In the rolling hills outside Poulsbo lies an acreage called Tuuleveski Talu—Estonian for “Windmill Farm.” Here, sculptor and blacksmith Yori Seeger and his wife Dana Harris-Seeger, a painter and printmaker, have created a home where heritage runs deep.
They dream of one day building a traditional Estonian windmill on the property, but for now, their work speaks to their roots in other ways: his through forged metal that connects him to generations of craftsmen, hers through multilayered paintings and prints that explore her Baltic ancestry.
This artistic couple has dedicated their lives to building spaces where creativity can flourish—first as founders of a pioneering art school in Silicon Valley and now as BARN instructors. Yori teaches in the Woodworking & Small Boatbuilding and Metal Fabrication studios. Dana’s classes are offered in three BARN studios: Print & Book, Drawing & Painting, and Fiber Arts.
Their story is one of craft passed down through generations, of cultural heritage transformed into contemporary art, and of two teachers who believe that making art is fundamentally about building connections.
The path that led them here winds through Italy, Silicon Valley, and the intersection of Old World craftsmanship with contemporary artistic vision. For Yori, that journey began with an unexpected encounter in Florence. As a 20-year-old student who had just been told he was “the worst graphic designer” his teacher had ever met, a chance meeting with a stranger led him to the workshop of Lorenzo Casamenti, one of the world’s foremost art restoration experts. There, in a basement working on a 15th-century chest with steel wool and wire brushes, Seeger found his calling.
“When you’re growing up, and you want to be an artist, everyone around you is telling you not to pursue art,” Seeger reflects. But in Italy, he discovered a different perspective. The experience shifted his thinking fundamentally about the role of art and craft in society.
Though he notes that he “should have been a third-generation carpenter,” he fell in love with metal. His great-grandfather’s pre-Civil War anvil, passed down through generations, sits in his workshop—a weighty inheritance both “literally and figuratively.” This connection to family history manifests in his work through an ambitious ongoing project: a genealogical archive forged in steel.
With a family tree encompassing around 150 members, Seeger crafts tools named for each ancestor, carefully matching the design to their historical context. A 16th-century Icelandic forebear might be commemorated with a tool authentic to their time and place. These aren’t mere decorative pieces—each tool is crafted for use in Seeger’s studio, creating a working family tree that bridges generations through practical craftsmanship. “I encourage all my students to name their tools,” he says, sharing this practice of personal connection with his craft.
Dana’s artistic journey has been equally purposeful, if more direct. “I always knew I wanted to be an artist and a teacher,” she says. Her work, primarily in painting and printmaking, delves deep into her Baltic American identity, transforming personal and cultural memory into visual poetry. As a second-generation American whose Latvian and Estonian grandparents emigrated after World War II, Harris-Seeger’s heritage has been a constant thread in her artistic expression, evolving from childhood inspirations to become central to her mature work.
Her creative process mirrors the complexity of cultural identity—she builds her pieces through multiple layers, working with transparency and light, often incorporating printed fabric to create depth and visual resonance. This layered approach becomes a metaphor for the immigrant experience and generational memory: some elements shine through, while others remain partially obscured, reflecting what she describes as “layers of history, what you can recall and what stays hidden.”
Together, they founded the School of Visual Philosophy in San Jose, California, born from conversations about the state of art education that went back to their first days together. “Dana and I both went to art school, and we’d go out on a date and talk about how terrible art education is and how if we won the lottery, we would start an art school,” Seeger recalls. “Then we realized we were never going to win the lottery, so we might as well just do it.”
They built that dream into reality for a decade, creating a vibrant community hub that hosted international artists and provided studio space for emerging creators. Their fundamental philosophy? “We feel that art is a language, nothing more and nothing less,” Yori says.
And while technical knowledge can enhance appreciation, “You don’t necessarily have to learn the grammar to understand it,” Dana says.
At BARN, they’ve found a community that shares their values. Their new home allows their children—Lyla, 10, and 8-year-old twins Esben and Hayden—to roam and explore.
On their acreage outside Poulsbo, where that Estonian windmill will one day stand, the Seegers have found their place—one where art, family, and community intertwine and where the next generation can grow up understanding that creativity isn’t just about making things, it’s about making connections.
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