Whimsical artists plan art and music house for Safety Harbor

Two Pinellas County artists, known worldwide for their bowling ball adorned home, want to transform an old house here into an eclectic art and music center.

Todd Ramquist and Kiaralinda, whose colorful "Whimzey" house has been featured in magazines and TV shows, have embarked on an ambitious project that could bring artists, musicians and tourists to this quaint town located on upper Tampa Bay.

They plan to turn a 1,200 square foot home in downtown that was built in the 1920s into a 3,000-plus square foot Safety Harbor Art and Music Center.

The couple bought the property, known as the Rigsby home, more than a decade ago. It is one block off Main Street on the corner of Seventh Avenue and Second Street.

"We've wanted to do something with it for a long time but we couldn't decide on how to use it," says Ramquist. "We think this will be something the whole community can use."

The non-profit center will have stages for intimate concerts and a gallery to display the works of artists.

"We don't have a total cost yet but the construction will be as economical as possible," says Ramquist. "We have lived lean all of our lives and there will be no waste. We will recycle everything we can from the existing house."

Plans for the new center have been drawn by architect Grant Genova of Fresh Fruit and Architecture in Fort Lauderdale. The company specializes in recycling existing building materials.

"We may also get materials from scrap yards," Ramquist says. "It's not a huge place but it will have a large open gallery where we can put up walls to change the space. And there will be a stage for plays and musical performances."

There also will be room for music and dance classes, says Kiaralinda who is eager to decorate it in the style of their unique studio/home on 13th Avenue and Third Street.

"With lots of mosaics and color," she says.

Their home, which also is decorated with bowling balls, draws hundreds of drive-by visitors. Todd and Kiaralinda, who divide their time between Safety Harbor and Chicago, have lived in Safety Harbor for 25 years.

"People come by to see our home so we know that people would come to see the art center," Kiaralinda says.

They kicked off their fundraising campaign last weekend with a house concert featuring actor Jeff Daniels ("Dumb & Dumber," "Terms of Endearment," "Purple Rose of Cairo," "Gettysburg").

Daniels, who plays guitar and sings original blues-styled songs, entertained about 200 guests. He had been scheduled to perform at the Capitol Theater in Clearwater but his performance was canceled due to slow ticket sales.

"A lot of people don't know that I sing and they probably didn't want to risk paying to see an actor try to sing," he says. "I wanted to perform somewhere and I was glad to help out Todd and Karalinda because it's a worthwhile project."

Daniels says that 20 years ago, he launched a similar project when he founded The Purple Rose Theater in his hometown of Chelsea, Mich. "We build it into a successful theater that showcases actors and original plays," he says. "It sparked the local economy with restaurants and shops springing up because people were coming in to see our performances."

Ramquist says Daniels was so impressed with Safety Harbor that his agent is arranging for other artists to come for more fundraising efforts.

The couple also will be seeking grants from the city and anywhere else they can apply.

They say they hope to enter the Pepsi Refresh Project, an online competition in which Pepsi awards grants for $5,000 to $250,000 to worthy community endeavors (voted on by supporters). Efforts to get into the January voting cycle hit a paperwork snag so they will try to enter again later this year.

Even if we don't get the grant, we're going to create an art and music center one way or another," Ramquist says.

He says the events will have modest admission prices to keep it affordable and the money generated will be used to keep it running. "We don't want to run it ourselves," he says. "We just want to build it and get it started."