THOM Issue 3 - Fall 2014

THOM

Volume 2 | issue 1 FALL 2014

Volume 2 | Issue 1 Fall 2014

98

Editor & Publisher Michele Arwood

CREATIVE Director Haile McCollum

Assistant Editor Stephanie Ellis

copy Editor Lauren Eberle

Designer Lindsey Strippoli

Photographers Jay Bowman Andrew Cebulka Gabe Hanway Katie McTigue Melissa Miller Abby Mims Alicia Osborne Daniel Shippey Carrie Viohl

Writers Bunny Byrne Lauren Eberle Nikki Igbo Sybil McLain-Topel Jennifer Westfield

thomasvillearts.org 600 E. Washington Street Thomasville, GA 229.226.0588

Cover Photo by Melissa Miller Cover photo of Aspen tree found in Jackson, WY

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contents Fall 2014 TASTEMAKER

4 POWER OF THE PEN Jessica Mischner, Senior Editor Garden & Gun Magazine

COLLABORATORS

10 WHERE THE RED HILLs ROLL Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy

ARTIST

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16 VIEW OF THE HUNTSMAN Eldridge Hardie

THINKER

18 FISHING FOR MEANING James Prosek

CONNECTORS

20 CONVERSATION STARTER Mural Arts by Chris Lovelady and Katherine Sandoz

25 THOM’S GUIDE

FOODIES

80 THE SWEETER THE DAIRY The Family behind Sweetgrass Dairy and Dreaming Cow Creamery

VISIONARY

86 BUILDING THE FUTURE Elva Rubio

MUSE

92 INSTANT EXPOSURE Ryan Zimmerman

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PLACEMAKERS

98 THE WILD LIFE Jackson Hole 1 04 Featured Artists

Letter From the Editor

Where I come from...

“Life is simple. Good food. Lots of family. And it’s

have grown, more partners are standing alongside

a place I look forward to coming home to.” I had

those who have been with us since our first

asked my 21-year-old son on his way back to

release, and every day we have the good fortune of

college to tell me the first thought that pops to

getting to know more of you. It’s all very fulfilling

mind when I say the word “roots.” With his deep

for a girl who was once captivated by the bright

Southern drawl and big crooked grin, the words

lights of a bigger city, but now calls Thomasville

roll off his tongue like he’s sharing something he’s

her forever home.

been thinking about his entire young life.

This season our Center members will enjoy a When you walk the streets of our city these

secret “Members Only” event tied to our cover

days, the view is a good bit different than it was

partner, Pebble Hill Plantation, and our 19th

a decade ago. Still standing tall are the historic

Annual Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival. We’ll

buildings that line our old brick streets. Sidewalk

release more details in October via email,

benches are marked with the names of the people

Facebook, Instagram, and the web. If you’re not a

who have gone before us — those who held tight

member, now’s your time to join. Visit us online

to their Thomasville traditions and called this

at www.thomasvillearts.org. I think you’ll find it’s

fine city their home. But it’s the sheer number

great to be at the Center of it all in Thomasville!

of young folks gathering on our streets and in our shops that seems different. There are lots of them these days. Bright, beautiful, passionate, young 20/30/40-somethings, each from a different background, but with a similar story to tell. They, or a significant other, have surrendered to the call of home and are returning to their roots or putting down new ones in a place that feels a place apart.

In this issue, we set out to meet some of the young artists and entrepreneurs who are nourishing the soil that holds our strong Southern roots. Wendell Berry once said, “Soil is the great connector of lives,” and for roots to take hold we have to properly care for it. We like to think we are tending to the soil by connecting you to the people who are caring for Thomasville with their keen perspectives and artistic talents.

We’re excited about this issue. Actually, we’re excited about every issue, but this one was exceptionally fulfilling to put together. Our pages

Michele Arwood Editor + Publisher marwood@thomasvillearts.org

Written by Lauren Eberle

She says it almost as a side note. We’d been chatting for nearly an hour when the gem I’d been hoping for — a poetic, take-away promise — rolls off Jessica Mischner’s tongue with a nonchalance that can only back a statement you really

Photographed by Andrew Cebulka

believe in: “One of the beauties of the South is that we can continuously re-invent ourselves without forgetting where we came from,” says the senior editor of Garden & Gun magazine. “It’s important to preserve what’s made Southern cities great, but it’s just as valuable to look ahead.”

Jessica can say such things with confidence — it’s quite literally her job to know what makes towns in this region tick. Charleston-based Garden & Gun, one of the fastest-growing publications of its genre, gives more than 1 million nationwide readers a bi-monthly tour of the best of the South — from sporting culture, food, and music, to art and literature, people, and ideas.

Crafting its award-winning content is a who’s who staff of cultural curators — editors whose lenses focus not only on what’s defined the South for generations, but also what’s inspiring its thriving future.

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TASTEMAKER

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And that’s why Jessica’s two-sentence blessing

start that it’s a bit “meta” (a magazine writer

(heck, it was almost a dare!) is such an important

interviewing a magazine editor), I’m here to glean

part of shaping Thomasville’s creative community.

and Jessica has stories to tell.

It’s a reminder that the South is ever-changing, ever-growing. And for the movers, shakers, artists, and makers in these parts, Jessica’s work serves as assurance that what you do truly matters.

Born and raised in Camden, South Carolina’s oldest inland town, Jessica is familiar with the equine and sporting heritage that Thomasville residents treasure. In the early 1900s Camden was

SOUTHERN START

a wintertime resort destination for Northerners

This spring the Wall Street Journal featured Garden

seeking a scenic, horse-friendly escape from harsh

& Gun staffers’ modern-Southern dress, and in

weather. Today, it’s home to 7,000 residents who

June, Jessica was profiled on a popular style blog.

enjoy the area’s natural landscape, old-world

Sure, she’s a stunner — with rich brunette locks

charm, and exceptional antiquing.

and likely the friendliest smile in Charleston. But talking to her, it’s clear: Jessica’s most captivating feature is most certainly her wit. She’s incredibly sharp, but not in an intimidating way. Rather, I’d like to treat her to dinner downtown on the bricks, ask her to order for each of us (because that’s what taste-makers do), and then pick her brain about all types of things.

Jessica met her husband there, and both families still call Camden home. College took her about half an hour away, where she studied English and history at the University of South Carolina. On the heels of graduation and a few months in Italy, Jessica couldn’t resist the grand publishing pilgrimage to New York City. By day, she interviewed for magazine jobs; by night, she

Quick quips ricochet from her lips faster than I

worked the register at a neighborhood burrito

can put pen to paper. Every little thing she says

shop. (“I didn’t have food-service experience, so I

is quotable, and although we agree from the

couldn’t even wait tables!” she recalls.) One month

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TASTEMAKER

in, her patience paid off: She secured her first job

space has weathered barn tables, oriental rugs,

at Travel + Leisure, followed by Food & Wine, Plenty,

and chairs of all sorts — from leather club and

and Metropolitan Home.

Danish teak to lucite and Shaker-style. It’s a little

“New York made me value the South more, and differently,” Jessica reflects. “I was there from 2003 to 2011, at a time when the rest of the country was just realizing that the South was more than jokes

bit English country, and a smidge California-style, too. Stacks of books and magazines fill tables and shelves, and you can’t help but crane your neck to catch a peek at the titles.

and stereotypes...when people started to crave a

There’s no clutter here (even with a busy toddler,

more soulful way of life, and when they realized

whose baby gates cause a double-take in such

that there was value in things made with care.

a historic home), but there are a number of

“Ultimately,” she continues, “seeing people start

collections. Peter Copeland’s “America’s Fighting

Seeing people start to appreciate where you came from shifts your perspective. It was a refreshing reminder that I was inescapably rooted to this place. to appreciate where you came from shifts your

Men” — 11x7 drawings of soldiers from 1607 to the

perspective. It was a refreshing reminder that I

Civil War — are framed and hung in a grid.

was inescapably rooted to this place.”

