By Karin Glendenning
Community News Writer
Cam and Joe Busch moved into an almost new house in an established North Chattanooga neighborhood three years ago and have made the home a showplace for their wonderful collection of art.
Mrs. Busch is an artist and nationally recognized art therapist, who does national and international consultation with the Society for Arts in Health Care. Also on the executive board of the American Art Therapy Association, she travels across the country helping organizations start arts medicine programs. She is the curator for the Association for Visual Artists arts medicine show, serves on several local boards and exhibits her photography at AVA, In-Town Gallery and Memorial Hospital. She recently had a showing of her photographs at Washington’s National Cathedral. “It was one of the highlights of my life,” she said.
Dr. Joe Busch, her husband, is a local radiologist, and they three grown children, Jim, Angie and Carrie, and two grandchildren.
The Busches’ Georgian brick home is distinguished by its elaborate moldings and fine interior craftsmanship. To one side of the spacious entrance hall, floored in cream-colored marble, is the home’s living room, where the Busches display many pieces of art from local and regional artists. The room has curved white sofas separated by a glass coffee table and a formal fireplace, over which hangs a painting by Mary Ferris Kelly.
On the opposite side of the entry area, French doors open to a library with a coffered ceiling and walls paneled in mahogany. “This is my special room for religious art,” said Mrs. Busch, who participates in a spiritual deepening program with the Shalem Institute and frequently goes on spiritual pilgrimages. “With its rich tones of the dark wood, the library makes for a reflective room,” she said.
The dining room, flanked by fauxed columns, is open to the entrance hall and has French doors that lead to the covered back porch. Two framed architectural drawings by sculptor David Nash, titled “Cross Box” and “Charred Egg,” hang on one wall of the room.
Mrs. Busch said that she and her husband spend most of their time in the keeping room, which is open to the kitchen, breakfast bay and has a door leading to the back porch, a space she calls the “Charleston porch.” Paneled in cherry, the keeping room has a large fireplace, comfortable furniture, lots of books and more artwork. “We like earth tones, and I like to pop in color for accessories,” she said of the less formal area.
The master suite, also on the home’s main level, has green walls and red accents. In this personal space, Mrs. Busch has hung photographs of her grandchildren. The adjoining master bath features a garden tub, a glass-walled shower and double sinks.
Upstairs are two large bedrooms that the Busches’ children occupy when they are visiting. A sitting room on this level is a popular spot for them to gather, she said. Over the garage is a bonus room complete with an efficiency kitchen.
The backyard is enclosed by a brick and wood fence and is essentially a huge brick patio edged by lush flower beds. A fountain bubbles in one corner, a hot tub sits in another and a large raised bed forms a circle in the center of the space.
Among the many interesting sculptures and paintings placed throughout the house are many pieces done by Mrs. Busch and her children. “Both Joe and I do love what we have collected. And all our children have a deep appreciation for art,” she said.
E-mail Karin Glendenning at kglendenning@tfpcommunitynews.com
