Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Appalachian Artists

Where does one begin with describing a bit of heaven on earth? Our recent visit to Coker Creek was filled with more Divine moments than I can count, and not only because most of the people there are so religious.

I firmly believe that all the arts come from a depth in our spirits that we cannot express any way but through our artistic endeavors. I also believe that all of us have some art in our souls, and that anything that brings others to a peaceful or painful plane in our consciousness is art. For this reason, I have spent most of my adult life pursuing artists of one medium or another. I have sought to bask in the depths of their spirits.

It is a great honor to me when artistic friends ask for my participation in their art, even if it is simply planning a party for a showing of their works. I have been privileged to name, publish, promote, and purchase some of the artistic expressions of many talented people. My life-long dream has been to host an artists' salon for the energy that I feel creating a scared space with their combined sensibilities. The recent visit to Our Tennessee Mountain Home came close to realization of that dream, if only for a couple of days.

My second book of Our Tennessee Mountain Home blog entries is in print, and a new friend has moved her old gallery to a new location in Coker Creek. As is my usual speed, I took the opportunity to sign Richard up for some work for a friend.

My new friend Stephanie is creating a working co-op gallery for Appalachian artists, including weavers. I signed Richard on with Ralph, the builder of many of the weaving looms in Coker Creek, to help this happen in her gallery space. I then enlisted Jack to do a dual book signing with me. This led to Ralph's songbird wife Wanda, and her cousin Shirley, singing at an open house where Wanda could also promote her new CD. Mary brought in Don's wood burning work, and The Monroe County Buzz covered it all. We had a wonderful time.

I later spent an entire afternoon with a great group of artists working together as Mountain Pine Needlers, the Coker Creek chapter of Quilts for Kids. The co-chairs Bonnie Soucy, Donna Powers, and Delight House (called collectively by me Bonnie PowerHouse) lead this talented bunch of beauties in creating quilts for kids in crisis. Many of these women are multi-talented artists who have also declared interest in participating in Stephanie's "salon."

Visions of Josie's wearable objects de art, Mary making stained glass, Mountain Mama and her friends Esther and Edna weaving away the winter doldrums, Judy, Judi, and Judy painting perfect pictures, Don wood burning, and Robert and Mark making bows are dancing through my head. Maybe Donna, and Anita will give quilting classes. Perhaps Bonnie will teach us to replicate her purses and Tina will weave baskets. MarySue is making me some custom ornaments.We even have our own policeman Adam to keep us all feeling safe, as long as we can convince Eda to keep us in cookies to feed him.

Even without snow, Coker Creek was my version of a winter wonderland.