“They’re stately and funny and I simply love

In 2009, she pitched her first piece to Garden & Gun,

them,” Jessica says. Julep cups, match and

which became the April/May 2010 cover story, “The

toothpick holders, deviled egg dishes, and cocktail

Southern Invasion of New York.” It also segued into

napkins can be found aplenty. “Oh, and stuff with

a blog, Southern in the City, that Jessica ran until she

other peoples’ monograms,” she adds with a laugh.

returned to her home state (this time to charming

“Nothing is really all that valuable — they’re just

Charleston and a full-time job at the rapidly

things I’m drawn to.”

growing magazine) three years ago.

NEW ROOTS When they moved, Jessica and her husband, Will (a digital marketer for Le Creuset, whose United States headquarters is in Charleston), fell in love with a circa-1700s property downtown. “Home” is the top two floors, which they share with their handsome toddler, Camp, and an assemblage of furniture and art purchased on the couple’s travels to Connecticut, New England, and around the corner at their favorite SoHo antiques shop.

A beautiful marriage of vintage and modern, the

She knows what she likes: English breakfast tea with honey and skim milk; Mississippi blues; a good, long New Yorker profile before bed. Jessica’s discerning taste is sophisticated, yet practical. “I tend to buy what lasts — what has inherent value.”

Take, for instance, a pair of navy blue corduroys — her “uniform” — which she’s bought, worn, and replaced for seven-plus years. “I like that they’re classic, and yet I can mix and match great shoes and accessories and take it to a new level.”

AT WORK She’s as well-read as you’d expect, and well-

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TASTEMAKER

listened, too. You don’t just get this gig by being born below Mason-Dixon. Rather, she networks with the names, she’s a devout researcher, and she immerses herself in Garden & Gun culture — from the eats and the drinks to the games and the glam.

On weekdays an 1808 building on Charleston’s historic King Street shelters Garden & Gun’s smallin-size, yet tops-in-talent staff. As a senior editor, Jessica manages the Talk of the South section in the front of the magazine, plus a feature or two, which can also include the cover story. Although she very rarely writes these days, Jessica says she delights in editing. “Finding the right story for the right writer, and bringing new writers into the fold, is extremely rewarding,” she explains.

Thomasville is no different from Charleston or Nashville, or any other great city, in its sense of identity and vibrancy.

Earlier this year Jessica collaborated with New York Times writer and James Beard award-winner Kim Severson for an investigative feature about a prolific thief who, over the course of nearly three years, stole more than $12 million worth of sterling silver from 100 victims in six Southern states. “It was the perfect story for us,” says Jessica, who shepherded the article through its many pre-trial legal hoops.

To be sure, not all her work is so heavy. In recent issues the trend-setting editor has welcomed Old Crow Medicine Show to the Grand Ole Opry, worked on a cover shoot with Southern-born A-lister Anna Camp, and produced a Dixie-endorsed guide to cool cocktails.

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TASTEMAKER

Stop by her office, and you can’t miss the “tricked out” bar cart stacked with gleaming trays and brimming decanters. Or the cozy fireplace with a vintage target poster. The “good bones” of this sundrenched, historic space inspires the staff. And in turn, their opinions shape us.

Truly, Jessica is telling the stories of a region known for storytelling. “Thomasville is no different from Charleston or Nashville, or any other great city, in its sense of identity and vibrancy,” she says. “The South is rooted in deep tradition. We spotlight the sense of place, the landscapes, and the environments we love so dearly. The ones that bring us joy, and the ones that give us pride. Sharing those traditions with the people that live here — and with those that don’t live here — is the reason Garden & Gun exists.”

With due respect for manners and tradition, the magazine challenges Southern communities to shape their future. One of the highlights of Jessica’s job is coordinating the Made in the South Awards, now in its fifth year, which recognizes the top Southern artisans, chefs, designers, and more in the categories of food, drink, style and design, home, and outdoors. This year, the overall winner will receive a $10,000 grand prize at an awards Jubilee in December.

“Right out of the gate, these artisans and makers will see an immediate boost to their business,” Jessica says, beaming. “This instant kick-start can do wonders for their future success. That’s something to be mighty proud of.”

Indeed. Celebrating what’s exceptional about the South — and with it, what’s still to come — is something we can all gather around.

jessica mischner Garden & Gun gardenandgun.com

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WHERE THE RED HILLS ROLL

Written by Nikki Igbo Photographed by Jay Bowman

COLLABORATORS

The Land

woodpecker before it disappeared into the brush beside Gannet Pond. I saw a turkey vulture poke

Before Henry Ludlow Beadel donated Tall Timbers

at a possum’s remains. And yes, I beheld the

quail hunting plantation to the pursuit of fire

bobwhite quail, the South’s coveted premier

ecology research in 1963, surely he rushed to

gaming bird.

his front porch every morning to behold what I glimpsed one Thursday in June. Beyond the porch’s columns stretched the sort of green space any artist would be overjoyed to paint; a little pond surrounded by a rainbow of wild flowers, groves of happy trees with limbs lifted in celebration, Lake Iamonia, a roughly 6,000-acre drink of cool, clear water radiating the light of the new day’s sun.

As I rode along the three-mile loop around Gannet Pond, I kept silent so as not to miss any elements of the wild. I felt as if I’d escaped to another world — one without cellular towers, traffic jams, and the urge to move along at a hurried pace. Two fox squirrels came into view, a reddish brown character and his mahogany mate. They paused a few beats to watch me as intently as I watched

How could anyone have left these lands to go the

them. Past Jones Tenant House where descendants

way of a strip mall or parking lot, if for no other

of the Jones family still gather to remember their

reason than the birds alone? On those hallowed

ancestors, an American bald eagles’ nest perched

grounds, I saw a bluebird that must have been

high atop a pine tree. I couldn’t bear the thought

Yves Klein’s original inspiration. I saw a scarlet

of anything or anyone threatening this peaceful

cardinal flit from tree to tree singing his slurred

place.

whistle. I caught the profile of a red cockaded 11

COLLABORATORS

The Ambassador Georgia Ackerman is the kind of woman who

gave Georgia one of my “You’re kidding me, right?” looks, to which she replied, “Welcome to Tall Timbers.”

takes time to choose her words and her next action with great care. Though she strolls with a focused purpose, she remains acutely aware of her surroundings. I first met Georgia at Tall Timbers and noticed her gait and her gentle disposition. It was obvious she’d spent a lot of time outdoors, not just hiking, cycling, and paddling in the Florida sun, but stopping to take in the environs. When I asked her why she had such a deep and abiding affection for the Greater Red Hills Region, she paused before stating one word: “magical.”

The Investigator When Bill Palmer revealed that he was the son of a NASA engineer and had spent his childhood watching shuttles launch from Cocoa Beach, I wondered why he hadn’t echoed his dad’s career path. But why look to the stars when there is so much to behold right here on earth? Nature was in Bill’s blood. He took up hunting as soon as he was old enough to buy his first gun and, like Georgia, developed the same affinity for hiking, camping, and biking. Though he dabbled in engineering,

Though Georgia left the region several years ago

nothing compared to the joy he felt while studying

in pursuit of self-discovery and a broadened

game birds, specifically the bobwhite quail.

perspective, she couldn’t help but return. As I discovered that day, this place begs you to get up close and personal, sit a spell and come back ‘round soon. The 10 years she spent in Phoenix could never have quieted the Red Hills’ siren song.

