The Mothman Cometh

Point Pleasant, West-by-God-Virginia is home to the elusive, catastrophe predicting harbinger of doom...The Mothman! And though I did not personally set eyes on him this weekend during my day in Point Pleasant for The Mothman Festival, I did set my sights on many a visual delight...

Here is the town's official Mothman statue.

I wandered all over, not straying too far from the festivities lest I have a run-in with the creature himself. It was a gorgeous sunny September day and I spent most of my time consumed with greedily snapping up as many pictures as my camera phone would take between battery charges in the car.

I wandered over to the the rail road tracks (always my favorite) to preserve the moment in pictures. This was just one of many things I could not get enough of; I could have shot this structure for hours. 

 And this, this old State Theater was a stunner! I could have spent a couple of hours on it too. There was not enough time in the day to get my fill.

I took this pilgrimage with a good friend of mine who, unlike me is not an amateur photographer but is none the less agreeable to everything and an excellent road trip buddy. We just walked around all day, in and out of crowds, loving the many splendored people watching and general Americana observing.
We watched a train pass overhead and basked in the shade along the stunning Ohio River, which I dipped my bare feet into! Sadly, that part was during a phone charging break, so no pics to document my Southern feet willingly soaking in Yankee waters. But I'll admit, the water was clear and beautiful and if I had but been with my sister I would have gone all the way in for a swim!

We wandered and watched and studied our toes.

 Stopped in for a beer to escape the mid afternoon heat.

Ate funnel cake in an alley. Correction: he ate funnel cake while I consumed my calories in liquid form, Coca Cola style!

 Mothman pancakes looked pretty tempting at first, but I settled on just taking pictures. On the T shirt it says "Mmm! I sure do make a tasty pancake". Evidently any food or drink can be Mothman-ized with the addition of two (or sometimes just one) maraschino cherries which represent his glowing red eyes.

 Point Pleasant is on the banks of the Ohio River, on the West Virginia side, for a long way they have a big brick wall with murals depicting the town's history. There was a live band and all manner of kid entrapping devices like this enticing colorful slide! Don't you just want to hop right on?

Here is one of the bridges connecting Ohio to West Virginia. The Mothman rose to infamy in 1967 when he predicted the collapse of the Silver Bridge, resulting in the death of about 60 people. Yes, that really happened.
And on a more relevant note, the fact that West Virginia touches Ohio proves their Yankee status. No self respecting Southern state would dare touch Ohio. But for all my trash talking, I really do love it up there; it's very beautiful country with a geological and sociological charm all its own.

  I think we still have one of these in Charlotte at Park Road shopping center, but just in case we don't...

 Some time after I first shot this theater I came back by and the sky was just right. I have a whole series of variations on this, with the sky repeated in the window. Amazing!

I'll admit to having had mixed emotions about taking this trip; the festival was exactly on my Mom's birthday and I'm scheduled for hip surgery four days after, I had a lot of "nesting" to do to prepare for that. I am so glad I went, to show that bone one more good time before it gets cut out and meets a lonely hot death in the medical waste incinerator! Can you believe they won't let me keep it because it's biohazerdous or something to that effect? What a gyp.

But we had one last hoorah. It was a beautiful, perfect, memorable September weekend I won't forget, the pilgrimage to the Mothman festival!
So in closing, let me just say when given a choice between staying, preparing, saving, waiting, dreading and getting the Hell outta Dodge for the weekend, take the second option every time.

Trips

I have grown up making pilgrimages to Mississippi from North Carolina, several times a year, (give or take) my whole life. I find that car travel offers the solitary driver an opportunity for meditation & deep thinking, and when a passenger or two are thrown in it's a great time to philosophise and for story telling. It also makes for multiple photo ops!
This is a factory along the John Belk in Charlotte that I've been attracted to since riding the school bus past it on my way to high school every day. I've always wanted to photograph it, and only just last weekend got a quick shot, cruising by.

I remember people always saying how "travel is good for you" and on & on in a rather Jack Kerouac sort of way; I thought it was all much ado about people with nothing more productive to do with their money.

I stand corrected. It's a time for reflection; putting physical distance between me and my home turf gives me a fresh perspective on everything in life. It's not really a revelation, but something that bubbled up to the surface of my conscious while commuting to Atlanta's Scott's Antique Market with my sister a few years ago. Oh, the ideas we would collaborate on during that monthly gypsy caravan of art pilgrimage!

I do love the open road. I'm grateful that after high school I worked in New Mexico a few summers and had the opportunity to drive from here to the Grand Canyon and back with only an atlas and a car! To sound perfectly old timey about it, travel was different before cell phones and navigation technology, more of an adventure and I'm so glad I got to experience it.

I'm traveling again this weekend for a fast & furious Friday through Sunday adventure, trying to get my fill before my hip surgery next week. And as you might suspect, I've asked if I may keep the bone they saw out. That hip has seen a lot of action and I'd like to have it back!
Cross your fingers that "they" will agree to my request. If so, I'll have pictures!

