About Us
Artlab Thuja
Artlab Thuja is the homestead of David Noble and Camille Hildebrandt, located on ten acres of rainforested land at the southern end of Chimacum Valley, fifteen miles south of Port Townsend, Washington.
We take our name from Thuja plicata, the Western redcedar that is a keystone of our forest biosphere, and from our commitment to the interdisciplinary arts as a pathway to investigating and appreciating the richness and diversity of the world surrounding us.
Our goal with Artlab Thuja is to provide a welcoming natural retreat setting for individuals and groups working to deepen their artistic explorations and develop collaborative projects.
In addition to hosting monthly contemplative art practice sessions, we welcome proposals for retreats, workshops, and residencies by artists and teachers allied with our interest in art grounded in inquiry, meditation, structured improvisation, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Camille Hildebrandt
was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and spent her formative years in New York City studying dance before moving to the Olympic Peninsula in 1993. Curious about alternative dance forms after graduating from Juilliard, Camille studied authentic movement, contact improv and contemplative arts at Naropa, and began a series of interdisciplinary performance pieces exploring spatial and sensory awareness through structured improvisation. Learning to ask good questions and investigate what has not yet happened are still key principles in her art practice.
David Noble
grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduate studies in Japanese language and history, he pursued an independent career as a translator, editor, and book designer. He is currently developing performance pieces with Camille Hildebrandt and Dmitry Artamonov in their ensemble Utsusemi, and making mixed-media paintings and assemblages, a selection of which may be seen at noblearts.studio