Nor could she have resisted the opportunity to share Georgia’s and Florida’s dazzling green and life-affirming scenery with her children. At Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, I felt as if I’d somehow happened onto the set of a Disney wildlife documentary. As if on cue, a pair of swallows alighted on a nest tucked in a corner of Henry Beadel’s porch roof where three open-mouthed hatchlings emerged for breakfast. I

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Bill’s collegiate research efforts were a natural fit for Tall Timbers’ and other local landowners’ desire to understand how best to promote ideal conditions for plentiful quail hunting. The more he studied the ecology of the species, the more he understood why Henry Beadel and wildlife researcher Herbert Stoddard had been such huge advocates of prescribed burns. I shuddered at the thought of losing my favorite wild places to flames: The skyscraping sequoias of Kings Canyon, the cache of cool air-loving ponderosa pines on Mount Charleston, or Tahoe Basin’s distinctly crowned sugar pines. Yet according to Tall Timbers’ research

and Red Hills Region history, a little fire does a lot

When Neil moved to Tallahassee to attend

of good. Bill explained the way in which prescribed

graduate school, he was taken with how the Red

burns rid woodlands of flammable brush and

Hills Region had held onto its mix of urban and

prevent huge, roaring wildfires. I had to recalibrate

rural landscape. In doing so, the area had secured

my notion of fire’s relationship with forestry. No

the natural and manmade historical elements

wonder Smokey the Bear had changed his tune

that shaped its culture and sense of community.

from “Only you can prevent forest fires” to “Only

Because he hadn’t had a chance to protect his

you can prevent wildfires.”

hometown from urban sprawl and couldn’t turn back the clock, he jumped at the opportunity

The Urban Planner

to safeguard his adopted digs. And because of

Though Neil Fleckenstein has spent 12 happy years as a planning coordinator at Tall Timbers, he didn’t originally call the Red Hills Region his home. Neil grew up in Tampa, a city that exemplifies America’s addiction to what he calls “local manifest destiny.” Though he enjoyed the convenience of urban life, he, like his fellow Tall Timbers staffers, also appreciated the beauty of green spaces. As he grew older, he became curious about the history of Tampa’s landscape and discovered that Tampa had once possessed a modest downtown grid with an abundance of green space. He felt he’d lost out on an ideal mix of the best of both worlds.

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COLLABORATORS

Neil’s intense study of the economic benefits of

and hunting rifles. Following a 50-year pilgrimage

green spaces, we can all better understand our

throughout our nation and the world, George

dependence on natural landscapes.

recognized the unique circumstances of the

Red Hills’ hunting and forest land provides $1.1 billion annually in economic services, such as climate regulation and the process that removes excess salts from groundwater to supply me and

several thousand acres making up his corner of the world. This is why he pays his property taxes and has donated 2,300 acres of his plantation to a conservation easement with a wide, boyish smile.

35 million of my fellow neighbors with fresh drinking water. Additionally, 86 percent of the Red Hills Region generates $148 million in labor income and transactions with local businesses each year. If not for large green spaces like the Red Hills Region — which raise healthy property tax revenues despite having little or no need for infrastructural services (your standard roads, schools, and utilities) — surrounding urban areas would be strained for cash.

George doesn’t just have a thing for the 300-yearold longleaf pine that somehow survived several wars, the timber industry’s sweep of the area, and the passage of time. Or the bobwhite quail both he

The Land Steward

and his wife, Cyndi, enjoy hunting each winter. Or the unchanged nature of the land on which he can

Like Georgia, George Watkins is an area native.

reference the varied past of the inhabitants and

For four generations, his family has anchored

newcomers who have shaped the area’s culture.

themselves to the Red Hills Region. As the owner

George has a deep, abiding bond with all of these

of Dogwood Plantation, he has taken his duties to

elements and more. His passion about these lands

protect his home with great gravity, though home

is palpable. As he spoke of his desire to preserve

is not just the dwelling in which he keeps his socks

the land for his children, grandchildren, and everyone else, I was moved.

The Collective Effort Georgia, Bill, Neil, and George all understand that no matter what drew each of them to the area between the Ochlockonee and Aucilla Rivers, they must combine their energies to preserve it. More importantly, they must communicate the Red Hills story to the at-large community. To know any place is to love it and thus they want everyone to know that the region is worth preserving. The Greater Red

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COLLABORATORS

Hills Awareness Initiative does just that.

The initiative seeks to build appreciation for the rich lands of the Red Hills through ongoing year-round education and activities that invite locals to get up close and personal with their wild surroundings. Any of the Tall Timbers team will admit that the initiative is a lofty undertaking.

Even I sometimes covet my air-conditioning and my streaming downloads of entire seasons of television dramas over the desire to hike through local parks. But what our natural lands offer us and future generations is worth every effort. In today’s world of fleeting trends and temporary fancies, the initiative is about holding onto one of America’s last original landscapes forever.

As project manager for the Greater Red Hills Awareness Initiative, Georgia broadcasts the tale of the longleaf pine, the more than 60 endangered and threatened species, and the landmarks recounting how far we’ve come as a nation and as a people. As the president/CEO and a key ecological research expert for the area, Bill champions the use of prescribed burns to rid woodlands of flammable brush, prevent roaring

Because of Neil’s intense study of the economic benefits of green spaces, we can all better understand our dependence on natural landscapes. wildfires, and create an ideal environment for the flora and fauna of the region to thrive. Neil’s economic studies reveal the billions of dollars in environmental services, labor income, and business-to-business transactions these virginal spaces generate. George’s contribution of time, money, and space makes the team’s efforts possible.

Collectively, their stories and passion remind me that my world is much more complex and interconnected. I’m not just a city girl — I’m an American girl. I depend on unfettered green spaces like the Red Hills Region to support my lifestyle every bit as much as I depend on my wireless mouse and WiFi.

Tall Timbers Research station & Land Conservancy 13093 Henry Beadel Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32312 talltimbers.org

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View of the Huntsman Written by Jennifer Westfield

Going beyond portraiture and illustrative landscapes, Eldridge Hardie composes scenes full of both mood and authenticity. Bob Saile, Outdoor Editor of the Denver Post has said, “[He] has the ability to recreate the elements of a scene so suggestively, and yet so accurately, that a hunter or fisherman who views one of his oils or watercolors feels that he has walked, or waded, in that very spot.”

Eldridge is hailed as one of the premier sporting artists of the day, and his work is frequently likened to that of Winslow Homer, Ogden Pleissner, and A. Lassell Ripley. He is the featured painter for the 2014 Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival and will be on hand to enlighten and inspire guests.

Born in Texas, Eldridge earned a degree from the School of Fine Arts at Washington University in Saint Louis, and shortly after, in 1966, made Denver his permanent residence. “I was born to hunt, [and] fish,” Eldridge has said, “and

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Artist

Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival Events FESTIVAL — Nov. 22–23 The Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival is one of the nation’s premier sporting and wildlife arts festivals. For its 19th year, PWAF will bring together collectors, artists, guest speakers, naturalists, and people of all ages for a series of art and nature-related activities. The works of 65 of the best sporting and wildlife artists will adorn 40,000 square feet of space at Thomasville Center for the Arts, where all are invited to enjoy the culture, cuisine, and hospitality of South Georgia make art about these passions.” His passions for

while partaking in this beloved yearly event.

bird hunting and fly-fishing have taken him to

THE LONGLEAF AFFAIR — Nov. 20th

every corner of the globe, where he has drawn

A black-tie gathering of 50 friends for artful fare

inspiration for hundreds of oil and watercolor

and a game of chance. Each of 25 couples’ tickets

paintings.

is a raffle entry for a drawing that could win one

“Hardie paints the way fishermen and hunters see,” says American nature writer and scholar Christopher Camuto, “with a well-drawn realism that’s soft and impressionistic at the edge, but hard and clear at the center where the action is.

