Mother and daughter create tiny art gallery called ‘The Watermelon House’ for everyone to enjoy 

REXBURG — A Rexburg mother and girl dream a free mini creation assemblage they created will thief support nan organization connected.

Kaatia Larsen and her 11-year-old girl Bria person made “The Watermelon House.” It’s wooden, sits connected a station and is uniquely decorated.  

It takes connected a akin thought of a Little Free Library: “Take a book. Share a book.”

“When I was little, I ever sewage really excited to spell location because I’ve ever loved reading. It’s conscionable a nosy thing. I really liked trading nan books. I would get to bring an aged book and past get a marque caller one,” Bria said, referencing nan small libraries. 

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Kaatia said she and her family moved to Rexburg astatine nan extremity of 2020. Before, they were successful California and had a Little Free Library successful their neighborhood. She took her kids often.  
“It was particularly adjuvant during COVID erstwhile they couldn’t play pinch their friends. It was conscionable a measurement to benignant of person thing to look guardant to and enactment connected to nan neighbors,” she said. 

The mother-daughter duo decided to travel up pinch a akin thought successful Rexburg. Kaatia enjoys art, and Bria particularly likes miniature items, specified arsenic mini-food and mini-toys. 

“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it beryllium nosy to benignant of provender her emotion of mini things and my emotion of creation and our desire to benignant of supply thing nosy for nan vicinity to bring group together, stock talents, and make this small mini free creation assemblage alternatively of for books?'” Kaatia said. 

The 2 painted nan woody location arsenic a watermelon that Kaatia’s relative built and talented her. 

Bria and Kaatia went to nan shop and bought a bunch of mini-easels and canvases to put inside. The instructions successful The Watermelon House say, “Take a piece, time off a piece.” They’d emotion it if group wrote their names connected their projects, too. 

It opened for everyone to usage connected Aug. 19. 

People tin create and bring mini canvas paintings, wood carvings, handmade jewelry, original poesy and music, aliases moreover photography. So far, galore items person travel and gone. 

Bria said she has recovered really bully drawings and paintings. She told EastIdahoNews.com she likes to cheque The Watermelon House erstwhile she gets location from school. 

Some of nan creation that has been recovered wrong The Watermelon House. | Courtesy Kaatia Larsen

“It’s really fun. I ever emotion seeing each nan caller things. Once, we sewage this ace beautiful feline drawing. I emotion looking to spot what different group make,” Bria said. 

“It’s for illustration checking nan message to spot if thing came successful nan mail, but 10,000 times amended because it’s conscionable caller imaginative things,” Kaatia added. 

They some want to support The Watermelon House unfastened year-round. It’s unfastened to anybody, sloppy of their city, property aliases creator ability. 

“It’s decidedly for everyone. A batch of kids person done things for illustration put paintings and worldly and drawings successful there. But a batch of adults person done it, too,” Bria said. “I’m really happy to spot families coming here. I really look guardant to seeing what everybody’s made each day.” 

The Watermelon House is connected Barney Dairy Road. It’s a agelong road. However, nan mini creation assemblage is noticeable from nan street. Pull into nan driveway, locomotion complete to it, unfastened nan door, and look inside.

Click here to travel nan adventures of The Watermelon House connected Instagram. 

Kaatia wrote, “Have nosy making, taking, and enjoying art!” 

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