Paradise Gardens - Part 3...

Yep, Howard Finster is still a big part of our interests as of late at Casa Keene-Carrington.  Brady just completed a class presentation on our trip there and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will host the documentary film Paradise Gardens again soon since I missed it last time when it showed in Atlanta...

Other than that we've been busy at work (duh, the usual) but it feels different since every dime is going toward our upcoming trip.  I do promise to try to catch up on my old emails and get in touch with you lovely folks about places to see in Europe.  We're still taking recommendations!  Germany, France (tentatively), Barcelona, Switzerland, Prague, Austria, Budapest, the UK, Iceland, Belgium and maybe Copenhagen if we have time.  *happy dance*

And I've been culling the house goods like mad since our move is now days away.  *gulp*  I haven't been too stressed about it though since we are moving literally mere yards from our current location...

Brady graduates next weekend and we've got a lot going on between now and then so this blog will probably be radio silent for a while yet again.  I do hope all y'all have a lovely day!

Atlanta History Center...

Brady has an internship in Atlanta this semester and his first meeting was last week on a very stormy day.  A day that I decided to drive with him to explore the Atlanta History Center.  A day that will live in infamy as the day that I careened into what seemed to be a lake in the middle of the road near downtown Decatur...at 45mph...while other folks drove at 75mph and almost killed us all.  Needless to say, by the time I got to my final destination of the AHC I was thankful to be on solid, albeit flooded, ground that I wasn't driving on.  I was also thankful that there was an exhibit on folk art in the ever changing south.

The exhibit was extensive and I spent several hours in there listening to old stories including one about a talking ghost dog that was hilarious.  In the music section there was a whole faux chapel set up for shape note singing which is something I grew up with in my youth and despite my lack of religious affiliation I still find the hymns something beyond beautiful to hear...

Hand-in-hand with stories and singing go quilting and weaving and stitching.  Quilting bees and the motif of quilts often gave women a chance to mingle and to express themselves and commemorate events. The ladies in the picture above were from the Collins family, a big part of the weaving community in a small town here in GA and the possessors of some mighty fine hats.  They never sold their work (the blanket in the picture was gifted to AHC) but they did enter the occasional item in textile competitions in Atlanta where they inevitably won.

There were also exhibits on basket weaving (I dream of owning a sweetgrass basket), sun bonnets, net casting, embroidery, lace making and so much more.  Oh, and pottery!  I love folk art pottery.  My learnings from the The Folk Pottery Museum came in handy on this adventure and I tried to identify styles and makers without looking at the information plaques.  Alas, I didn't fair too well but I had fun refreshing my memory...

There was an excellent display on 'modern' folk art and it focused not only with innovators in the field as well as the controversies that arise from different factions of artists but also how the immigrating population has infused southern folk art with their own cultural art.  I loved this part!  And I loved the paper planes that were displayed as part of the changing faces of old traditions...

The torrential rain meant that some of the outside exhibits and interactions weren't really open to the public.  But when the weather let up for a minute I walked around the historical farm and snapped just a few shots before it began raining again.  I cannot wait to go back and explore some more!

If you're in Atlanta for the day I highly recommend that you stop by the AHC and spend a few hours looking around.  There are lots of exhibits I didn't feature in this post including an Olympic display, a Civil War piece, Native Americans in GA (which a bit lean but had a great collection of brief documentaries that played) and one on some famous golf guy.  I skipped all those but the Native American one because the museum closes at 5.30pm and between the rain and an out-of-the-way trip to Revolution Donuts, I was very limited on time.  But, hey, vegan vanilla bean DONUTS!  It was totally worth it...

Preserving Public Murals...

The Athens scenescape has been changing with the ever quickening momentum of a snowball rolling down a hill.  Every single day something is being torn down or built up and the shadow of the huge industrial crane downtown moves over us in constant sweeps.  Now, this isn't a post to complain about progress although it can certainly be seen that way.  There's no stopping change...that's for sure.  There are, however, ways to help preserve certain things - buildings, art, ideas - for hopeful future generations.  And that includes outdoor public murals.