Eldridge Hardie is as good as any painter alive in depicting not only the beauty of nature, but also the subtle psychological tug in any fishing or hunting scene.”

Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival attendees have the opportunity to view and purchase Eldridge’s works, and ticket-holders to this year’s November 20th Longleaf Affair at Pebble Hill Plantation’s Main House have an unprecedented chance to win one of his paintings, valued at $19,000.

lucky couple a painting by PWAF featured artist Eldridge Hardie.

UNDERWRITERS PREVIEW PARTY — Nov. 21st Black tie optional, exclusive gathering for underwriters, featuring live music, signature cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres, plus the opportunity to peruse and purchase art before the event opens to the public.

BIRD DOG BASH — Nov. 22nd A casual, open-air affair held at the Oak Post at Pebble Hill Plantation. Guests will enjoy abundant Southern fare provided by Capers Catering and lively libations while enjoying music by the Tobacco Road Band. The evening ends with a live art auction of works created that day by Festival artists.

Eldridge HardIE/Fine Art Of the Sporting Experience 303-756-5662 eldridgehardie.com

Thomasville Center for the Arts 600 E Washington Street, Thomasville, GA pwaf.org

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fishing for meaning Written by Jennifer Westfield

A painting of a swordfish he saw on the deck of a fishing vessel off the coast of Nova Scotia features a tiny rendering of James Prosek’s reflection in the eye of the fish. For James, the process of meticulously gathering animal specifications on the spot is much more than a cataloguing project: it is about seeing himself in the eye of that fish during its last moments, after it has been pulled out of its vast, aqueous world.

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THINKER

Once called an “Underwater Audubon” by a New

fish, and then more recently to eels. “We know so

York Times reviewer for his painstaking renderings

little about their life history,” he says of eels. “It’s

of fishes, James’ first book was published by Knopf

fascinating that in today’s hyper-technological

in 1996 while he was still an undergraduate at

age that a fish can elude us; no humans have ever

Yale. Since Trout: An Illustrated History, he has

witnessed an Anguillid eel — an eel that spends its

published 11 more books, won a Peabody Award

adult life in freshwater — spawning in the ocean.”

for a documentary film about the 17th-century angler Izaak Walton, and has had his works featured in dozens of magazines and galleries.

His largest exhibition to date, “James Prosek: Wondrous Strange,” recently ended a run at the New Britain Museum of Art in Connecticut, where

“I was introduced to nature through my father’s

it featured 50 prints, paintings, videos, taxidermied

love of birds,” says James. “I began painting and

specimens, and sculptures. In addition to his

drawing at an early age, mostly birds first. I also

wide range of artistic talents, James is also (in no

wrote obsessively in my journal.” He transitioned

particular order) a musician, a published novelist

from birds almost entirely to trout and other

and children’s book writer, co-founder of the Yale Angler’s Journal, and co-creator of a 2010 initiative with the owner of the Patagonia company dedicated to preserving trout habitats.

Of all the hats he wears, James would classify himself as a visual artist first — the nature of classification is something else with which he’s fascinated. “We have to call ourselves something in order to communicate in the world,” he says, “but the fact is that none of us are definable or nameable in a succinct way. So the question has brought us into the maze. I don’t mind the label ‘visual artist’ — I think it describes what I do fairly well. I love making observations in nature, whether I am engaging with nature as a sportsman or not, and I also love to write. And because I love nature I want to see it protected.”

James Prosek, along with other distinguished guest speakers, will be on hand at this year’s Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival Wildlife Conversations.

JAMES PROSEK troutsite.com

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CONNECTORS

Written by

Art starts a conversation and when you bring it outdoors in a big way, the work

Sybil McLain-Topel, MFA

often connects people unexpectedly. Last year muralist Chris Lovelady stood on a scaffold, suspended in air, paint brush in one hand, sweat dripping down his

Photographed by Katie McTigue

back, nearly finished with his mural the size of a semi. Then he heard a raspy voice pipe up with an opinion.

“I knew him when I was a little boy,” said the townsman, who appeared around 70 years young. “He was cantankerous as all get out.” Instantly a common bond formed between the artist and the local man.

Lovelady’s hand-lettered words “Pat Murphy’s Garage” splayed across the brick wall in burnt umber tones of nostalgia atop the portrait of the mechanic, eyes encircled with wise wrinkles. Murphy, whose intuition and knowledge brought the chortle of a 1947 Chevy truck back to life with a few flicks of a wrench, met the future as Lovelady brushed the town’s past.

Lovelady, who lives in Thomasville and studied hand-lettering as part of his degree in design, spoke about the thrill of uncovering the past in Arcola, Illinois.

A group of like-minded artists and painters work with him at least once a year under the moniker Walldogs.

“Mural projects create a connection between the people and the painting community and it’s amazing. For a couple of days you kind of feel like a rock star,” said Lovelady, who often brings one of his three daughters with him. “We stop painting when people come up and we just listen and you get to hear some really great stories.”

The power of art in shared community spaces resonates as far back in time as one can imagine. Frescoes discovered in 1995 in France in the Chauvet caves depict 13 species, including animals we know – bison, horses, lions, rhinoceros – along with those long extinct. Scientists estimate the cave murals first appeared in 35,000 B.C. and they count among the more compelling histories of murals.

The paint materials may have changed – Lovelady uses a high-pigmented acrylic paint called Nova color – but the desire to create images of our lives and leave a record for the future remains constant. Each work sparks a new generation of imaginations.

When artists install 25 temporary murals on buildings in Thomasville’s proposed

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Creative District, as part of the Flaunt: Pop it

Mural projects change in scope and design from

Up! public art project, expect more than one

place to place. One long-running annual mural

impromptu story as images ignite memories and

project in Philadelphia engages artists with

oral history lessons on the spot. Most murals will

disabilities and brings together health and human

emerge from photographs from the Jack Hadley

service providers as well as city supporters.

Black History Museum and the Thomas County Historical Society, with a focus on The Bottom area of the city.

Beyond the art you can see, after the last paint brush has been cleaned and stored, artists say such projects promote wellness, healing and resiliency.

Murals are only one example of community art projects that bring together diverse artists.

Recently Katherine Sandoz, a Savannah artist and collaborative designer, lent her talents to the Savannah College of Art and Design, creating outdoor living spaces in an urban garage, which

As the Creative District evolves, community and

also sparked conversations about the future

individual art projects will continue to shape the

of urban design and the spaces we choose to

way the city encourages cultural and community

inhabit. The program attracted national attention,

expression, including architecture, graphic design,

including a segment on the Today Show. Sandoz,

photography, film and literary arts.

who also collaborated on the first community

22

Connectors

importantly, the outdoor aspect of murals tends to pull people away from their big screens and their tiny screens, much like porch screens of the past used to do before air conditioning. Whether it’s in small Illinois towns like Arcola and Danville, well-known art communities like Santa Fe, or large mural art project in Savannah, believes public art projects have the ability to transform and educate.

“Obviously it’s engaging on an educational basis,” Sandoz says. “When we teach at that size, we’re teaching math, analysis, the synthesis of interdisciplinary studies. You’re asking for the solution for a multi-tiered problem.”

metro areas, the magic of murals creates new stories, attracts cultural tourists and sparks the visual imaginations of new generations.

Lovelady, who owns Vital Signs, hopes to participate in many future mural projects and at least one of his three daughters ruminates she may follow his path. Chances are, when she arrives at art school she won’t be required to

In Savannah, the first project had to meet

study hand-lettering as Lovelady did at the Rocky

lofty goals – engaging the neighborhood with

Mountain College of Art + Design. That’s one long-

entertaining and enticing elements. And in the

lost technique she’ll pick up on a scaffold painting

end, the project transformed the viewer as well as

alongside her talented father.

the artists.

