Houston artists Greg Donner and David Krueger are working on a solar-powered straw and metal building in the desert two hours south of Marfa. About seven miles north of Big Bend, the 40-acre spread that they’re calling "Art Ranch Texas" will eventually include studios, living quarters and will host artists and spiritualists for a month or two at a time. The foundations are done. Sometime next summer the straw bales go in. Donner, speaking from the ranch where he is spending the holidays, was cautious: "It’s not happening tomorrow," he said.