another 600 square feet to the studio. The space was nice but lacked aesthetic appeal, so Terri experimented with painting the floor to look like hardwood. It instantly transformed the studio to a warm and inviting environment. With the technique perfected she repeated the effect in other sections of the studio, adding warmth and character to the Creative Chateau. The displays used in the studio were purchased from a Walmart auction. To create unity of the displays Terri painted them black. The framing tables were purchased from a knitting mill auction in Mansfield for $7 a piece. The barn is heated with a used motor oil furnace, which recycles motor oil from her husband’s masonry equipment. In 2008 it was decided that another addition would be beneficial to both Dan and Terri’s business. The lean-to which stored miscellaneous equipment was closed up to make room for an office and new gallery space. This allows access to the upper barn in the event there might be a reason to expand upstairs. The gallery space yields natural light from the east, providing a warm ambiance with faux painted hardwood floors, soft earthy green walls and a vaulted ceiling. The 800 square foot room is perfect for the display and viewing of gallery members work.
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