TRAVELING IN A TINY HOME THAT IS REALLY AN ARTISTS' BOOK ON WHEELS

Peter and Donna Thomas have been making fine press and artist's books for over 40 years. When they started, as craftspeople at Renaissance Faires, they fell in love with the graceful beauty of "gypsy wagon" caravans that other vendors had made to sleep in or use as booths for selling their wares. In 2009 Peter and Donna built their own tiny home on wheels, designed after a typical late 19th century Redding Wagon. This blog documents their trips around the country, taken to sell their artists' books, teach book arts workshops, and talk about making books as art; as well as to seek out and experience the beauty of the many different landscapes found across the USA.

Peter and Donna started their business in 1977 and made their first book in 1978, so from 2017-18 are traveling to celebrate 40 years of making books with shows in a dozen libraries across the country. See the schedule on the side bar to find if they are coming to a town near you....

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Thursday, October 4, 2012

The country is big and the gypsy wagon is small.


We have a pretty tight schedule and hoped to have time see the beautiful rounded rock formations in Vedauwoo, Wyoming, so we got up early and were driving down the road as the sun rose, a bad plan since we were driving due east. We crossed the Green River and, just like we imagined gypsies would do, pulled off near the river for breakfast under a beautiful butte.


Back on the road things were perfect. We were cruzin’ at 70 (the strong eastward wind made the back of the wagon like a sail) listening to the local country station (with ads for making sausage from your trophy buck - that’s not something you hear on radio back home) when smoke starts spewing out of the hood and red lights start flashing on the dash. We pull over fast, but it was in the middle of nowhere. AAA and Towtruck man to the rescue. Towtruck man is missing his 2.25 ball so cannot pull the wagon (Don’t leave home without it?) and we have to leave the wagon by the side of the highway. (Don’t worry Paloma, we will be back soon…we hope…maybe.)


Luckily, no, perhaps a miracle, it is only a broken fuel line and they can fix the car in an hour. We will make it to Vedauwoo. Posted from the Dodge agency in Rawlins, WY.


PS, We made it to Vedauwoo. Also, we saw an interesting camper in a rest stop. Check it out.




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