Johnnie and Dot Blanks

The motel’s restaurant was across the highway, and when the group was enjoying cocktail hour in one or another of the small rooms, it was often hard to move them across the road for dinner.

Johnnie and Dot Blanks planned several hay-rides over the years, hauling the group into the woods on a flat-bed trailer, pulled by a pick-up truck. Once arrived, thjey found bales of hay for seating, a blazing fire, and lots of delicious cook-out food.

Large attendance at the workshops put a squeeze on Stafford’s accommodations, so the Blanks offered a small house for the painters’ use. It was immediately dubbed the Hen House, as a logical adjunct to The Chicken House studio.