"Wonder. Go on and wonder." William Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury
It’s been almost a month since my trip to the delta and I’ve taken a little time to process my thoughts and feelings on everything. So here we go…
I worked the Friday before I left and after feeding the horse, the dogs, and dropping Allie off with my mom in Starkville I turned West and headed to Cleveland, MS. I love to drive when I have the time. Radio blaring, watching the scenery change as I roll down the highway, checking out the familiar, taking note of what’s changed and what stays the same. After navigating on some roads I’ve never been on and the rain I made it to Cleveland about dark and after parking behind our hotel, I walked over to the Ellis Theater for the kickoff of the Mississippi Ducks Unlimited State Convention. The Ellis is a historic theater that’s been around since 1938. It was renovated in the late 90s to be the home for the Delta Arts Alliance and serve as its home base. It is an absolutely beautiful space and it was fun to sit back with a nice cocktail after a long week with some good food, live music, and conversation with friends. A very nice start to the weekend and the start of an art filled weekend for me and very much needed.
Saturday morning dawned bright and early with the annual ladies' brunch and this year it was at the “The Gallery” a restaurant founded by the McCarty Pottery owners in Merigold, MS right up the road from Cleveland. We all piled into our provided van and trundled up highway 61 for mimosas and cheesy grits. Am I complaining? No, absolutely not. The breakfast was good, but the talk after lunch by the McCarty’s godson Stephen Smith was the best. He told us the story of Lee and his wife Pup McCarty and the founding of McCarty Pottery. You can read more about their story online of course but the general history is that Pup wanted to take a pottery class at Ole Miss while Lee was teaching there. It just so happened that the Ole Miss football team was taking pottery that same semester and as to not be the only woman in the class Pup made Lee take the class with her. The rest is history. They found the artform they would practice for the rest of their lives and the foundation for their legacy. If you ever wanted to hear a story of perseverance, vision, and drive to create something from nothing McCarty pottery is that story. It was so inspiring to hear the story of a couple and their combined love for their craft carving out a future that no one could have ever predicted. We headed over to the studio after finishing breakfast and I was at first a little disappointed. Honest initial reaction, this is it?
It looked like a little run down abandoned building. If it hadn’t been for the line of cars parked outside you would have never known this was the studio. It’s a small cramped space on the inside. Rough wood shelves that look like they could fall over at any moment hold thousands of dollars of ceramics and that morning there were literally customers shoulder to shoulder clutching armfuls of platters, bowls, and plates. The rule is you can only purchase what you can carry to the register and they won’t hold items at the front while you get more. At least 20 people waited patiently in line to check out, arms full of treasures. It was just a little too crowded for me so I escaped out a screen door down to the gardens. I could have spent the entire day out there and been happy as a clam. It was a space designed for reading, taking pictures, or simply finding inspiration. It was astounding what they had created from an old mule pasture there in downtown Merigold. The gardens are even listed in the Smithsonian Archive of American Gardens. I wish I had had more time but we were on a time crunch and needed to be back at the hotel at 11:30 for the awards luncheon.
After lunch and the awards presentation (Go Noxubee chapter! We got an award! Well done guys!) I had a few hours to myself while JJ was in more meetings. Instead of doing what I normally do and go off for a few hours with my camera, I decided to do something different. For once, since I had the opportunity, I made the decision to go and meet some artists and run back to McCarty pottery and soak up some of that inspirational goodness. (And maybe do a little shopping.) My first stop was to Jacks Farms an artist residency right off highway 61 and to meet one of my Instagram artist friends Churchgoingmule aka Marshall Blevins. We became Instagram friends a few years ago during Inktober (I think) and I finally got to meet her in person! What an absolute sweetheart yall. She showed me around the property and introduced me to her fearless steed (because horse girls gonna check out and give treats to the good ponies at all times.) While we sweated in the heat of a delta afternoon we laughed, talked about art, the south, cattle, and hay prices, and just genuinely acted like we’ve known each other for years. She showed me her works in progress and I felt like my heart would explode from happiness. I so very rarely get to talk to other artists these days in person, most of my artistic interaction is online, so this was a rare treat for me. This was honestly the best artist visit I’ve had in a long while. If you are wanting to see some absolutely joyful artwork that celebrates the South, the Delta, and life in general please check out Marshall’s pieces. They are an absolute delight. Check out her website HERE.
