 above: The Collman cottage soon after its relocation and the beginning of its transformation. photos: courtesy of Rod Collman Rod and Cindy Collman of Dunedin, Florida, purchased a one-acre residential lot in Dunedin in late 2018. The property included a cottage that the couple wanted to move to the back of the property, subdividing the lot and offering the front half-acre for sale. They planned to live in the cottage while they built a new house on the same half-acre. The moving and remodeling project they took on with the old cottage was exhausting but they were surprised with the result. The cottage is a Sears Roebuck mail-order house. According to the Sears Archives website, the company sold more than 70,000 house kits with 450 models, between 1908 and 1940. Models encompassed a variety of architectural styles and tastes - an ad in one of the catalogs described the range of designs and kits as “a modest little home to a mansion” priced from 725 dollars to 4,000 dollars, depending on size and complexity”. Most of the unassembled homes were built by Sears in the mid-west but sold nationwide, including in Florida. The Collman cottage is one of three versions of the Crafton model offered in 1925. The kits contained pre-constructed components and came in three versions up to 988 square feet, priced from 916 dollars to 1,399 dollars. They were well-made and stout by design, with pre-cut lumber and fitted pieces shipped via railroad cars. This made the homes buildable by the owner with help from friends or local workers. Sears ceased production of the customizable kits after 1940.
According to Collman, President of sdg Architecture in Dunedin, they were lucky to discover the little cottage was in such good original condition after so many years. “Plus, we didn’t have to build it," he said. "The crew put on a fascinating demonstration of how to relocate a house across unpaved, soft ground. Lifting the house onto beams, raising the house with jacks, and adding truck wheels took several days, plus two days just to move the house across the property. Trimming limbs from the grand oak trees became necessary to allow room for the brick chimney to clear."
above: The movement and positioning of the cottage were close and done with extreme care for the oak trees.  above: North facing side of cottage in its new location among the oak trees.  above: Living room looking back to kitchen “Once the moving process was complete, new plumbing and electric service was installed and we began remodeling the house. That alone was a big challenge. Despite the many hours of sweat and stress, we enjoyed the same help of friends and family that earlier Sears home builders had enjoyed,” said Collman. "Initial renovations included two bedrooms, two baths, an open kitchen, and a dining and living room area. While the house’s original wood frame windows were in excellent condition, they were replaced with modern, high-impact windows," said Collman. "Initially using the enclosed front porch as a temporary workshop, we installed all new finishes for floors, walls, ceilings, trim, custom tile, and new cabinets. "We moved into the cottage and fell in love with it. The long-range plan to build a larger main house was shelved.” Fast Forward to the Summer of 2024  Other developments on the property, now known by family and friends as the Collman Compound, include a separate garage, and a smaller house containing Collman’s home office and a rental unit. Walkways connect the three structures. All have metal roofs, two with solar electric panels for energy savings. "Recent additions to the Collman Compound include an enclosed three-season deck attached to the master bedroom at the back of the house, a covered front deck with an outdoor kitchen, and an entry ramp at the back door," said Collman. "Outdoor landscaping is an ongoing effort but has resulted in a beautiful assortment of flowering plants and lush green grass. "
Cindy’s choices of finishes and décor reflect the couple's taste for fine art and fine craft from local artists, art nouveau lamps and sculpture, and mid-century modern furniture."  above: Dining area and kitchen.  above: Looking back from the kitchen to the entry and outdoor deck. Art, fine craft and art nouveau decor enrich the cottage interior.
“Having lived out of suitcases with friends and family for the first ten months, Cindy and I became accustomed to extreme downsizing," said Collman. "Plus, working with family and friends on our project was a very satisfying experience, certainly much like that of the people who originally built the house. It has remained an ongoing effort to build the perfect Florida cottage and our new abode, nestled into the live oak trees, feels like home."
This story is an update of a blog post from 2019 written for and with permission from Rod Collman, President of sdg Architecture, Dunedin, FL .
