THOM
Volume 2 | issue 1 Spring/Summer 2014
Volume 2 | Issue 1 Spring/Summer 2014
Editor & Publisher Michele Arwood
CREATIVE Director Haile McCollum
Assistant Editor Stephanie Ellis
Features Editor Bunny Byrne
Designer Trey Veal
Photographers Jay Bowman Gabriel Hanway Katie McTigue Abby Mims Daniel Shippey Carrie Viohl
Writers Bunny Byrne Nikki Igbo Todd Spear Jennifer Westfield
Copy Editor Nikki Igbo
thomasvillearts.org 600 E. Washington Street Thomasville, GA 229.226.0588
Cover Photo by Madison Booth Bottles courtesy of Charlie Whitney Collection
contents Spring/Summer 2014 CONNECTORS
4 Connecting the dots Cheri Harden Leavy and Whitney Wise Long of the Southern Coterie MUSIC MAKER
10 Lovett a–z Royce Lovett MUSE
16 Contemporary Nostalgia Julie Guyot MAKER
20 Junkyard Genius Melissa Rigsby MAKER IN THE MAKING
24 Master Jett Jett Kiminas 27 THOM’s guide FOODIES
78 Organic by Nature Orchard Pond TRAILBLAZER
84 Big Thinker Lyle Williams EXPLORERS
90 The Cult of Cuisine Scott and Rhonda Foster PLACEMAKERS
96 The New City of Southern Sounds Moultrie, Georgia ARTIST
100 True Colors Cindy Inman ARTIST
102 Man About The Universe Kenneth Bridger
104
Featured Artists
Letter From the Editor
By far, the most intriguing thing about our fine
If you are discovering THOM for the first time, we
city is the deep connection between its people.
welcome you to our pages and invite you to get
There’s just one degree of separation in our part
to know our community of thinkers, visionaries,
of the world: that special connection is the secret
muses, artists and creative entrepreneurs who are
ingredient that makes Thomasville great!
shaping our city and the Red Hills region.
This season we proudly roll out our second
This season, we are proud to partner with our
issue of THOM to connect you to a new crop of
friends at Sweet Grass Dairy. If you are a member
fascinating creatives. Each one gives a nod to their
of the Center and received a complimentary issue
heritage and has stirred in us a desire to know
in your mailbox, be sure to flip to the back cover
more people just like them. They are all people
where you’ll find a special invitation to a private
who have successfully woven their roots into their
party, courtesy of our favorite cheese maker! There
life and work.
are only 50 spots so be sure to visit us online to reserve yours. (Not a member? You can become
You’ll meet an organic farmer and her team of
one online. It’s great being at the Center of it all!)
WWOOFers who are combining their appreciation for the land with a simple promise to grow good
If you enjoy experiencing our community through
food; two visionary women who are making
the eyes of THOM, please take every opportunity
a notable imprint on our Southern life by
to support the 40+ partners who have made it
doing what comes naturally; a talented mixed
possible. We hope you enjoy this issue and look
media artist who layers memories and vintage
forward to meeting you here again in the Fall.
ephemera to create stories on clay; a handsome musician who is madly in love with his family and his guitar; a young man with a gift for paper masterpieces; a homegrown boy who grew up to bring a big vision to the local music scene; and two award winning artists who color our world with their talent and spirit.
Connectors
5
Connectors
Y’ALL KNOW HOW IT IS: you walk into Grassroots
As Thomasvillians, we know a thing or two about
or Relish and it takes you 20 minutes to get to the
strong women entrepreneurs. From Kate Hanna
counter because you know everyone in the place.
Ireland (who employed hundreds during the
That’s one of the things we love about our corner
Depression) to local retailer Melissa Rigsby (owner
of the world. Small towns are connective by nature
of Relics) to restaurateur Lee Saussy (owner of
and you can get an introduction to just about
Moonspin), we’ve got our own bumper crop of
anyone you’d like.
business women. Some of our movers and shakers are attending and speaking at the Summits, and there are
Now imagine Thomasville’s brand of helpful,
collaborations in the works. As Whitney says, “Very
connective community…online.
much like what y’all are doing in Thomasville; where creative minds gather, creativity flourishes.”
