I purchased the Applegate house in 2006 to be near my parents who lived in Cooperstown New York at the time.

The natural beauty and vibrant music scene are what drew me to Ithaca originally. The other driving force in choosing Ithaca was the proximity to The Corning Museum of glass due to my desire to explore glass casting as my next medium. 

   I was originally searching for a rental that could accommodate a huge home made glass fusing kiln . No rental appeared so I looked at just one that was for sale.  I immediately loved the property upon driving in, but it didn’t include the barn to the right, nor the field to the left. I was able to buy the field simultaneously for protection, but the barn took 10 more years to acquire from the neighbor. In 2022 I was able to add 11 more acres, the final missing piece of the beautiful 18 acre retreat that now exists.                                                   

“The Farmhouse Retreat @ Applegate Studios” which has become a popular Airbnb rental had great bones to begin with. The old hand hewn ceiling beams were one of my first loves of the house after just spending 10 years in New Mexico and living in and visiting many character filled homes. Many nice touches were added by previous owners (there had been quite a few:) like skylights and redone hardwood floors to keep it up with the times. 

 A metal  “Morton” building had been attached to the farmhouse in the 1970’s  to work on the previous owner’s large boat. The time wasn’t right for the glass studio yet, but with quite a bit of work over time and an addition added, this basic metal shell was transformed into another popular retreat listed on Airbnb as “Artist/Musician Retreat @ Applegate Studios”. 

   The Barn is the third of the 3 major structures on the property to be renovated. The farmhouse and barn were the original structures on a large Revolutionary War plot of land and were built by the Rolfe family.  The barn was moved from its original location 30 yards to the north and pieced together in its present location as a large chicken shack by the McFall family in the 1940’s.

 With a great deal of help from an Amish crew and a few other talented builders, The Barn renovation is now 85% complete. Skylit upstairs painting/ design area & crashing room, soapstone lined downstairs kitchen with wood stove, kiln room, mold making room, glass cold shop space, and more exposed hand hewn beams are some of the highlights. This studio is expected to launch in 2024. While primarily built as a glass casting studio, it will be ideal for many sculptural and visual arts mediums including painting. Behind the barn glamping areas are being developed for workshop participants and others. 

      When the final 11 acres were added a disc golf course was roughed in around the perimeter. I had long hoped to have a sculpture park in the field. My new plan is to incorporate sculpture with the disc course. I would like to curate sculptures some temporary and some permanent for each hole.       

About David

David White has had diverse training in the arts through intensive study at several art programs including the San Francisco Art Institute, and the Cleveland Art Institute's program in lacoste, France. 

  He then worked as a scenic artist for various production studios, worked in several foundries on all phases of bronze casting, and was a member of the Associatione Artistica da Querceta, an association of marble sculptors, while living and sculpting in Italy. David has also exhibited his work in group shows in New York and California.

     Since 2000 David has been studying glass casting through workshops with various glass artists in several studios. Artists have included Swedish master Bertil Vallien, and Czech masters such as Jaromir Rybek and Martin Rosol.

   Most of his time during this last period has been spent developing and running Applegate Studios retreat for musicians and artists.