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 One artist’s journey in dealing with her health challenges is leading her in new directions for making visual art a pathway for the well-being of people suffering from cognitive impairments. Mason Gehring of Dunedin, Florida, was born into a family of highly creative and artistic people. Today, she is an Artist, Art Teacher, and an Artist in Healthcare Professional. Her journey also demonstrates that the built environment of well-designed public architecture such as community centers, museums, art centers, and healthcare facilities can go beyond simply providing space, provoking emotions that enhance healing. above: Mason Gehring “I am here to facilitate or design art programming in a healthcare setting, purely for the purpose of giving an opportunity to create and hopefully instill the idea that being creative and expressing yourself can be part of a healthcare system,” stated Gehring. “I was diagnosed with CCM (cerebral cavernous malformation) when I was twelve and have been very interested in how the brain works but was generally avoiding thinking about how it really impacted my life. I've been using the creative process for coping since I was a teenager when life seemed complicated and painful. I didn't know that I was creating art for my well-being.” Gehring went on to receive an Associate of Arts Degree from St. Petersburg College in 2003; a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY; and a Master of Arts Degree in Arts in Medicine, University of Florida College of The Arts, Gainesville, FL in 2019. During her studies at UF she learned how architecture and space can affect wellbeing while conducting bedside art activities in the positive, bright, and colorful environment at Shands Children’s Cancer Hospital. By contrast, she described visiting the nearby VA hospital as “…dark in many respects, connected to Shands by a terrifying walkway connecting all the facilities. This is where PTSD veterans and trauma patients are treated.” “In 2019, I experienced a seizure from a CCM hemorrhage, and this set me on a path of creating a body of work specifically about chronic illness and the impact of this kind of diagnosis on a person's identity and how to move forward in life. I had also just graduated from the UF Arts in Medicine program so the degree and life-changing illness made it clear this was part of my journey.” Gehring describes this body of work in her Artist Statement. “As a painter, I have been using self-portraiture to share raw emotional expression in a cathartic exercise to engage the viewer to feel seen and included in this human experience. This current body of work titled, A Journey in Illness, focuses on my understanding of my illness in my identity, facing death, embracing resurrection, and learning how to move forward with a chronic illness.”
Gehring’s thesis research or capstone project was working with adults with aphasia due to a stroke “…to offer visual art experiences for people with aphasia and measure their responses to the experience.” She interned in Dunedin and St. Petersburg with Voices of Hope for Aphasia, a non-profit support group, in her first year creating and instructing art projects with members. “From my work with aphasia participants, I have personally seen changes in their willingness and confidence to converse and new access to phrasing and words not frequently used. In the research I performed, the results were a unanimous desire to work as a group in art projects in the future. The camaraderie from the art-making process brought the aphasia participants together to commiserate while they created and gave opportunities to build confidence, practice conversing, and be part of a social group which are the greatest impacts on well-being for someone with aphasia.”
 Mason Gehring, Artist, Art Teacher and Artist in Healthcare Professional with partner Brian Voliton attending a public exhibition of her work. With the arrival of the pandemic, Gehring found that Zoom meetings, in which a group of patients were collaborating with her making art from home, were surprisingly successful. Rather than losing effectiveness in connecting to them, they were at home in a space of comfort while being with the other group members on screen.
Gehring collaborates with the Museum of Fine Arts in downtown St. Petersburg in their Picture of Health, a multifaceted Arts and Medicine program assembled by Margaret Murray, Curator of Public Programs. This innovative program enhances the well-being of its members and visitors using the Museum’s galleries and gardens as places of healing and solace. The architecture of the building itself enhances the positive effect of viewing the collection of art and artifacts. MFA Mood Tours addresses six emotions through artworks in the Museum. Sit, Stay, Heal takes place in the MFA sculpture gardens, providing a beautiful setting for the public and for front-line healthcare and first responder workers to engage with therapy dogs. Museum on Prescription provides a partnership with physicians and therapists to offer opportunities for visiting the museum to patients that might benefit from encountering art. “The Picture of Health programs engage people by presenting the idea that looking at art is a tool for well-being that can make you feel better,” says Gehring. “Art can medically affect serotonin and endorphin levels, giving the opportunity to change brain status and forget about time, be engaged beyond the current mental outlook, and have hope for the future. That is fulfillment.” Learn more about Mason Gehring at https://masongehring.com |
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