Enter: The Southern Coterie. Cheri Harden Leavy and Whitney Wise Long are the tenders and curators
Cheri and Whitney are like the bird dogs of this whole
of this Southern-centric collection of collaborators.
collaborative love-fest. They constantly point to who
Cheri has been in the news and magazine industry
you need to meet, who needs to meet you and who
for years, and currently owns two publications,
they just think is fab. From these pointers, great
Bulldawg Illustrated and Guide2Athens. Whitney has
things are happening. Libbie Summers, a food stylist
been a writer, scout and stylist for some of the
in Savannah, and Holly Phillips, an interior designer in
best magazines in the South. Together, they have
Charlotte, collaborate through a blog, Salted and Styled.
created a forum for lovers of our common geography
And our own Schermer Pecans, owned by local Putt
that has caught fire and smelted into a hotbed of
Wetherbee, was involved in the Athens Summit and
entrepreneurial activity. And its make-up is
now collaborates with Lee Epting Catering on some
mostly women.
out-of-this-world pralines.
The Southern C, as they call it, is an active online
Says Cheri, “I will admit our attendees and network
forum, but the real fun starts at their Summits,
members are 91% ladies but we have some cool
held a few times a year in cities such as Nashville,
menfolk! Putt fits right in and we adore him. Leapfrog
Athens and Charleston. The Summits are chock
PR Company works with Schermer Pecans and The
full of sessions on marketing and branding, and
Southern Coterie, so principal Libba Osborne brought
the backbone of the events is the meeting and
him in the fold to sponsor one of our breaks.”
greeting. Says Cheri, “The Summit events have given entrepreneurs in the South a place to share
She continues, “Everyone fell in love when Putt
successes and failures, and to learn and grow from
attended the Summit in Athens and shared his pecans
them together. It is a community that builds you up
and his family-owned business story. Lee Epting,
and collaborates for continued success. The energy
an extraordinary Athens event planner, caterer and
is electric!” Co-conspirator Whitney agrees, “The
character, made pralines with Schermer’s Elliott
camaraderie and genuine support is off the charts.
pecans in a huge copper kettle that night at our
At the Summits, there is this sense that we are all in
Cocktails & Conversation event with Southern Living’s
this thing together.”
Executive Food Editor, Hunter Lewis.
6
7
Connectors
8
Connectors
Just like the ventures that blossom from their cultivation within the Coterie, the Coterie itself is a work in progress. Cheri says, “We want to continue to foster and showcase Southern creatives, entrepreneurs, bloggers and brands. What is Southern is not staid and is always evolving, and we will too.” There were three Summits last year, and 2014’s first Summit will take place in Charleston, April 30 - May 2. You can register at either the event website, or head over to Southern C’s website to rifle through gobs of good stuff. From interior design to art to food, all the best that Southern creators have to offer is there. Whether it’s in Thomasville or at a Southern C Summit, get out and shake some hands and connect So, is it true that all the Southern C ventures start
some dots. It really is all about who you know, in the
with a C? Cheri says, “Our blog post topics do lean
best way. The Thomasville way.
toward “C”, such as cuisine, cocktails, characters, couture, collegiate, creatives, celebrations, cinema,
THE SOUTHERN COTERIE
conservation, compilations, community and more.”
thesouthernc.com
She goes on to explain, “Our Summit buzz words
THE SOUTHERN C SUMMIT
are connect, collaborate, create. We feel like the
thesoutherncsummit.com
educational sessions and opportunities to showcase these Southern creatives’ products are invaluable.”
9
10
Written by
Royce Lovett is on the verge of something big. Look at him and you know it. Listen to his
Nikki Igbo
music and you’re as sure as a sailor staring up at Orion’s Belt. The guy is a star. If you
Photographed by
haven’t yet heard of Royce, it won’t be long before you’re giving friends the skinny on this
Daniel Shippey
Tallahassee music wonder.
