The house is called WHIMZEYLAND,
and it's in Safety Harbor, Florida...
Safety Harbor is a city on the west shore of Tampa Bay in Pinellas County,
Florida. It was settled in 1823 and incorporated in 1917.
The population was 16,884 at the 2010 census.
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Over the years artists Todd Ramquist and Kiaralinda have turned their home into a colorful, fairy-tale-like site with recycled pieces of mirrors, bottles, tiles, glass and — of all things — painted bowling balls.
"We've been artists our whole lives,'' explained Ramquist, who said that a lot of their inspiration came from trips they took. "We travel a lot.''
Their home and studio, called WhimzeyLand, is a riot of colors and unusual artistic creations. There are two "bottle trees,'' each sprouting almost 100 blue bottles. Strings of beads hang down and colorful wooden triangles outline roof eaves. Also on view is a "WhimZoo'' of sculptured animals. Not all of the artistic works are by Ramquist and Kiaralinda; other artists have contributed.
The most striking exhibits are of the decorated bowling balls. "We have almost 1,000 of them now,'' Ramquist said. In fact, the home is also known as the Bowling Ball House. About 120 artists have contributed.
Ramquist, Kiaralina and a number of volunteers are building a nonprofit art center out of recycled materials in town. Ramquist expects it to open this fall.
No admission to their home is charged. "People just wander around," Ramquist said, but can enter the house only when the duo are home.
(To be continued...)
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You have time to find something
nice for your wife or girlfriend and
get it delivered for Valentine's Day
Click on either picture for more info.
There's a lot more different items of her jewelry
available on Etsy. It's really nice stuff and the prices
include free shipping to almost anywhere!
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I lived in Safety Harbor for 15 years. I was catty corner to the bowling ball house on 13th ave. Always got a kick out of going by there and seeing what was new. Weekends had a parade of traffic driving by to check it out. I left in 1999 so it's been going strong for a while. Al
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for checking in. That's a great story and I'm sure it was a lot of fun living there
ReplyDelete