A personal hub
Sandra Stowell: Artist & Maker:
This the doorway to my art, some other interesting activities, my family, and my history.
In 1997 my husband and I left full time Seattle careers for RoseWind Cohousing, a small cohousing community on the Olympic Peninsula.
We fled city life to be part of this consensus based community in small town Port Townsend. We built a straw bale home & started a tiny software business called Firstraven Systems. I onto this name & site at FirstRaven to keep a little of that past.
Later we retired the business, sold our beautiful straw bale house, and built a plain and practical modern SIP home and separate art studio in the same community.
My art become a daily focus for several years. I am older now, with the resulting struggles, but I still find some time for making. Of course not everything I make is a work of art…
Directory
Choose Which Area to Explore
Each area provides access to different aspects that may entertain you: you can choose where to begin and find what interests you.
Making Art
My Art
Longform pieces, reading lists, and publications worth returning to.
Building
Our Experiences
My husband & I were our own contractors building three homes, and we did a lot of hands on construction in these and for our cohousing common house.
Family
Family History
My grandfather the artist, family travels, and even some genealogy.
Ravens are something of a personal icon, and are native to most places I have lived. While the name FirstRaven alludes to a NW Native legend, for me it is about my personal connection with the Corvidae family, my former membership as a printmaker in Corvidae Press, & the pure joy I feel when I hear a raven’s resonant call.