A lte r n ate R ea lity Somewhere there’s a Royce Lovett who plays wide receiver for the Denver Broncos and enjoys being featherweight champion of the world with in-home barber services and constant references to himself in the third person. In this universe, he’s close to becoming the next big singer/songwriter.
Buns, Hamburger For some, Saturday night in Tallahassee could mean partying or late-night studio sessions. For Royce, it is time spent with his wife and son, parents, an uncle, his brother and five nephews. The menu includes fire pit s’mores and homemade burgers, which is why Royce stops at a second grocery store after forgetting the sesame seed and whole wheat varieties.
C h r i sti a n Vi cto ry F e llows h i p A KA R e sto rati o n Li f e F e llows h i p Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Royce know all about that praise service feeling. Good folks in their Sunday best. Shoes shined. Stockings swish-swishing down the aisle to a favorite pew. All swaying and clapping in unison. A joyful noise still echoing in the rafters as the minister requests everyone bow their head in prayer. Why would anyone want that feeling to stop? That feeling of singing from the depth of your soul.
D r uth e r s Royce’s mom, a spectacular praise leader at church, wanted her youngest son to attend college. She did as all parents do; she warned her dreamy-eyed offspring to have a Plan B. But having a backup strategy never made sense to Royce.
11
Music Maker
E m pathy
H e p h z i ba h (A KA H a n n a)
Most future fans may never know that Royce is the
A man who finds a wife finds a good thing. There
type of guy who expresses grief at the sight of a run-
aren’t many women who’d support her husband
over kitty in the road.
quitting school and work to pursue music. Hanna believes in Royce, and he keeps the lights on.
F rA N CO P H O N I C A friend who signed to a French label recommended
I n s p i rati o n
that Royce visit France, and Royce’s wife happened
Gospel. Soul. Hip Hop. R & B. Songs about victory,
to win a study abroad scholarship there. Royce
happiness, love, kindness, goodness, mercy. Marvin
scheduled six gigs remotely only to have each one
Gaye. Michael Jackson. Soup the Chemist. Family.
canceled within days of his landing. He was playing on
Friends. The determination to be a good man.
the streets when a local bar owner approached him. Royce only knows English. Imagining him in France
Jacta n c e
trying to schedule a gig with a cell phone translator is
Typically, anyone in pursuit of a music career can’t
comic gold. Perhaps a higher power intervened in this
wait to schedule an appearance on MTV Cribs. Royce’s
chance meeting which led to three months of paid
dream is to use his success to provide free music
gigs throughout Northern France.
lessons to youth.
G u ita r
K i s m et
After listening to Lauryn Hill’s MTV Unplugged No.
There’s never been a what-if-I-fail question in Royce’s
2.0 album, Royce had to play this instrument. Once
mind. Only the resolve to be the musician he’s fated
he learned, and served as a strummer for his mom’s
to be.
praise and worship team, he couldn’t imagine singing without it.
12
13
Music Maker
Lyr i cs to Li ve By
S o n -s h i n e
Royce thought he’d become a hardcore gospel rapper,
Nothing motivates like a toddler named Levi who
but he got tired of all the preaching. He wanted to
looks like you and the love of your life.
make music he could get dressed to, roast s’mores to, drive to Winn Dixie to get hamburger buns to.
Ta lla h as s e e Though Royce wants to live in other regions of the
M i rac le
world, there’s only one place that will ever be home.
Sometimes life’s journeys develop from the impossible and stem from the implausible. In Royce’s case, if you
U n i c ity
have the chance, ask him about the sty on his eye at a
Today’s top forty are odes to tomfoolery and
youth rally in Tampa.
debauchery. Royce’s music is a return to the simple, yet important things. Maybe it’s a sign of things to
N o M o r e Ga m e s
come.
At what age does a man become serious about being a better person? When does he move toward positivity
Vi g o r
and away from negativity? When does he stop
The key to achieving a goal is to keep at it, and do so
listening to secular music and watch only movies with
with alacrity. Again, google Royce Lovett.
G or PG ratings? For Royce, it was 15.
