R and J in the USA

Wandering the streets of Nashville, Indiana, Julie was enticed by the tourist shops alive with color and local flavor. And then there were the art galleries. Julie had no idea coming into Indiana that her first night’s stay would be in the backyard of an artist’s colony turned small town. She ooohed and aahed at rural Indiana’s art and grabbed a few beautiful postcards and a beautifully tiled garden hoe as a present for her sister, a plant lover, ecologist, and brilliant garden educator. 

At the checkout, a tall handsome gentleman ran to the counter from the back where he had been taking advantage of the quiet afternoon to grab lunch. As he rang up Julie’s purchases, the two got to chatting. He asked Julie about the 50 states tour and Julie asked to snap a picture of him for the blog. He offered one in front of his art and shared his socials. His name is Kurt Eagleman at Second Story Studio and you can follow him @second.studio or @kurteagleman. Julie asked him about his life and how he ended up in Nashville, Indiana. 

“I was born and raised right here,” Kurt said. “I went out into the world, spent some time in New York City, and, eventually, I realized I wanted to come back home to Nashville.”

He echoed a sentiment we had heard more than a few times about that journey of growing up in a place, having the urge to break out of it and see the world, doing just that, and then developing a new kind of appreciation for the place that raised them and feeling the draw to come home. 

And he had happily done just that. After checking out the art in one of the biggest cities in the world, he found that Nashville, Indiana, was, for him, the place to be.