The mural pictured above was created a number of years ago by the now world renowned artist and Athens local David Hale.  As of last week?  Gone.  Painted over by the owner of the building after new tenants moved in.  This has become something of a hot button topic here in town (people are pisssssssed) but what I'm going to say is that for me the real issue is bringing awareness to the protection of art in this form.  Murals are a part of our culture and have been since we put our hands on cave walls and made stencils over 40000 years ago.

Of course there is going to be conflict about non-commissioned murals aka graffiti/street art.  But when we live in a world where Basquiat and Bansky and Saner and Stikman and Specter are seen as true artists (by most folks anyways) then there is the idea that saving art in a variety of forms is a damn fine idea.  It's my hope because hope was kept for me by those before me.

If you're interested in supporting an overarching conservation program then visit this organization.  It's a good place to start...

In Atlanta?  Check this out!

If you happen to pass by local street art then make sure to stop or slow your step and take it all in.  Without protection and/or interest, it might be gone overnight...

PS - images above were taken by me, myself and I.  Feel free to use but please give credit.  Thank you.

Gaga For Giveaways!

Hi all!  I wanted to pop by and let you all know that I have goodies up for grabs in 2 (TWO!) different giveaways on the blog-o-sphere.

Sandra over at Lara's Vintage is having one stellar giveaway with all the goods going to 1 winner.  Yep, over $100 in prizes are up for grabs...including the cute necklace I contributed.  I just love the all-year-round wearability of this thing!

...and over at A Wild Tonic I'm giving this lovely framed print to a lucky reader!  It's such an inspiring image to me and I'm so happy to share it with someone soon.

Stop by and enter today!

(Kind Of) Athens Life - The High Museum...

Even though I grew up in Georgia, lived here 75% of my total life and now live only an hour or so from Atlanta, I'd never been to the High Museum of Art.  How?  How did this happen?  Well, regardless, Brady and I remedied that situation on Wednesday when we took a quick jaunt to the A-T-L to a) get his keyboard repaired and b) take our minds off his impending unemployment.  Yes, the hubby is losing his job and Athens is losing its original video store...ah, thanks urban sprawl and the ever growing lack of community that's running rampant around the world.  But that rant is for another time so let me get back to the museum, ya?  Ya.

Here are some of my favorite snapshots:

That's a Pyrex iron in the corner there!

Recyclable chair options = pressboard and, yes, crochet...

This installation was about the civil rights movement and grabbed our attention like nobody's business...

Howard Finster = amazeballs

We allotted ourselves 3 hours to see the sights and it still wasn't enough time.  That means we just might be heading back to Atlanta again soon...maybe for a belated anniversary getaway?

Just to clarify...these images are not of my own artwork.  Oh, and I don't know why in the heck my skirt is doing weird flippy things either.

P.S.  I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of the 100 Before 40 goal list!

Athens Life - Elberton Fair...

 

To my 10 year old self there was nothing better than the sounds, smells and sights of the fair.

I loved watching the wooden signs go up on 30ft poles that seemed to sway above the skyline no matter where I was in town.  The signs were quite good in their presentation if not entirely truthful in their representation.  Clowns *shudder* would be frolicking.  Cows would be juggling colorful orbs.  A chicken floated in the sky while holding a large bunch of balloons.

I loved the shrieks of the hawkers and gawkers and the riders of the rides. 

I loved eating funnel cake and other fried (insert meat, cheese or sweet here) things.

So, when I heard that there was to be a fair in the area I was beyond thrilled even though I no longer eat mysterious fried things and then ride something that spins you around for minutes on end.  These days I like to stroll the midway and people watch.  Marvel over old lettering styles.  Peer at the handcrafted stuff up on display.  Pet a chicken.  Simple things like that...

The 79th Annual Elberton Fair was a bit small but it did have some excellent sights.  I will say that fairs have changed a lot since I was younger!  Was everything so loud?  It was?  Hmmm...I think my age is showing.

Or maybe my age is irrelevant because I still snickered at this painting.

Ah, dear fall fair.  I'll see you again next year!  Maybe at a different state or town but I'll still be there...