W i n , Fo r th e Obsession
Because Royce won Downtown Tallahassee Music
Music is Royce’s hopeless romance. He’s an idealist,
Festival’s Battle of the Bands competition, he was the
but he’s not the kind of dreamer who relies upon
opening act for their 2014 New Year’s Eve event. Local
wishing wells. Google Royce Lovett and you’d think
boys still know how to make good.
he had a manager, agent and publicist in his corner. Actually, he’s a one-man show.
X- Facto r “They” say that all celebrities possess a certain je ne
Produce
sais quoi. When did belief in one’s self become such a
Thomasville was once synonymous with road trips
rare commodity?
with grandpa to procure and sell fruit and vegetables. Today, Royce visits the town to gig at The Submarine,
YO LO
play music with TCA’s Hananel Mavity and offer music
Maybe Royce belongs to a generation that is unafraid
mentorship to young artists.
of risk. He somehow understands the flicker that is life. And this is a good thing. This willingness to ignore
Q u e stua ry
fear and pursue happiness.
Some musicians are in it for checks with lots of zeroes. Although Royce wants to live a comfortable
Zo eti c
life, he’s not that person. Music is as necessary to him
We all need and depend on those souls with a
as water to trout.
constant song in their hearts. What would the human condition be without music and its makers?
R e co r d La b e l The 25-year-old has traveled to France on several occasions. He got held in customs once because security couldn’t believe he’d scheduled so many
ROYCE LOVETT
international gigs without a recording contract.
roycelovett.com
15
Written by Jennifer Westfield Photographed by Abby Mims
ON JULIE GUYOT’S LIVING room wall, the Blue Willow china decals are recognizable from across the room. Julie has adhered them, along with neon text, to a larger platter and other things I can’t yet make out. I realize that I haven’t seen china like this since my grandmother was heaping it with more meatballs than a little girl’s belly could ever hold. It gives me an inexplicable pang. I don’t know if it’s because my grandmother is gone, or the little girl is gone, or both. When I move closer to Julie’s art piece, there is another decal of a woman whose face has been cut out and moved far to the left. Thank God. Deconstruction is something of my world, not my grandmother’s, and that pulls me out of my reverie. I read the phrase at the bottom of the platter: “Put a pillow under her.” This smacks me like one of the times my grandmother decided to decorate my face with a handprint for I’ll-never-remember-what. Welcome to Julie Guyot’s aesthetic, where everything is a visual crossroads of generations that exist like two sisters of the same age but from separate eras. These sisters play together, but are prone to eyeing one another up and down and calling each other out. Contemporary/Nostalgia is how Julie described her aesthetic to me before I experienced her work, and having done so, I imagine that these paradoxical terms are the names of the sisters. They occupy a little house in Julie’s subconscious. Their complex interactions become the products of Julie’s hands and kiln. Julie manually forms all of her pieces, fires them and then, “I just pull images in,” she says, “until it feels right.” She layers so many images that she may fire a piece anywhere from four to seven times. The average piece of pottery is fired twice. She sits holding an oversized mug, the size of which makes her hands appear very delicate. This creation of hers is made of red clay, decked with a snowy glaze and emblazoned with fierce decals. She sports a wavy blonde bob, a polka-dotted cardigan and a welcoming frankness.
17
Maker
She’s just been named Thomasville Center for the
fill in with color. Of course, I only knew him as an old
Arts’ first artist-in-residence and, after ten minutes
man. I remember looking at that picture, and thinking
with her, I want to sign up for one her workshops.
he was just gorgeous. I also remember looking from
Not just because the mug in her hand is something
that picture to him as this older man and trying to
I’d like to steal and stick in my own cupboard, but
piece those things together.”
also because it amazes me that her creative decisions seem to be executed without conscious deliberation.
Television and cinematic reconstructions of the
Perhaps those decisions are the product of a feeling
past are often embellished with a kind of grit, or
elicited by This American Life podcasts or the Neko
muted color scheme, the kind of aesthetic elements
Case songs she plays in her workspace.
