Photo credit: C. Wagner Photography
A Home for Flee and Pickle
Flee Kieselhorst is a photographer, educator, camping enthusiast, member of our LGBTQIA+ community, and single mom of four year old “Pickle.” This interview occurred on June 26, 2025, one month after Flee became a first-time homeowner in Alameda County, CA with the support of CalHome Down Payment Assistance from Artist Space Trust.
Meg Shiffler, Artist Space Trust Director: Congratulations on the purchase of your new home! And thank you for sharing your story. Let’s start with your art practice.
Flee Kieselhorst: I’m a photographer. I have two different tracks. In my commercial work, I try to bring a creative spin and quirky sensibility that grows from an authentic relationship with my clients. In my art practice, I use vintage film cameras and old film that I expose to heat and cold. I like my film work to be messy and unpredictable.
Meg: With your new house, you have housing security in one of the most expensive places to live in the country. Most artists in the Bay Area have struggled to find affordable housing. Have you experienced housing insecurity in your life?
Flee: I was mostly raised by my dad – a single father of three girls. We were in a low-income apartment complex that was pretty chaotic. We lived there my whole childhood, so I didn’t have a sense of “housing insecurity.” We had food insecurity, for sure. I left at 16, became an emancipated minor, had a full-time job, and also went to high school and college simultaneously. In my 20s I started my own business and was in an apartment in North Oakland for ten years that I called the Pink Palace. It had no heat and rain poured down from the hall light fixture. I was stressed out, and was actually electrocuted while I was pregnant. Pickle was born at the Pink Palace. After the first year, it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to keep him warm or safe there. I found a place that was less than half the size and $600 more a month, but we were pretty happy there for a few years. It was a good stepping stone to homeownership.
Meg: Did you ever think that you would be able to own a home in the Bay Area?
Flee: At Pickle’s birthday campout this year I said to a friend, “Nope. I’ll never be a homeowner.” I had tried to buy a home twice before, but my self-employment, student loan debt, and income status prohibited a mortgage. [After I qualified for CalHome Down Payment Assistance with Artist Space Trust in March 2025] I realized how few houses there were in our price range, and understood that there would be competition for those properties. I toured a handful of homes with my real estate agent and friend, Julia, but I scoured everything online in Alameda County under $500K.
Meg: What was the homebuying experience like for you, in brief?
Flee: I was camping with Pickle in Cannon Beach Oregon when Julia called and said that she went to a property and “I’m sure it’s your house.” I put in my offer without ever seeing the place in person! My offer was significantly under the asking price and because of CalHome I needed a longer escrow than is typical in the Bay Area. I really didn’t think that they were going to accept it, but oh my god, they took my offer. I had a scary moment when I learned all about insurance and tax costs and other discoveries, so I came to the house (for the first time) and sat there for hours with the ugly staged furniture. I felt more at home than I’ve ever felt. I knew it was our house.
Meg: How did you feel when you got the keys?
Flee: I got the keys and Pickle unlocked the door. I hired a photographer friend to come and take photographs to document the moment we walked into our house for the first time. That day, Julia and I loaded in a yellow couch and put some things in the house to mark that it was mine. The photographs are sweet. I look at them and see how excited we are to be in the house where Pickle will grow up.
Meg: What does being a homeowner mean for you and your family?
Flee: I told Pickle that we wouldn’t have to move again while he’s a kid. This is Pickle’s house. I’m occupying it, but I bought it for him. We have no familial wealth whatsoever. If I have anything to leave him, this is it. I plan to pay off the mortgage. Today I made my first mortgage payment. If I pay an extra $150 a month I will pay off the bank loan early. My intention is to stay here for the rest of my life.
Meg: What would you tell other low income qualifying artists considering first time homeownership through CalHome or other AST programs?
Flee: I would tell them that there’s no rush. It’s more expensive than you think. There’s so much that will come up. Be in the market for a bit so that you are ready. I went from zero to 1000! For me, having the house is an incentive to work harder. I’m a single woman, raising a child, and running a successful business - and now I own a house. I’m so proud of myself. I’ve built a life that focuses on what really matters.