“Cities do not exist without art. They become next

CHRIS LOVELADY

to nothing without art, and architecture and music

Vital Signs

and ballet,” Sandoz said.

vitalsignsllc.com

These days, technology makes sharing photos and

KATHERINE SANDOZ

stories about family histories easier than ever, but

katherinesandoz.com

sometimes a good old-fashioned approach with a new twist brings community members together in ways they might have never imagined. Most

23

A Cultural Extravaganza of Past Meets Future

Two-story works of art, canary yellow bicycles, pop-up shops featuring eats, wares and acts that will knock your Southern socks off—every September downtown Thomasville sees an eye-popping transformation, and this year’s FLAUNT will be as mind-blowingly unique as ever.

FLAUNT 2014: POP IT UP!, presented by Thomasville Center for the Arts and the City of Thomasville Office of Main Street & Tourism, in partnership with Hurst Boiler Company, will celebrate the historic legacy of Jackson Street, the upand-coming trailhead park and arts district, plus the artists, performers, chefs, makers, and entrepreneurs who represent the region’s inimitable authenticity of place.

Those canary yellow bikes are situated near one of the event’s dozens of sponsors — think yellow tape and the accessibility that the proposed connectors and trailhead park will add to a city where those passing through can’t help but stop (even when Jackson street isn’t strung with 15-foot murals). Mural-to-mural, the artistic representations of each were inspired by a photograph provided by the Thomas County Historical Society and Jack Hadley Black History Museum, and they will literally blanket the fronts of old buildings.

FLAUNT wouldn’t be complete without a major art competition. Among muralists, 29 adults and five three-person youth teams will vie for thousands in cash prizes. All murals are black and white and per the rules are allowed only a single pop of color. Each weekend through September will feature a plethora of related events and special entertainment — performances, “shop hops,” open mic nights, and two concerts featuring Dana King and the Yamadeo Reggae Band.

FLAUNT 2014: POP IT UP! is a not only a celebration of art and culture, but a grand homage to what was, and what is to come in Thomasville. The event runs through the 27th, kicking off with a September 5th opening night party at 217/219 West Jackson Street.

FLAUNT 2014: Pop it Up! Thomasville Center for the Arts thomasvillearts.org/events/flaunt_2014

24

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The Sweeter the Dairy Written by

Nikki Igbo

Photographed by

Jay Bowman

Stuff of Bovine Dreams

approaches and nuzzles me like an oversized cat.

I stand at Jumping Gully Dairy on a giant wedge

glee and anticipation in their large eyes. Chewing.

All the cows stare in my direction with a mix of

of Bermuda and crabgrass. Reddish brown Jersey, New Zealand Friesian, Norwegian Red, and Roman

This is the rotational grazing method in action —

cows situate themselves beneath the spray of a

the same unusual grazing method Al and Desiree

pivot irrigation system. A swinging breeze stirs the

Wehner adopted in 1993. The same method their

scent of clean earth. The only sound is the Velcro

children Jessica, Clay, and Kyle would champion

rip of the cows biting the grass. The whole scene is

and then capitalize upon to develop their own

like a living Cezanne. A cow tagged number 1001

dairy and culinary businesses. And it’s all so simple. Instead of the conventional 80-hour-aweek strain of hustling grain to barn-bound cattle, the focus is on cultivating nutrient-rich grass, a cow’s natural and healthier dining preference.

With South Georgia’s year-round warm climate; frequent rains; large supply of groundwater; and good balance of creepy, crawly fauna; 365 days of green grass is a given. Combined with a reduction in daily milkings from four to two, both the farmer and the cows stress less. And the results are undeniable: Grass-fed cows have five or more times the lifespan of their grain-fed counterparts and produce milk golden in color and rich in butter fat, beta-keratin, and yumminess.

Standing in the midst of Jumping Gully Dairy, the word serenity comes to mind. Al and Desiree

Photo Credit: Gabriel Hanway

Family is everything that defines, sustains, and strengthens the foundation on which we build our dreams.

81

FOODIES

I tasted the pure goodness of the milk in all of these products.

must have hoped that other farmers would see

help their children pursue their passion, but it

this particular light. I imagine that they also

was up to the kids to forge their own financial

hoped as all parents do: that somehow their

way in life. Though Al and Desiree never forced

passion for this natural way of life would take

a dairy farming future upon their children, they

root in their children and eventually grow in new,

sure did hope the next generation would come

bigger, and brighter directions.

around. And as fate would have it, dairy farming,

Of course, their strategy for accomplishing such a feat was every bit as revolutionary as their farming habits. While other parents handed out allowances and promises of trust funds, Al and Desiree took more of a venture capitalist approach

partnered with the desire to profit on their own terms, had become second nature. One by one, and over time, each of the three took up the trade — and they each picked up some help, too.

to grooming their children. If any of the junior

Green Hills and Purple Cows

Wehners wanted to purchase something like a

When Jessica, the eldest of the Wehner kids,

car, the elder Wehners agreed to match the funds

attended college on a basketball scholarship, she

their children independently raised. Jessica, Clay

never envisioned returning to Thomasville. Having

and Kyle were also expected to earn academic or

lived in Tampa and Atlanta, Jessica thirsted for

athletic scholarships to pay for college.

exposure to the world outside of South Georgia.

The Wehners provided any necessary tools to 82

But two things happened. First, Desiree was struck

FOODIES

with the idea to start making cheese that would showcase the high-quality milk produced by the grass-fed heifers at Green Hill Dairy. At the time, there were only 400 cheeses made in America, and Desiree was one of the first to make cheeses in the South at their cheese-making facility, Sweet Grass Dairy. Recognizing the opportunity, Desiree tapped Jessica, a marketing major, to develop local interest with the hope of taking the brand national. Second, Jessica met and married Jeremy Little, a psychology major with a zeal for all things culinary. In 2005, Jessica and Jeremy purchased Sweet Grass Dairy from Al and Desiree and began shipping their products nationally.

Then, in 2010, the couple opened Sweet Grass Dairy cheese shop, now a major attraction of Thomasville’s ever-evolving downtown atmosphere.

home, despite the fact that he’d spent the most time of all three kids working alongside his father. Clay’s journey saw him fall out of love with baseball, and fall in love with Amanda, a young lady always prepared to tackle any challenge (including trading her city digs for

When Clay first went off to college in North

a country lifestyle) with a full and focused

Carolina on a baseball scholarship, he was just

force. Clay also acquired key leadership and

as convinced as Jessica that he wouldn’t return

organizational skills as a specialty manager at a metro-Atlanta Whole Foods. Finally, a six month dairy farming experience in New Zealand awakened in Clay the farming blood his father claimed dwelled within all the Wehners. Clay and Amanda purchased Green Hill Dairy in 2013, and today play vital management roles in the operation of all of the family’s dairies.

When Kyle attended college in New Zealand on an academic scholarship, he developed a deeper appreciation for a more utilitarian approach to his family’s trade. He also met and married Janelle, a native New Zealander food technologist who’d developed yogurt flavors in the past.