Julie likes. As a result of those – and because films, photographs and other relics of bygone eras are not in
Julie’s work has one foot firmly planted in the
full-color, high definition – imagining my grandparents
American Midwest circa 1940, and a fixation on the
at my age is difficult and well, terrifying.
fragmented remnants of existence during that period. She claims her work was significantly influenced by
Julie openly employs the same adjectives concerning
a single banker’s box of miscellaneous papers and
her art process and admits that she’s guided largely
photographs she was given after her grandmother’s
to, “Feel the fear and do it anyway.” One of the things
death. Conversely, she is equally fascinated with the
she conveys when she teaches ceramic art is that
idea of contemporary, which moves endlessly forward,
people shouldn’t feel as if the clay in front of them
stamping life in invisible ink.
is their lone shot at a masterpiece. She admits that she’ll make three trips to the trashcan before she feels
Julie attributes additional influence to a single
satisfied with what she’s working on.
photograph of her uncle as a young World War II pilot. “When we would go visit my grandparents,” she says,
In her work, the blacks and whites of older media are
“there was always this photo album with a black and
juxtaposed against bold 1980s neon and pop-fonts. “If
white headshot of my uncle in his pilot’s cap and
they made glazes in neon colors,” she says, “I’d be all
goggles that someone had actually taken the time to
over it.” Her handmade functional pieces employ pinks
18
Muse
and blues, decals from the ‘30s and ‘40s and ceramic embellishments that look almost cloth-like. In her studio space, there is a small saucer for sale, glazed in bright blue, with decals comprised of rubber date stamps from the 1930s and an alien, yet oddly familiar cursive handwriting perhaps from a ledger page or registry, but Julie has made it hard to tell. The writing on the saucer, regardless of its functional purpose, begs for the entire contextual reality that once surrounded it. There’s a life behind this longhand that I’d like to pluck from the past and know. At the same time, I entertain the idea that, in the end, something like this dish of Julie Guyot’s may very well outlive me, and come to serve as a relic for those who seek to pluck me out of the past when I’m gone. JULIE GUYOT STUDIO Thomasville Center for the Arts Building 209 209 W. Remington Avenue Thomasville, GA julieguyot.com
19
MAKER
Written by Jennifer Westfield
ONE OF THE FINEST pleasures in interviewing artists is being invited to their homes, rather than their stores or studios, to meet. Imagine me leaping around like
Photographed by
a little girl when I was given the home address of Melissa Rigsby, the owner of
Daniel Shippey
Relics. When I first walked into the store a couple of years ago, I immediately thought that whoever owned this antique shop must have the coolest home ever. When you’re Melissa Rigsby, what do you do with a pair of antlers and a tree limb? You turn them into a window treatment, with the upturned antlers cradling each end of the limb. What do you do with Victorian-era wooden porch brackets and columns? Transform them into a headboard and four-poster bed, and bedeck it with posh bedding. What do you do with two old pairs of red shutters? You make them the medicine cabinet doors that frame your bathroom mirrors, which incidentally now look like windows. On Melissa and Fondren Rigsby’s sprawling place in the country, repurposed relics, rust and unfinished lumber mix to perfection with sleek metal hardware, modern embellishments and charming southern accents. High ceilings provide an airy grandeur that accentuates the coziness of the home’s nooks and lofts. Somewhere between rustic-chic and Outlaw Country (Melissa’s preferred XM Satellite Radio station) is the term that best describes the Rigsbys’ inner sanctum and the matchless aesthetic that draws people to Relics. Before I set foot in the Rigsbys’ living room, I’d have never believed in a million years that a vacated hornet’s nest would make a charming decorative accent.
20 20
21
MAKER
22
MAKER
The hornet’s nest and the stuffed bobcat accompany
singular influence and seeks to imitate no particular
flowered upholstery and are within a stone’s throw of
era or decorative trend. She doesn’t have time
a chandelier made of deer antlers draped with smilax
to read, imitate or look for inspiration, not when she’s
and dangling crystals. It all works so unbelievably well
got lamps to wire, wares to salvage and the task
that I don’t know where to begin with my interview
of getting lemon trees to take to the soil in her yard.
questions.
