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At HOME in ONE ROOM photos by Jim Craven French doors open from a sun room into Wynn Pedersen's studio in Jacksonville. The open ceiling and large windows provide the light that inspires her and her students. Jacksonville artist turns her studio into line-in haven By Jonel Aleccia The door to Wynn Pedersen's bedroom is closed this morning, but only because she's packing for a trip to Turkey and doesn't want nosy visitors to see. "You can't go in there," she says firmly. "It's a mess." Normally, however, the Jacksonville artist is devoted to openness, especially in the space that serves as both living quarters and working studio for the expressive 74-year-old. Wynn Pedersen relaxes in her garden outside her one-room home in Jacksonville. People who've taken art classes from her say they find her garden and studio inspiring settings for creation. "I am a one-room person," says Pedersen. "If I were to build another house, it would be all one room. I don't like to be cooped up." As it is, there's not much danger of claustrophobia in Pedersen's small yet spacious cottage. Tucked behind her daughter's suburban tract home, it began life 10 years ago as a single 350-square-foot room. Even with the addition of a tiny bedroom and a work space, it's still small. But it's very open. Pedersen's space flows from living room to kitchen to studio to screened porch in an unbroken vista. High ceilings and large windows add to the airiness. A ceiling loft offers storage and height. "The light is so wonderful," Pedersen says. "It's such a wonderful work space." And work she does, rising at 5 a.m. most days to pursue her passion for watercolor and collage. The walls are lined with samples of her work, hers and others'. There are fruits and flowers, reclining figures, several studies of men in Middle-Eastern garb. "I always keep what I'm working so I can see it," says Pedersen, gesturing toward a watercolor propped on a central easel. "I look at it wherever I go, so I can see what's wrong with it and what's right with it." A veteran art teacher, Pedersen has arranged her studio for the convenience of students who come for workshops, classes and advice. They don't seem to mind that the place they paint in is mere paces from Pedersen's kitchen. "It's not strange to me," says Jim Hutchins, who took a class from Pedersen last summer. "That was her home, that's her studio, that's her life." In fact, Hutchins says the holistic quality of Pedersen's place -- rooms, studio and grounds -- adds to the lessons. "She's got this beautiful garden," says Hutchins, a teacher himself. "Just by being there, I'm inspired." Marie Conte, another art student, says the atmosphere is everything. "The first time I walked in there, it was like falling into my mother's arms," says Conte, of Central Point. "As you look around the room, you see Wynn's entire life. I told her I don't even care if we paint. I'll just hang out here." Although Pedersen keeps busy with teaching, water aerobics and community activities, her life now is quiet life compared to past years. Born in Florida, raised in Michigan, transplanted to California, she managed careers as a director of curriculum at the University of California at Irvine, and later, as an educational consultant for Doubleday Publishing. Then Pedersen "retired," moving to the Rogue Valley with her daughter and son-in-law in 1989 to pursue painting at her Wynhaven Studio. A few years later, she met and married a Danish man who convinced her to move to Bahrain, the Middle East island situated between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. She wound up running an art gallery there and absorbing Arab culture. In fact, she taught a princess of the ruling royal family how to draw. But when the marriage and life abroad soured, Pedersen returned to Jacksonville, bringing souvenirs that now shape her home decor. A few steps from Pedersen's art studio, a small kitchen faces a leather couch and an unusual coffee table. Like almost everything in the house, the table has a history and a story behind it. It's fashioned from a heavy, iron-studded teak door, which Pedersen acquired from an Arab man just as she left Bahrain. It's among several relics from her travels: a 5-foot brass incense burner remodeled as a floor lamp; a collection of Middle East coffee pots; a slew of tapestry prayer rugs. There's even a herd of toy camels. "I had a camel once who lived in my back yard," Pedersen says. "I watched a camel give birth to its baby." Side-by-side with exotic artifacts are homely reminders of the rest of Pedersen's life: a collection of blueware pottery, a basket of her handmade teddy bears, a French stove that was a gift from a friend. It's an eclectic arrangement, to be sure. But as she approaches her 75th birthday, Pedersen knows what she wants around her. "These are the metaphors of my life," she says. "Everything that I have that I love is here." That goes for the people around her as well. Pedersen is fortunate enough to live within walking distance of her three daughters and seven grandchildren. On summer evenings, the family gathers in her screened porch or out by the fish pond in her landscaped back yard for dinner and conversation. But the bucolic life isn't always enough for Pedersen, who also spends time teaching water aerobics at Providence Hospital, helps with art auctions on public television and pursues an active travel schedule. She'll be heading to Turkey soon on a tour that will no doubt net more souvenirs for her studio. "This is my life; this is my passion," she says, standing in an open door. "I don't want to be closed off from it." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA