On Wednesday of last week, we met with nature artist and friend, Pam Johnson Brickell, and her husband, Rob, at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens to visit and see more of the place than Sweetie and I saw Monday. We actually got to see everything except one tall lookout tower that no one wanted to climb :)
And I so enjoyed touching base with Pam again while we were in her neighborhood (she lives in South Carolina but not far from Savannah).
While we were in the orchid house with Sweetie taking tons of photos, Pam got out her watercolor sketching kit and tried to capture those crazy mean-looking orchids! I just tried with my camera and I couldn't get a decent shot but you get what you get.
After a nice lunch together, catching up, we all went our separate ways, but I hope to visit again with her next time we are in her area. She is so talented - and she and her hubby are good people!
Some more interesting homes in Savannah for you.
Sweetie really liked the Victorians, especially their doors and all the pretty work on the porches.
This lovely green cottage on Jones Street was abutted up to a house that was falling down. The windows were boarded up, the shutters were falling off and it hadn't had a lick of paint for a long time. Savannah prides itself on its ghosts (every older home "claims" to have one), and I'm sure if there is one, it's in this house!
So I'm calling this:
The Neighbors are Rattling Their Chains Again, Dear!
And while this is not a pretty house, it is the place where the southern author, Flannery O'Connor, got her start in Savannah.
And right beside it is this little lending library = cool!
Open the box, leave a book and take a book :)
I've tried to read O'Connor's work but can't seem to get past the frequent use of the N word in her stories - it just jars on me and I always put the book aside for another time. I know it's a sign of her times, but...
On Thursday, we visited the SCAD Museum of Art to see the work of Chiharu Shiota, who works with old items/relics and threads (mostly red and black). Here is her installation created just for the SCAD Museum of Art. It takes up a whole room and each thread is hand tied and placed. It was a mesmerizing thing to walk into and around it.
The piece was called
Infinity Lines.
I purchased a book of her other work and love the ones with white dresses and black threads - look her up. There is something really elegant and hypnotic about her installations with thread and dresses, thread and old suitcases, thread and old shoes, etc.
On Friday, we visited the Oatland Island Wildlife Refuge and saw their wolf pack, more honeybees and hives, owls, hawks, wood storks nesting around the pond, lots of blue-tailed skinks in the leaf litter, etc. Then time to start sorting, packing, and thinking about the early morning drive to the airport to head home.
It was a pretty full week of doing something all the time!
We had a wonderful time and I have plenty of reference photos to use for future paintings so...time to get back at it!
For those in the US, have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.
And for those in the Cincinnati/NKY area, don't forget, Summerfair is coming June 2-4, our weekend art fair at Coney Island.
8 comments:
Rhonda, thanks for the memories. Four years ago I was in Savannah for 4 days, and spent every single minute looking, sight seeing and picture taking.. I love Savannah so much that I would live there if I could. It's such an artsy city, full of old wonderful buildings and stories,. True or not I was taken by all the lore of the city.
I posted so many photos on my Art Hearts Journey blog I'm sure bloggers got sick of me. lol ! I'm actually planning on a few days in either Savannah or St. Augustine . One or the other satisfies that need to see the history, beauty and charm of these cities.
The iron work alone is worth going. I have a metal artist friend (Oregon) and he so appreciated the pics.
hugs,
even if the book is written around a controversial time, I find it hard to read books sometimes too. it can be hard to handle some of the language sometimes and take me out of the story actually. I find it hard sometime to separate the author from the work if they are a horrible person (Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley being a big example. loved her books but then after finding out about possible crimes, the writing took on another tone and meaning :/)
ʚ(ˆ◡ˆ)ɞ·.•*•♫°•♫·.•ʚ(ˆ◡ˆ)ɞ !!
What a great trip! I love the buildings with all their details - just beautiful. And to see dolphins too. That is always magic. Looking forward to see what comes from your visit to the bees. - best wishes.
Thanks, Barbra Joan, and glad you enjoyed a trip back to Savannah via these photos :)
Jennifer Rose, I don't often have this issue with books but her writing just doesn't work for me! Sometimes I think we know too much about people and we would enjoy the work more without knowing about the person - but then, knowing may help us boycott those people we don't want to support.
Hi, Sadami :)
Lisa, thanks, glad you enjoyed the photos.
Hey, that's me : )
So glad you suggested we meet at the gardens. It means so much that we can spend time together. You and Gerry are very special to us. You can bet if we head your way we're giving you a buzz!
What a beautiful, fascinating city!!! I can understand why you are "seduced" by Savannah :)
Kathryn
Yes, I got you, Pam! ha ha Definitely call if you are in our area!!
Kathryn, it is a lovely place to visit but Sweetie and I don't think we could afford to live there. As usual, homes in a "vacation/tourist" place are twice what our homes are here. And the older homes are not insulated much, unless they've been totally revamped and lost the historic charm - a trade off when you can hear those horse-drawn carriages clop clop clopping over the cobblestones (but you can also hear every car and motorcycle and delivery truck). Such a wonderful place to visit for a week or two - or even a month!
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