Ranch Studios
The Ranch Studios Artist Residency is an invitation-only program that welcomes artists to explore new ideas within a creative ecosystem committed to cultivating curiosity at the Eames Ranch in Petaluma, CA. Offered in three-month sessions in the spring and fall, the residency brings together a small cohort of artists who transform the Ranch’s barn and farmstead buildings into studios for experimentation, discovery, and play.
Experience
Residents have access to a fiber and textile studio, metal and wood shops, a ceramics studio, a digital fabrication lab, and the surrounding farmland. Working within the context of an active Ranch, artists engage with land stewardship, regenerative agriculture, and local environmental conditions, integrating ecological awareness directly into their practice while carrying forward a long tradition of making at the Ranch.
In addition to a collaborative studio environment, the Ranch Studios Artist Residency offers a dynamic support system that helps residents deepen their research, refine ideas, and push the boundaries of their practice. Access to the Eames Archives invites close engagement with the pioneering work of Ray and Charles Eames, offering fresh perspectives on problem-solving, design thinking, and collaboration. Through William Stout Architectural Books, residents explore design history, contemporary scholarship, and a rich range of visual references. The working Ranch itself provides practical insight into land management, regenerative agriculture, and local environmental conditions, enabling ecological awareness to be directly integrated into designs and artworks.
Learn more about the work produced through the residency in the exhibition Crafting Curiosity.
The residency deepened my belief that artworks made for working lands can help reacquaint us with their qualities and complexities. It strengthened a trajectory in my practice toward collaborative, site-responsive projects that use sound to re-enchant our environments and imagine more reciprocal futures.
Meet the Artists
Jay Dion
Ceramicist
Spring 2025
Rie Dion
Ceramicist
Spring 2025
Travis Meinolf
Fiber Artist
Spring 2025
Kristen Stain
Ceramicist
Spring 2025
Amy Rathbone
Interdisciplinary Artist
Spring 2025
Nobuto Suga
Woodworker
Spring 2025
Pierre Thiam
Chef, Author, Social Activist
Spring 2025
Windy Chien
Fiber Artist
Fall 2025
Chris Kallmyer
Sculptor, Sound Artist
Fall 2025
Masako Miki
Painter, Sculptor
Fall 2025
Yvonne Mouser
Woodworker, Interdisciplinary Artist
Fall 2025
Lena Wolff
Interdisciplinary Artist
Fall 2025
I took the Eames Institute’s philosophy of Serious Play to heart, and I let myself purely play with clay material.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply to become a resident?
Currently the residency is by invitation only. We are not able to accept proposals or individual inquiries at this time. Stay updated on our progress and the work of our residents by joining our newsletter.
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Does the residency provide accommodations for artists?
No. There are no onsite or offsite accommodations at this time. Our studios are active during working hours only.
What type of artists do you consider for the residency?
When curating a residency cohort we look for creators working in a broad range of disciplines who have demonstrated in their work and career a commitment to curiosity. Designers, artists, writers, chefs, scientists, activists, fabricators; anyone who approaches their practice with an open and inquisitive mind who would push themselves (and us) to think and create differently.
Is the public able to see work created during the residency?
Our 2025 cohorts will have work on display at Petaluma Arts Center in the exhibition Crafting Curiosity: Advancing a Legacy of Agriculture and Making at the Eames Ranch, January 22–February 21, free and open to the public. You can learn more about visiting the exhibition here.
How does the residency continue the legacy of the Eames Ranch?
The Ranch Studios Artist Residency is the next chapter in a long lineage of making at the Eames Ranch in Petaluma, CA. This program holds special meaning for our Chief Curator Llisa Demetrios, a sculptor herself, reactivating the very spaces where she and her mother once lived and created. These spaces reflect their practice of connecting agriculture, sustainability, and material studies with the act of making and preserving—from inside the studio to out in the surrounding landscape.
What is the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity?
The Eames Institute is a 501(c)(3) public charity, dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Ray and Charles Eames, two of the most influential designers of the 20th century. We eagerly explore how their innovative approach to design, problem-solving, and creativity can inspire solutions to contemporary challenges, improve everyday life, and foster curiosity.
The Eames Institute offers exhibitions, archives, and digital content that showcase the Eameses’ work and impact across various disciplines, including architecture, furniture design, exhibitions, graphic design, film, photography, toys, sustainability, conservation, and more. In the words of Charles Eames, “Eventually everything connects.”