TIVERTON – The idea of turning the 174 acre Sandy Woods Farm in Tiverton into an artists' colony is attracting interest and some early support. First publicly broached at a Dec. 28 joint hearing on housing conducted by the town council and planning board, the colony idea was one of several strategies aired as part of a plan to meet Tiverton's affordable housing needs.

The genesis for the colony idea came from the farm's owners Joe Bossom and his wife Mika Seeger, both artists, who have lived on it for 20 years. Mr. Bossom said many builders have approached him to buy the farm and then develop it. "We didn't want that to happen here, " he said.

As artists, he and his wife also recognized artists' need for studio space. So, he said, "we conceived of the idea to create a cooperative for visual artists, musicians, craftsmen, sculptors, and others, to provide a work space for them, while preserving some land for our agricultural activities."

Linking the concept of a colony of artists to affordable housing, Mr. Bossom said, was the idea of Stephen Ostiguy, executive director of Church Community Housing Corporation, a Newport based private non-profit agency.

'Crisis' of affordable studio space

Affordability is crucial, said Mr. Bossom. "The density of artists per capita in Rhode Island is the highest in the country," he said, and "there is a crisis of space. Every time artists find an inexpensive place to set up studios, rich people move in and yuppify the place and make it too expensive for artists."

The draft Tiverton plan for housing and affordable housing recognizes the need. "Artists are often challenged by the high cost of space for both living and working," it says, "which is why many (typically urban) communities have arts overlay districts with relaxed zoning regulations and tax incentives to encourage artists."

The artists colony would feature smaller homes probably in the $24,000 to $100,000 range, said Mr. Bossom. "We're trying to identify architects in the country who design homes that might also serve as studios for the visual arts," he said. According to Mr. Ostiguy there are a number of artists' colonies in the country to learn from.

Bossom energy fuels proposal

Much of the progress on the idea thus far is a result of Mr. Bossom's enthusiasm. He contacted the president of the Rhode Island School of Design, and now Peter Tagiuri, head of the architecture department there, has the concept on his desk. Mr. Tagiuri is intrigued, and plans to post a notice inviting students to become involved. "I think some students will respond favorably," Mr. Tagiuri said, and it's possible one or more of them, perhaps with a faculty advisor, might be interested in working on the artists' colony idea as an individual or group project.

Although he is not willing to say who specifically, Mr. Bossom said he's gotten surprising interest from a lot of people." No particular group has stepped forward, however.

Planning for the colony is at the "conceptual phase," said Mr. Bossom, or as Mr. Ostiguy appropriately calls it "the talking stage."

A possible tie-in between the proposed colony and artists-in-residence programs at local schools has been discussed, as has a relationship between the colony and a possible future community arts center in the nearby Ranger School once that building is vacated by students in early 2008 after the new elementary school is built.

Both Mr. Bossom and Mr. Ostiguy realize the work that lies ahead, though they are reluctant to discuss it in detail. The land needs to be surveyed, since Mr. Bossom isn't sure of its actual size, though he says it's between 174 and 200 acres. An organization, co-operative or non-profit, needs to be created to move the idea forward. Planning, land use, and design issues need to be resolved. And, of course, money must be raised.

Mr. Bossom plays the bagpipes, performing at weddings and funerals, preferring the latter, he says, because he likes to play for people he knows who are nearer his age. His wife Mika Seeger is a potter and muralist, and has created a mural at India Point Park and others in front of the Ranger School and in the school's library and auditorium. They have two daughters, Penny Bossom-Seeger, 11, who plays the violin, and Isabelle Bossom-Seeger, 4.

Every spring, on the first Saturday in May, artists from all over New England gather at the farm, around a Maypole, to play music and eat. Anyone with an instrument and a pot luck contribution can come, says Mr. Bossom. He estimates that about 700 cars line the road to the farm on the occasion.

Sandy Woods Farm

* Next to and south of the Arthur Guimond Field off Bulgarmarsh Road, and west of Crandall Road. Road off Bulgarmarsh leads to dirt track farm road bounded on right by hay field and on left by boulder-strewn woods, that might be future sculpture garden but is now occupied by a few dark, shaggy cows. Beyond on right a barn, then a farm house, and ahead through woods a studio.

Animals on farm include, says Joe Bossom: "two border collies, a Tibetan mastiff, 13 beef cows, four milk goats, two donkeys that keep the coyotes away, two llamas, two emus waiting to be eaten, two Yorkshire pigs waiting to be eaten, 500 chickens in the summer and about 80 layers at any given time of the year, all New Hampshire reds, four or five peacocks, cockateels, a gray parrot, and three cats."

By Tom Killin Dalglish

tdalglish@eastbaynewspapers.com