Following marriage and the development of a business plan, Kyle and Janelle returned to the states and bought Jumping Gully Dairy from Al and Desiree. Passionate about changing the relationship between farmers, consumers, and agriculture, the couple aimed to change Americans’ relationship with yogurt, the fastest growing segment of dairy production. Dreaming

83

FOODIES

Cow Creamery was born, and their yogurt is now

I’m sure that Jeremy and Jessica will continue to

nationally distributed in stores like Kroger and

build upon their cheese making successes and

Target.

that Sweet Grass Cheese Shop will remain the hip and uniquely Thomasville mainstay they

Grass-Fed Ambitions

envisioned. I’m sure that Clay and Amanda will

Before frolicking with the cows of Jumping Gully

the hustle and bustle of managing three top-

Dairy, I sampled many of the goods at Sweet

grade producing dairy farms. I’m sure that Kyle

Grass on Broad and I am convinced that the sales

and Janelle will continue to teach the gospel of

proceeds from Green Hill, the lovely brie-esque

grass-fed dairy products one spoonful of yogurt

cheese named for Clay’s and Amanda’s dairy

at a time.

continue to roll up their sleeves and thrive in

farm, will indeed put Jessica and Jeremy’s four sons through college. I also have no doubt that

Most of all, I’m convinced that the Wehners will

the subtle, yet rich and intoxicating, flavors of

maintain the same happy and light attitudes

Kyle’s and Janelle’s yogurts (especially the Dark

I noticed when I met them, because their

Cherry Chai) will turn American yogurt on its

inevitable growth and prosperity relies on much

head. I tasted the pure goodness of the milk in all

more than the quality of the dairy goods they

of these products.

produce. Indeed, they’re doing what they all love

Photo Credit: Gabriel Hanway

FOODIES

Though Al and Desiree never forced a dairy farming future upon their children, they sure did hope the next generation would come around.”

with folks who know and love them in a way that makes sense for how they want to live. They’re doing what comes naturally. They’re doing what seems to be as natural as a cow chewing her cud on a lovely patch of green. Perhaps this is the true secret to success.

Sweet Grass Cheese Shop 123 S. Broad Street, Thomasville, GA 229-228-6704 sweetgrassdairy.com Dreaming Cow Creamery dreamingcow.com Green hill dairy Quitman, GA

VISIONARY

Byline Goes here

S U BTITLE Content Copyt

BUILDING THE FUTURE Written by Jennifer Westfield Photographed by Alicia Osborne 86

VISIONARY

'New South'

is a cultural term developed

recently to describe towns like Charleston, Savannah, and Birmingham, with areas that offer a combination of connectivity, diversity, and traditional neighborhood structures. The cities are steeped in history, with well-preserved landmarks and no shortage of museums and unique traditions.

They’ve also embraced urbanism and the youth culture, and offer within walking distance of the traditional and historic, contemporary storefronts, cafes, apartments, art galleries, and coffee shops.

All of the above might describe a neighborhood in New York or San Francisco, except the temperate climates, sporting culture, gracious residents, and relaxed way of life give Southern cities their distinct authenticity of place — something that Thomasville has in abundance. As a member of the planning team informing the recent design charrette for the proposed downtown Creative istrict, Elva Rubio worked for a Chicago group that contributed an economic study validating what many already know: Thomasville is at a tipping point, and has the potential to contend culturally with the likes of Charleston and Savannah.

Elva’s rekindled interest in Thomasville began during one of the busiest periods of her career, during frequent trips home to visit her ailing mother. A Thomas County Central High School graduate and former cheerleader for Charlie Ward, Sr.’s football and basketball teams, Elva found herself reconnecting with friends she hadn’t seen in upwards of 30 years. She calls the city a “soul place,” and says when she first arrived in the late 1960s, “I instantly had lifelong soul mates. Instantly. There was something magical about it.”

After her mother passed away and Elva returned to Chicago, she kept in touch with her friends in South Georgia. In 2013, she heard of plans for a new trailhead park in the Creative District, and couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I thought, ‘This is the future of Thomasville.’ I told my husband, ‘I want to

87

VISIONARY

buy a house there right now. The town is evolving.

I had teachers who didn’t want to take me, or

It’s incredible.’”

who were forced to and didn’t talk to me. They

Elva is the eldest of five children born to an artist mother and psychiatrist father, who in 1968 accepted a position at the former Southwestern State Hospital on Pinetree Boulevard. “My dad loved the whole area,” she says. “He was raised in Cuba on a tobacco plantation, was really a rural,

had to pull me off the playground more than once after the Bay of Pigs invasion because I was being harassed by the other kids. The point is, when I got to Thomasville, it didn’t matter anymore. We were accepted.”

When the opportunity came for her to help

country kind of guy, and he really wanted to be a farmer. So a lot of our friends were farmers.

We’d pick pecans and ride horses. It was a marvelous time in my life.”

develop a vision for the

Turning a building’s past into its future is Elva Rubio’s proverbial cup of tea.

Although her father earned a medical degree in Cuba, he had to return to school to become a United States-accredited M.D., so the family relocated several times when Elva was in grade school, during the height of the Cold War. “Before I got to Thomasville,” she says, “being part Cuban,

88

new Creative District, there was no question that she’d be involved. Turning a building’s past into its future is Elva’s proverbial cup of tea. Her renowned blend of progressive

urbanism, historical preservation, and eco-minded design have lead her to work in the nation’s largest architectural firms, and on projects across the country ranging from residential to large-scale city plans. She has served as executive vice-president and creative director at Bruce Mau Design, as a

VISIONARY

professor of architecture for more than 20 years,

profound, but has left many in older generations

and has received more than two dozen American

disconnected from the youth in their midst

Institute of Architecture (AIA) awards.

perhaps more than ever before.

One of her many design projects stands on

Every youth generation develops a new code

Michigan Avenue in Chicago: a 10-story glass

of sorts in their dress and language — but the

façade with the building’s past written all over

recent ushering in of technology has made

it — literally. Its towering surface is embossed

the language of the current youth generation

with a clean, digital printing of what stood

more crucial to workforce productivity on a

there 100 years ago — a terra cotta exterior

much larger scale. Elva is keenly aware that

that no one had seen on Michigan Avenue for

one needn’t wear a pantsuit and be tied to

more than 50 years. The image of the original

a desk in order to make telephone calls or

façade is pixelated, and if you look closely,

send e-mails anymore. The coffee shop has

is comprised of avian silhouettes meant to

become the new corner office, and at the

prevent migratory bird collisions.

With architecture as no exception, few could have imagined how rapidly technology would

heart of that idea comes the need for more spaces for people to congregate, work, live, and play in Thomasville.

alter existence over the last 30 years. In half

Across the country, the changes in

the span of a generation, communications

major cities have to do with large-scale

and information technology have advanced

youth migrations to city centers. In

so that not a single aspect of life seems to

the South, Atlanta was first to hop

have been spared. The boom was quick and

on the bandwagon in the 1980s.

89

VISIONARY

It’s all there in Thomasville, and those things are global. Within the youth culture, people are also looking for authenticity, and Thomasville has that.

“Understanding the lifestyle of the youth culture

and the contemporary, as opposed to harboring the

is extremely important,” Elva says. “This culture

idea that the two are contending. In Thomasville,

is doing the opposite of my generation. They

the potential to have historic homes, downtown

don’t want to go work a nine-to-five in an office

shops, and offices a short walk from a new,

building. They want options and to control their

contemporary environment is actually what would

lifestyle, and technology allows them to do that. I

elevate it to being a contender in something much

think it’s a brilliant idea to put a trailhead park in

bigger. “Thomasville is a classic town,” says Elva,

downtown Thomasville. It’s just brilliant.”

“with the opportunity to introduce contemporary

When it comes to shaping cities, Elva says it’s all about embracing the synergy between the historic 90

culture in the next 100 years. They can do it. And they can do it right.”

The tipping point for growth in Thomasville

to be involved in the inception of the creative

lies in the marriage of an already eclectic and

district as much as possible. For her, as it seems

vibrant downtown, and the opportunity to

to be for many, the city’s greatest assets are the

revitalize the area that would make up the

welcoming, authentic people who embraced her

Creative District. According to Elva’s economic

family more than 30 years ago. “In Thomasville,

study, 35,000 students reside within a 30-mile

there is such a passion for real stuff, and stuff that

radius of Thomasville, and they are looking to

is made by people,” she says. “The future is here.”

migrate to urbanized city centers. “The coffee shop, restaurants, clothes, art, DIY — it’s all there in Thomasville,” she says, “and those things are global. Within the youth culture, people are also looking for authenticity, and Thomasville has that.”

