I thought I would put out this topic to see what people think about its viability (and maybe sanity!).
This Spring I decided to try something new. To be able to create my works while living a lifestyle that was as just about as frugal as possible. So I bought a used 19 foot long motor home to live in, and a new 16 foot long cargo trailer to turn into a portable studio. It has an 8 1/2 foot tall ceiling and is 7 feet wide interior wise. I do metal art so I equipped the trailer with benches, oxy/acetylene tanks and torch and a 6 foot tall tool chest. I ran 1 X 2s around the inside of the trailer for tie down points when moving. I also have a metal brake and some other equipment. One of my biggest investments was for a couple of Honda generators for auxiliary power. But the extra price was worth it for their quiet and reliability.
I found out that for $180 you can live on a section of the Sonoran desert near Quartzsite Arizona from the 15th of September till the 15th of April. That's 7 months. Average daytime temp is about 70 and nighttime down to the 40s. It's about 11,000 acres of land and every year snowbirds come there to roost. Even though at its peak in January there are thousand of people here it still seems pretty isolated because it's so big. And the town of Quartzsite has one main reason for its existence. To cater to the needs of RVers. I've been here about 2 months now and it costs me about $500 a month to live. And it would be less than that if I stayed out of the restaurants. The Colorado river is also close by for kayaking, which is a plus, and there are several large towns within 50 miles or so for anything like welding supplies or whatever. Also there is excellent 4G reception here for internet access. Another thing is that I rented a $45 a month storage locker in Quartzsite for keeping extra supplies and to store the pieces I've created.
I've been creating pieces at a excellent pace and by the time show season gets here in the spring I'll be ready to go. Right now I'm planning on doing the East coast shows. But the next year I'm thinking about trying the West coast shows. Need to do more research in that area.
Now I know this sort of lifestyle isn't for the majority of people. But with individual modifications I think this could be a possibility for some cash strapped artists. And it would be great to have an artist community out here!
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Ralph - doesn't seem at all crazy to me!! But then again, if you read this blog post you'll realize we're living the same lifestyle. Our dream started a couple of years ago and now we've sold the house, the second car, left some things in storage and purged everything else that didn't fit in the RV.
http://www.artfairinsiders.com/profiles/blogs/a-new-adventure-for-u...
We're currently in Mesa AZ getting ready for the Tempe show this weekend, then traveling to Tucson for the show next weekend, then we're off to Quartzsite for a few weeks before we return to the Phoenix area for the next set of shows.
We do not miss having a house to take care of, a lawn to take care of, running up and down I-5, etc. For us life on the road has definitely been much cheaper and we actually have time to "play tourist" between shows as time permits. And, we are loving winter in the desert, not missing the rain in Seattle at all!!