An Introduction

The Sosta House Artist Residency is a space to recharge through peaceful exploration and an opportunity to pursue creative curiosity with an emphasis on process.  We invite selected artists and makers to explore their practice while living and collaborating with us at our Bed & Breakfast surrounded by vineyards and forest in rural Oregon. 

Our program is growing and changing with each artist we welcome through our doors. It is far from a traditional residency program: we do not ask for a "proposal" in terms of a work or project you will complete during your stay, you are not alone in a cabin focused on some kind of certain output, these types of residencies exist but not at Sosta House. We encourage our residents to arrive with an open mind, curiosity and enthusiasm. The goal is simply to be in a new space, engage in the daily rhythms and see what you are moved to make. Artist residents live in our home with us, help us with daily chores (and sometimes bigger projects) and are invited to wholeheartedly immerse into the community that exists here. Past residents have described their time here simply as 'play'. We ask every artist resident to leave behind something they make to become a part of Sosta House; it has looked different for everyone, a dozen bagels, a mural, a book of poems, a bottle of vinegar, a sculpture, a table, a drawing. 

We accept applications on a rolling basis and do our best to review them as they are received. Our needs in terms of collaborators and helpers change seasonally and year by year. Sometimes we need someone who can really help in the garden, sometimes we just need a good sport around the house who can do the dishes once in a while, sometimes we need a woodworker or craftsperson for a specific project. Sometimes we don't know what we need until we find out about you!

LOCALS (Oregon Based):  If you are interested in a shorter, non-traditional residency or have a unique idea for a residency style stay, feel free to let us know. We welcome local makers for "micro-residencies" of just one or two nights which run a bit differently, more casually with an emphasis on building a connection.

Residency Accommodations

Residents live in a private room overlooking the garden on the second floor of Sosta House. Residents will be granted complete access to grounds, a shared kitchen, and a welcome dinner. Residents will have access to communal art supplies including a sewing machine, painting materials, natural dye materials, hand carving tools, burning and etching tools, typewriter, and scrap wood with the potential for woodworking in a private wood shop (based on experience). Residents have access to Sosta House amenities including parking, the great room, a piano, fireplace, charcoal grill, fire pit, bocce courts, sauna, cold plunge and seasonal gardens. Residents also have access to a shared living room and bathroom on the second floor, shared only with our permanent staff. Our grounds are open to the public 365 days of the year, but the house closes December 1-March 1. Although we do not always have guests in house we do ask all residents and staff to act accordingly as this is both a home and a business.

Sosta House is a three-bedroom Bed & Breakfast that often serves dinner, breakfast and hosts various events, and we ask residents to be respectful of this. We share the property with Winery Lane Collective, a functioning winery and tasting room that is open to the public most days.

Please note: We have a house dog named Lula, she is very well trained, calm and respectful but she is a dog. She doesn't go in the kitchen or Great Room, and rarely goes in the resident room so if you aren't a dog person rest assured you will not be smothered by constant dog affection. She is very self contained but does spend time in the common space and outside. We also have three outdoor cats. They don't come inside but are around and will join you for walks and sits. If this is something you are highly uncomfortable with or are allergic to dogs or cats, Sosta House may not be the ideal place for you to stay. 

Payments and Trade

Our program runs on a work-trade scale and ranges from higher weekly payments & fewer SH Commitments to more SH Commitments & smaller weekly payments.

SH Commitments vary based on the season, but can include larger project-based tasks or smaller everyday tasks (watering the garden, stacking firewood, washing dishes, processing tomatoes). SH Commitments could also include a project that uses the resident’s creative practice when we have a practical need, depending on the resident’s skills / artform (such as natural dyeing the tea towels in our breakfast basket, designing and building a lamp, painting a mural). Work days are usually 8 – 5, sometimes starting later or ending earlier- occasionally a Resident may work an hour or two here and there, it's all dependent on season and person. SH Commitments will be discussed prior to arrival and assigned weekly. Our staff works alongside residents in most cases and will always be around to provide guidance. If you are unfamiliar with the work you are asked to do, fear not! Sosta House is a very DIY place and we are all constantly learning new skills together.

Weekly payments go toward sustaining our residency program. Basic costs include the maintenance and constant improvement of the resident room, stocking the kitchen with food and drinks, stocking our shared art area with supplies, a fund for continuous studio improvements and general house necessities that are available to artists during their stay (laundry detergent, toiletries, firewood,  garden materials, first aid, utilities, etc.). To keep costs minimal for our residents we supplement the cost of this program with income from events and overnight guests.

Below you can find the general scale we use for our residency - as with everything else about our program we are flexible and open to other ideas. Our residency program seeks to integrate artists within the space and as such preference is given for those interested in work trade.