Mississippi Road Trip

I ran down to Mississippi for the weekend to attend a memorial service for a relative.
Mom and Dad were in the front, and I was in the back, taking pictures. The drive down was particularly gorgeous, with my favorite kind of overcast skies.

We saw the coolest bunch of bikers in Georgia. I took a million pictures of this crew, they were possibly the coolest thing I saw between here & Mississippi!

My Dad's love of  highways, Mississippi ones in particular was definitely cultivated in me as part of my upbringing. We are going to paint from pics I took with my camera phone! How cool is that? I can't wait to see what we do.

Back to Basics

My studio is a fabulous place. We have started a figure drawing group every Thursday night in the gallery space; I think it's the most exciting thing that has happened there all year! It is $10 each for 3 hours of drawing, painting or sculpting from a live model!
I've been drawing since I can remember, it was just something you did in my family. In recent years, I've drawn primarily to sketch out loose plans for what I want to build, or to show a proposal to a client but it has been far too long since I've done any figure drawing. The first night I didn't exactly know what to expect from myself. This is from the first week:

These pictures are all gyppy camera phone pics shot on the gallery floor before cleaning up.

I've just been using newsprint and charcoal. There's something very liberating about using newsprint; it's not precious. On the fourth week I got stuck in a rut and broke into my sister's pastels, what fun!

I can not say enough how much I'm enjoying this, wish we had started it months ago. It makes my brain feel good, and how can one really claim to be an artist who does not draw? It is the foundation of everything.
I'm looking forward to imrpoving and sharpening my skills as well as broadening my mediums.

In short, let me just encourage you to get out there & draw!
Here's a little inspiration. Remember this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arTBmh89iOw&feature=related

I am a silver junkie. It's in my genetic code; southern women have fine silver the way southern men have fine guns.
This is another pice for the collection. I got it for $2.98 today, shopping with Cassie. At first I just bought it to break down & reuse in my art, but this one's perfect and I am having flights of fancy thinking about using it for fondue for Ellie's birthday party this October.

The feet are sort of Art Deco. It has a beautiful little alcohol lamp in the bottom. The handle alone is a sculpture.

I'm thinking candy bones to dip in chocolate fondue for a Halloweeny treat. Fancy and delish!

Works In Progress

It's Tuesday, my favorite day of all the week!
Last week was crazy, with too many opportunities to think about how I have ms. But I am on to the next one, and here I am with just a few days until the inaugural gallery opening at the studio. But it's okay, I had lots of WIPS up my sleeve.
I have two of these; unicorn skulls with chamfron sculptures. Here is one in the making:

Here's where I hang silver I'm working on; those are the rings I cut the chamfron plates out of. Right over my workbench I hung the beautiful bat my friend Jason made me! I'm so lucky to have such talented and generous friends.

Here is a silver cuff work in progress under my Grandaddy's magnifying lamp. It is huge, I really need a picture of the whole big, beautiful, 1940's thing, it's very cool. I use it every day I'm at the studio and I can always picture him hunched over it, looking at something under it's florescent glow and chattering about what he's studying on.

I am newly enamored of photographing things under it's magnifying glass.
Here is one of my favorite silver patterns made into a cuff. The patina on this one is an almost "color case hardened" finish that is so desirable in guns. Tones of blue and purple, like an oil slick. I need to learn to replicate that.

I'm reminded to appreciate each moment, and slow down on occasion and to be more patient with myself. I'm so patient with my art. I learn what I can do with a given medium through repetition and exploration. I don't get frustrated when I push things too hard and they brake, I just replace the saw blade or whatever it is. I don't think to myself  "Keep running, fatty!" when it turns out I have a necrotic hip bone. Who the Hell says that?
And even though it sounds cheesy, do I refrain from making some cutsey metaphor about how I, myself am a work in progress? Nay!
I am, forever a work in progress.
I'll let you know when I reach perfection!
P.S. I wouldn't hold my breath...

Semi-Annual Uncles Visit

It was another beautiful day up to The Farm last Sunday where I met up with the fam for a little semi-annual Uncles visit.
Pickens were oddly slim here in the little "swamp" where critters are usually abundant. Did'nt stop us from tryin' though!

Even the trash is fancy down at The Spring House.

Them ol' sorry Pearsons are at it again.

Uncle Tom telling me about the red beans & rice he's fixing for dinner. He's a Louisiana Coon Ass, and his red beans and rice are the best!

Cassie caught this beautiful brim, a Red Ear. Into Brandi's aquarium he goes!

This is the logo on the little boat I grew up in. My Popaw gave it to Dad nearly 40 years ago, I'm guessing. I always loved this aggressive, head-dressed Indian.

It was my first day in this year! I can't believe how late I am this season. The water is clean and cold and kids swim about, learning to map out the submerged stumps like I did.
This is my absolutely most favorite place in the world.

I finer 42 acres you will not find.