I left with a pic (including guest chicken) and a bounce in my step. Back in the car, I turned up 61 again towards Merigold. We have a big semiformal dinner to wind up the Ducks Unlimited weekend so I was on a deadline once again but still had a little bit of time left before I needed to be back in Cleveland to get ready. I ran back to McCarty Pottery and picked up a few pieces I had spotted that morning a tumbler, two tea bowls, and a small celadon bowl. (Lord knows I love a good celadon glaze on a pottery piece.) While I was checking out I decided to see if my guess was right from earlier in the morning and asked if the house across the street belonged to Chelsea Pearman. And it was! I got to know Chelsea while I was working at the insurance office in Columbus. He had inherited his brother’s house downtown and I insured it for him until he was able to sell it. On one of his trips to the office to sign paperwork, he mentioned in passing that he was a painter and of course that perked my ears right up. We chatted about art and painting and photography and became friends after that. He happened to catch me the last week I was at the insurance office and told me if I ever found myself in Merigold to please come by and say hello so that’s exactly what I was trying to do. After putting my new pottery purchases in the car I walked across the street and knocked on his door. Nothing. Well hell. That’s a letdown. Here I am trying to be social and everything and he’s not home! He happened to have his cell phone number on a business card taped to the door so I shrugged, sent him a text to say I had tried, and left to head back to Cleveland. There I am boogieing down the highway and get a text back from Chelsea. He was standing outside waiting for me. So in an uncharacteristic decision, I pulled a u-turn in the median and floored it back to Merigold for the third time today. I just decided I was gonna have one more artsy fartsy convo if it killed me. I pulled up in front of Chelsea’s house and he invited me right on inside. Organized artistic chaos greeted me. Finished paintings, half finished paintings, paint palettes, and the stuff of living was everywhere. Loved it. We chatted for several minutes, I got to look up close at several paintings, and caught up on the house selling debacle in Columbus. I just sorta looked around in happiness while he told me about the new series he’s working on. It was fun to visit with him again, he’s a super guy, and at the end of the visit, he gave me a little Yashica point-and-shoot camera that came out of his brother’s home. I of course told him that I hadn’t come over for anything but just for a chat and visit with him, but he insisted. He knew I would appreciate it, and I do of course, and he wanted me to have it. He saw me out to the car in the sweltering afternoon heat where we talked a little more, and before the mosquitoes completed toted me off and I told him to let me know when his next show would be and finally got back in the car to head back to Cleveland.
As I drove I found myself smiling and singing along to the radio genuinely excited and happy. There’s just not a lot of opportunities to hang out with artists in my day to day life. I’ve got a full time job. I’ve got a family. And to be honest I’m not the most outgoing person on the planet. Me talking to new people takes genuine effort on my part. Now after I’ve been around you for a hot minute I’ll happily chatter away like a magpie but I think like a lot of artists I’m a classic introvert (maybe an ambivert who knows) and it’s hard to communicate with regular people (no offense.) It’s amazing though when an artist meets another artist. It’s like you finally find someone that speaks the same language as you, and operates on the same wavelength as you. You just sorta get each other without even trying. These couple of hours left me happy with a heart nourished by the enjoyment of simply being around people like me.
The weekend left me tired and energized all at the same time. Yes, it was a quick weekend, but it was full of art and artists and good conversations and just made me so stinking happy. I don’t know any other way to describe it. I mean man I even got to see a print from Rory Doyle in the lobby of the Ellis Theater. Large, live, and in color! I mean come on! How cool is that. (If you’ve not heard of Rory Doyle, for shame! Go forth and LOOK.) I even had a great time at the dinner Saturday night over a bottle of wine with one of our DU friends just drinking and talking. The whole weekend really hit home for me that I need to get out there more. As Faulkner said, I’m ready for a time of wonder in my life again. I’ve made this change in my work/life balance, so time now to put some hours into myself and my art. To that end, I’ve dusted off my photo printer, made some Gelli plates, and even pulled my first prints since my printmaking class in college. (I’ll show you those in another post because this is already an epistle of epic length.) It’s so nice to feel more like myself and to feel my creativity coming back. To even want to get out and talk to people is such a drastic change for me. A welcome change. All I know is that I’m thankful for this trip. Thankful for artists that were willing to spend time with me. And thankful for finding inspiration in unlikely places at just the right time.
That’s a wrap lovelies! I’ve listed lots of links in this post to lots of awesome people. Please go take a look. Especially Churchgoingmule, Chelsea Pearman, and Rory Doyle, all of them are amazing artists. Thanks as always for reading.