PARIS, Tenn. (WTVF) — Female artists from around the country are flocking to Henry County for a retreat at the Stay Home Gallery.
"You're not only here to produce and walk away making 200 paintings, or whatever it is you want to do during your time, I think residencies can also be about rest and research and also having some mental space," said Kaylan Buteyn, the owner of the retreat in Paris.
Kaylan Buteyn, an artist herself, opened up the home-gallery and residency with her friend Pam Taylor. The gallery is in Buteyn's three-bedroom home that she, her husband and children moved away from earlier this year.
"It was like 'if we could keep this home that we've poured so much love and care into, but watch it be used for something else, that would be really special,'" Buteyn said.
Buteyn and Taylor started an Instagram in the spring that shared what artists were making during the pandemic. They decided to turn it into a brick and mortar after Buteyn's move.
"We are having people come use the land, stay in the home, use the land and use the art studio," Taylor said.
Within a couple months of opening, the Stay Home Gallery residency program is already booked for this year and 2021. Artists from California to Connecticut have applied to work and stay at the retreat with their loved ones. The artists were accepted on a first come, first served basis and scholarships are offered.
"A lot of art residencies are just a space for people to come to. A lot of them are bare bones in what they offer... [Our] intention was for artists to come and live in a space that is inspiring and have it feel like a retreat as well as a residency because they're engaging with art on the walls all the time while they're there. We felt like that was something we haven't seen from a lot of residencies," Buteyn said.
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