Elva Rubio RUBIOSTUDIO rubiostudio.com

Elva is currently renovating a 110-year-old home in Thomasville that she calls “just darling.” She plans

91

Written by Jennifer Westfield Photography by

Ryan Zimmerman

MUSE

Photo by Katie McTigue

The drive across the Florida line into Thomas

into a gallery opening at Grassroots Coffee in April,

County may mislead you into thinking you’re

and says he couldn’t believe what he saw. “The

headed away from non-agrarian culture. It’s a

more time I spent in town,” he says, “the more I

drive through rolling hills and rows of pines,

realized that it was such a center for culture. I was

oak limbs draped in mossy shawls lazing above

really blown away by that, and how it’s expanding.”

Highway 27, the hum of mowers and tractors

Four months later, Ryan walked into another

fading in and out. So when the quaint sprawl of a

gallery opening at Grassroots, and the walls

post-industrial downtown packed with boutiques,

were hung with his own work. In this regard, he

arts, and eats lies at the foot of the hill before

found as many do that when you’re young talent

you, that misconception tends to double back and

wandering downtown long enough, the town has a

make everything you see all the more dazzling.

tendency to turn around and discover you.

Ryan Zimmerman discovered this the way many do: inadvertently.

Not that Ryan necessarily needed discovering. He’s 24 and runs a successful freelance operation that

On his way through, Ryan pulled over to

sustains him comfortably in a college town packed

photograph downtown Thomasville, and returned

with arts majors and recent graduates. He has shot

soon after with more time to explore. He wandered

everything from the Amazonian rain forest to Mike

94

MUSE

Huckabee, and his current photographic exhibition at Grassroots Coffee is a masterfully lit series of South Georgia Ballet dancers in dramatic poses.

It was through a few chance meetings and by word of mouth that Ryan was approached about being the featured artist at the July opening. “They wanted something edgy and progressive,” he says. “I had this image I’d shot of a dancer. I thought I was just going to mess around with it, but it turned into a piece I ended up loving, and wanted to shoot more like it.”

He was encouraged to reach out to South Georgia Ballet, who then sent dancer-models in his direction.

I am completely, totally, and entirely obsessed with photography, I feel like I’ll do it for the rest of my life.

“Not only does Ryan have a keen ability to capture the dancers in the right positions,” says South Georgia Ballet’s co-artistic director Melissa June, “he manipulates the light in such a way that highlights them beautifully. I think Ryan’s work in Thomasville will shed new light on the ballet and its artistry.”

Ryan draws influence from a massive range of artists, from photographer Annie Liebovitz, to Baraka director Ron Frick, to Baroque and Renaissance painters. “They mastered capturing the dynamic moment of action,” he says of the early painters. “I love the idea of that epic slice of time.”

The epic in Ryan’s photography comes from mastery of composition, hours of

Photo by Katie McTigue

95

MUSE

shooting, and light manipulation — both at the

when I was doing sculpture work, photography —

shoot and in post-production. “I really wanted

being surrounded by that was really awesome.”

to show dance in a way that hasn’t been done.

I’m really into movement-based arts, and I also want to see photography that stuns me. When you set up the lighting, you think how it’s best going to paint the model. Essentially that’s what photography is — you’re painting something with light and capturing that image.”

Ryan credits his time in the school’s arts community for many of his viewpoints and extensive knowledge, but also for the immense impact that larger arts communities would later have on his ideas. “I was always in an environment of critique and appreciation,” he says, “so that was really influential. But when I got to college, I

Ryan hit the ground running as an artist at an

realized that there was so much more out there,

earlier age than most, when he entered the

and I started looking worldwide for my influences,

Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in

not just within my immediate circle of really

Jacksonville. A magnet high school with an

talented artist friends.”

auditions-based admissions process and rigorous arts curriculum, the school introduced Ryan to a flourishing microcosmic arts community where he would be enrolled in as many as three art history courses at once. He was exposed to talent in every imaginable arts discipline, including dance.

The more time I spent in town, the more I realized that it was such a center for culture.

I was really blown away by that, and how it’s expanding.

“DA had a lot of arts areas,” he says. “At that point the school was drawing some of the best dancers from all across the United States, and I got to see free performances all the time. It was really, really amazing and nurturing to see other disciplines on the other side. It really informed my work too —

96

He started shooting photographs in 2008, thanks in part to another immersive experience as an employee in a bustling Jacksonville camera shop. The job made him a regular fixture in the darkroom and turned him into a gear whiz in no time. “I had to know everything photographers used,” he says, “how to use it, and how to sell it. It was really eye-opening.” He would often exceed $10,000 a month in gear sales.

Ryan fell into photography through the influence of other photographers in his midst, but when he fell, he fell hard. Early on, he’d always been good at drawing, and on the urging of a teacher he would pursue it further, only to find that the diehards made him shy away because he didn’t share their intense dedication. Photography was another story.

“I am completely, totally, and entirely obsessed with photography,” he says. “I feel like I’ll do it for the rest of my life.”

Though he claims he’s the most annoying person to watch a film with, it’s evident that his interruptions would totally be worth the experience. He says if I felt inexplicably nauseated while watching Peter Jackson’s Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, it was because the film was shot at 48 frames per second — double the framerate of most movies. Remember that moment in Jaws, when Lieutenant Brody sees the shark before

mUSE

everyone else on the boat, and jerks up out of

about plans for the new creative district in

his chair? The cinematographer was using a rack

Thomasville and now, he says, “I just want to

focus with a zoom dolly, Ryan says: “A camera

contribute in any way I can.”

that’s zooming its lens wide as it’s being moved closer, creating that weird sucking and pulling effect.”

In retrospect he feels that people may be initially held back by the idea that Thomasville is a small town, the way he was. “I don’t see it that way.

Ryan sustains his freelance operation primarily

Thomasville is a big town, with so much culture

through the people he meets, and by virtue of his

and so much to offer. There are so many people

wide-open attitude toward trying anything new. “I

who are well-educated and traveled who have all

like to be influenced by as many things as I can,”

come back to contribute to the community. It’s

he says, “so it’s hard for me to even say I have a

been something really inspiring to see.”

derived style. If anything, I want to vary more.”

The thing that hit him hard about finding

Ryan Zimmerman

Thomasville’s arts community was how members

Ryan Zimmerman Photography

welcomed him, focused on his talent, and

Facebook: Ryan Zimmerman Photography

facilitated the vision he had for the Grassroots gallery opening. Earlier in the year he was told

97

Written by Bunny Byrne Photographed by

Melissa Miller

99

PLACEMAKERS

to what the Center for the Arts offered,” says David, “and something that Thomasville would embrace.” Due South has been a hit since day one, and David credits his experiences out West with this smooth launch and growth. “Because this area has been doing this for so long, we’ve learned a lot on how to present music. We’ve learned from their ‘process’ over the years.”

This year, Due South incorporated an artist Painting by Peggy Everett

We jokingly call it “Thomasville in the Tetons.” A group of Southerners expatriates each year and

market and food trucks during the event. The festival, presented by Thomasville Center for the Arts, attracted 500 concert-goers in its first year, around 1,000 in its second.

lands well west of the Mississippi, in the land of big skies and buffalo, fly fishing and 40-degree mornings. Many of the things we love about Thomasville, we love about the Jackson Hole area, too: being outdoors, great dining, and an abundance of social and arts activities.

