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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Road Trip: Creative Therapy


We returned home from Charleston, South Carolina late Sunday afternoon, following a long weekend of gardens, art, music, and good food. (Arty Girlz challenge: Inspiration). I was reminded of these words, "It is never too late to be what you might have been." Before I became a special education teacher, I wanted to follow two other career paths: dance and art. On my trip this past weekend, I met so many artists and learned so much, and I realize that I can still be exactly what I wanted to be. I will certainly never dance professionally, and I may never sell a painting, but that's not what it means to be an artist. This past weekend was my fiftieth birthday present from my main muse: Mr. Al. We've visited Charleston before, and it's our favorite city in the South because it reminds us so much of New Orleans, where we lived the first four years we were married. I thought I would share some of the beauty of the city with you until you have a chance to go for a visit yourself.











We went to openings at Coleman Fine Art Gallery and talked to Marc Hanson, a Minnesota painter who met and painted with four other artists in New Orleans last spring. You can see the the results of that month at Coleman's website above. Marc described the process he used to paint a rainy afternoon on Bourbon Street and said that he took over 300 photographs in the composition of this piece. You can see more of his work on his blog here.


The next morning we went to Washington Park to watch the plein air painters at the 10th Annual Arts Weekend.







Later we stopped in at Eva Carter's gallery on East Bay Street. Eva, who owns the Charleston's only gallery for abstract art, was in the store and spent a great deal of time describing the process for making a monotype and telling us about her roots in the southwest and its influence on her art. Truthfully, I would have loved to have spent more time with Eva. You can check her gallery out here.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city peeking over the iron gates into walled gardens.





Here's where we stayed, the Two Meeting Street Inn:


And here's where we had breakfast every morning:



In the spirit of the inspiration from our weekend in historic Charleston, I made the journal page above in a color scheme I rarely use for the(Crazy Amigo Red and Blue Challenge

Charleston is a city eager to share her story, rooted in the rich history of the South. The cobblestone streets, church bells, and gnarled oaks trees provide a lowcountry tapestry of sight and sound to rival any art hanging in the city's finest museums. The clip-clop of horses in the alleyways, the wind across the canons on the battery, the patois of the basketweavers sitting on Meeting Street, the lonely sound of a midnight saxophone on South Market Street... these things call me back to the Charleston again and again.

9 comments:

*jean* said...

wow! this feels so different from your other work....amazing..can't quite put my finger on why...wonderful!

Julie Allain said...

Beautiful creation and beautiful photos Thanks for sharing and joining in with Arty Girlz once again

Julie xx

Crissi Harvey said...

Great creation wonderful colours. sound like you had lots of fun,

Thanks for joining in with the Arty Girlz challenge.

crissi xx

Janet said...

That is a city I'd love to visit! The photos are beautiful. And what a treat to get to meet and talk with so many other artists. That in itself would be inspiring. And it shows in the piece you did here.

Go ahead and dance. You don't have to be a professional to enjoy what you're doing!

Sandy said...

OMG this is very insoiring.
So wonderful piece of art and fantastic photos.

Flassie's Fil'a said...

Wow, I love these peice!

Beautiful Place! I wonder if
Pam is going to miss it? She's
on the road. Lisa is blogging for her.

Billy Graham's Library is in that town I think. He turned 90yrs. old
Nov. 7th. His party is tomorrow.

God Bless You and Yours!!!

There is a giveaway link on my blog. Value $117.00. Check out her journal pages too.

I like that your never to late to be what you've might of been. Be Blessed!

Heather Robinson said...

Ahhh....can you hear me sighing...First of all your artwork is splendid...vibrant with colour and energy and after reading your post, it has deeper meaning. Really enjoyed visiting Charleston with you via your photos. What a lovely birthday journey.

*jean* said...

your photos are wonderful and wishing you a happy birthday....your art reflects happy....

Faye said...

The photos are grand! And what a beautiful, elegant place to stay. I know having breakfast there on the verandah was a special pleasure. Congratulations on your first 50 years. May you have an equally colorful and art-filled second half-century.