The Culture Palette

Hi! We are Mercedes & Andrew, an artistic couple located in New Jersey. We open our homes and studios to artists and musicians. We have been operating an artist community and retreat in New Jersey since 2015 in our three homes, and trailer. Volunteers may help us continue this program in the warmer months (April through October … in the colder months/winter, everything is quieter here and you might just be the only volunteer). We have been doing some landscaping and building renovation projects. We always look for volunteers with common interests who can also assist us with day-to-day chores, dog sitting and house sitting, and we always appreciate volunteers who are into meditation, reiki, massage, yoga, pilates, tai chi, etc. We're looking for positive people with a peaceful vibe. The mood here is good for meditation or creativity (writing, playing music, drawing, etc.). It's a great place to relax and unwind in your free time. We like to maintain a community vibe. You MUST like old hippies! :-)

This is a quiet place near a lake. There's a lot of nature here and many opportunities for meditation and hiking. Think “retreat.” If you are looking for a LOT of action and noise, you may be more comfortable in a city environment.

Mercedes is an actress, singer and musician and Andrew is a musician and artist. We both like photography and doing art projects. You can improve your English, do creative writing, experiment with cooking, do arts and crafts, or improve your ability to play a musical instrument in our studio during your free time. We are working on a very exciting ongoing project -- building our first campervan -- and we are searching for people doing van life and who can give us advice. Our van is a 2013 Chevy Express and we are stuck on the electrical system. So if you are an electrician that would be great!