Jackson Hole boasts its own Center for the Arts, too, which is home to one of my favorite annual writing conferences. Their rustic-mod building sits right downtown, at the base of Snow King.

In the winter, the mountain is covered in powder

The Thomasville lifestyle is rooted in a love

and people riding pairs of matchsticks barreling

of the natural world. One of our largest and

toward the bottom, but in the summer, the

most anticipated events each year is the fall

atmosphere is sublime. A wide, green lawn with

Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival, which brings

an amphitheater hill perfect for rolling down,

an impressive array of artists from across the

and plenty of plate glass to view the hill and the

country. Three of this year’s visiting artists, Paul

lush mountain behind it.

Puckett, Steve Oliver and Peggy Everett, have spent time in Jackson, capturing scenes of fish on the fly and the grandeur of the mountain landscape. Longtime PWAF attendee Morten Solberg received the coveted Robert Kuhn Award from Jackson’s National Museum of Wildlife Art in 2009. The same whispers that catch us on an early morning quail hunt speak to us from across the fog on a western trout stream.

Hands down, the most visible mark the Jackson area has made on Thomasville is our very own Due South music festival. Inspired by the openair music culture of the Tetons, Thomasville resident David Middleton and his brother Vann saw an opportunity to bring something new to our area. “It seemed like a natural extension 100

The day is bright and golden sun streams in as I meet with Martha Bancroft and Ponteir Sacrey, the Director of the Center and the President

PLACEMAKERS

The perfect storm of no state income tax, direct flights, beautiful location and budding artists. of the Center Fund. Martha explains how the

At any given time, you’ll see children in tutus, artists with aprons and muddy hands, or even just visitors making use of comfortable outdoor space.

Jackson Hole Center for the Arts 2655 Cache Creek Street, Jackson, WY jhcenterforthearts.com

Center houses nearly all of the arts nonprofits in Jackson. This symbiotic relationship allows the resident organizations the benefits of low rent,

David Middleton’s wife, Katie, is an artist of

abundant and highly functional space — and

interior design. Her work carries the oh-so

the ability to focus on what they do, without

Thomasville sensibility of the outdoors: “The

so much worry of the overhead. Between the

sheer beauty of nature influences my work. I

residents and the Center, there are arts activities

always try to bring an aspect of the outside in.”

beckoning visitors almost every day. Kids camps,

Aside from daily hikes, their family looks forward

lessons, screenings, and shows; never a dull

to visiting the National Museum of Wildlife Art,

moment. (The New York City Ballet was visiting

in Jackson. “We go every summer,” she says.

the week after my trip.)

The Museum is situated just outside of town,

“We try to be very mindful and not step on anyone’s toes,” says Martha, when asked about the overlap of resident and Center programming.

Their main goal is to support and uplift the residents, “to raise the bar” of what they can offer visitors, she explains. Ponteir echoes this sentiment: “We want to be a holding tank” for talent. Within their walls, the Center houses music, dance, pottery, theatre, the Art

high on a hill overlooking the National Elk Refuge, a jaw-dropping expanse of wide, flat land, buttressed at the back by rolling beige hills.

In addition to Audubons, stunning works by Carl Rungius and Ansel Adams, the Museum houses an art library and archives, a children’s discovery area, and a sculpture trail. You can make a day of biking from town, exploring the museum and grounds, and enjoying a picnic lunch.

Association, and even a radio station. The space

For the past 15 years, a group of supporters

is open, and easy for people to engage with.

called the Collector’s Circle has come together

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PLACEMAKERS

community. The Artlab is part studio, part sponsoring body. They host artists, performers, and writers for residencies of up to six weeks, at no cost to the artist. Free public events scheduled during each residency bring the artist in contact with the community, and provide the community at large with the opportunity to experience cutting-edge work.

Indeed, Ponteir notes that members of the arts community, such as Camille, are helping to build interest in the arts in a broader way — not just traditional Western art. There are galleries downtown that focus on modern art, and modern architecture is coming West. “A new generation is growing up with an elevated palate and level of taste.” It seems that Jackson Hole, she says, “was to acquire new artwork for the Museum’s

the perfect storm of no state income tax, direct

permanent collection. The group, made up of

flights, beautiful location, and budding artists.

members who contribute to the purchasing fund,

Cultural arts may not be the primary motivation

selects work to be shipped in for consideration.

for coming here, but it contributes.”

The members then vote on which pieces to acquire. So far, the Circle has contributed more than 75 works of art, most notable of which are works by Albrecht Dürer and Titian Ramsay Peale.

National Museum of Wildlife Art 2820 Rungius Road, Jackson, WY wildlifeart.org

Camille Obering Fine Art camilleobering.net Teton ArtLab 130 S. Jackson Street, Jackson, WY tetonartlab.com The Tetons cast a spell that’s hard to break.

The western air breathes cool and deep. The

Jackson Hole native Camille Obering, art dealer and curator, explains how technology and connectedness allows artists more freedom of place: “As the world becomes more global, you’re seeing these really small and interesting communities. It’s not as centralized as New York and L.A. An artist might go experiment (in a small community) before they go to bigger places, with more freedom.” She adds, “When I grew up in Jackson, it was not a cosmopolitan place, like it is now.”

Places like the Teton Artlab are new to the

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mountains inspire awe each time you land in their shadow at the tiny Jackson airport. The sky is big, and it makes you feel like your dreams can be, too. If Camille is right, this is what artists are seeking in small communities; the space to dream and the freedom to explore. There’s something primal in raw and overwhelming natural spaces. You tap into something hidden in yourself, the part that connects with nature, the part that makes you a human animal. The western sky is liberating. Thomasville in the Tetons is a home away from home, a den away from den. Nest away from nest.

PLACEMAKERS

A new generation is growing up with an elevated palate and level of taste.

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FEATURED Artists Christina Bearden graduated

Alicia Osborne has been

from GCSU with a BFA,

photographing since childhood.

returned to her hometown of

Holding a BFA in Fine Arts from

Thomasville, and started Red

FSU, she now photographs for

Fly Studio with her photography

herself and others with a focus

partner Molly Wallis in 2008.

on utilizing traditional film

Red Fly Studio specializes in wedding photography

methods. She documents weddings, families, artists,

and portraiture. When not working, she’s kayaking,

and her dog. aliciaosbornephoto.com

exploring, and eating chocolate. theredflystudio.com

Lindsey Stippoli is a graphic Andrew Cebulka is a

artist based just outside of

photographer based out of

Philadelphia. She’s been busy

Charleston, South Carolina,

encouraging people to judge

who focuses on food, portrait,

a book by its cover for over 10

and architectural photography.

Previous clients include Fiji

years and there is no sign of her slowing down. When she’s not creating functional,

Water, Wall Street Journal, Garden & Gun, The Local

creative designs, she’s spending quality time with

Palate, and many more. When not behind the

her business partners: a 3-year old spitfire named

camera, Andrew is usually found studying obscure

Leo, a 4-year old yellow lab named Mack and the

gardening/farm practices, fly fishing, or lounging

calm yin to her wild yang, Jay. tornleafdesigns.com

with his wife Ash. andrewcebulka.com

Georgia-born and North

TO BECOME A FEATURED ARTIST

Carolina-bred, Lauren Eberle

Illustrators, Photographers and Writers

writes and edits for national

Please Contact

and regional magazines and

Thomasville Center for the Arts

travel guides. She laces up

229-226-0588

her running shoes whenever

csewell@thomasvillearts.org

possible to balance her love of fine wine — and to keep up with her red-headed toddler.

Melissa Miller lives in Victor, Idaho. In the winter she blinks fast and tries to keep her camera from freezing while shooting Canadian polar bear cubs in -44 degree weather. In the summer, she thaws out and enjoys shooting the magical natural environment of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. melissamillerphotography.net 104

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