She admits that her mind is in half a dozen places at once, which makes her frequent stops to laugh all the
In 1994, Melissa was told that she’d be wise to
more endearing.
occupy a vacant building she owned in downtown Thomasville. She’d just finished a twenty-plus year stint as a restaurant owner but said, “okay, fine.” She threw a handful of antiques in the building and sold them for a few hours a week. A decade later, she’s riding back into town in a twenty-six foot truck packed full of salvaged antiques, which she picks up from as far away as Texas and Ohio. Now the
Melissa maintains stables, a vegetable garden and
shop stays full of her artfully restored and
a chicken coop. She’s personally planted every tree,
repurposed wares.
of innumerable varieties, on her property – many of which are labeled for the Christmases she and her
Because Relics lies on Highway 84, the store sees a ton
children planted them in lieu of pulling an overpriced
of out-of-town traffic. Melissa laughs when she tells
fir from a lot to stick in the living room. It’s not that
me how buyers sometimes take an item right back to
she’s averse to having a tree in her living room. (She’s
the state where she found it. I laugh because it takes
got an old pine totem there that nearly touches the
Melissa traveling across the country to exercise the
ceiling, complete with an early 1900s catface slash
eye that plucks out what many people never really
pattern and collection bucket for pine resin.) It’s just
saw until Melissa put her hands on it.
that she likes to do things her own way.
Melissa has turned a horse trough into a coffee
Of all she does, the seeking, salvaging and selling are
table, potato sacks into wall art and an old-world fire
secondary. What comes first is the labor required to
extinguisher into a lamp base. I’d have mistaken her
transform the item she’s found into the finished work
luggage for décor had some of the suitcases not been
she usually envisions the moment her eye lands on
left with airline tags. When I ask why not a pool in
it at a dealer show or jutting out of a junk heap. She
the backyard, rather than the enormous man-made
sometimes relies upon her husband’s technical skills
sinkhole filled with emerald-colored water and koi
to help her with carpentry and projects that require
fish, Melissa stops for half a second, laughs, and
advanced electrical wiring. “I about drive Fondren nuts
says, “Well now, that just wouldn’t look right.” The
I think,” she laughs. “He’ll come out there when I’m
million-dollar question is what’s behind how she
working on something, and say, ‘You can’t do that!’
decides right down to the minutest detail what looks
And I’ll say just watch me!” I ask Melissa if he’s ever
right. Everywhere I look is a perfectly executed
been right on that front. She sits back and thinks for a
visual smorgasbord.
moment, smiles, and says, “No, I guess he never has.”
Melissa’s talents are all intuition and execution with minimal analysis, like a girl who mastered the
Relics
piano simply by sitting down and playing without
138 S. Madison Street
ever bothering with sheet music or obsessing over
Thomasville, GA
Rachmaninoff. Melissa never studied interior design,
relicsthomasville.com
rarely reads magazines on the subject, claims no 23
Written by
From underneath a mass of brown hair, a pair of hands works determinately –
Jennifer Westfield
creasing, folding, unfolding. As he labors, Jett Kiminas speaks thoughtfully about
Photographed by
the origami masters he prefers. “Satoshi Kamiya,” he says, after manipulating his
Abby Mims
origami paper for a stretch of silence. “You should definitely check out his work.” Spread around the table where he’s in the middle of creating a paper parrot, are all of the things related to Jett’s many fascinations – an upright bass, acoustic guitar, bins and boxes filled with his origami creations and a dictionary the width of four phone books – he left his saxophone at home. Jett is 11, attends Scholars Academy, and has a lexicon more diverse than that of most adults. A first prize trophy for the district-wide spelling bee is among the things he’s brought with him. He won by correctly spelling “herculean”, which is awfully funny, because while some kids might approach playing an instrument like a herculean task, Jett taught himself to play several, and writes his own songs. The former toddler with a two-string is now reaching nearly above his head to move his fingers up and down the neck of the upright bass, where he’s marked positions with multi-colored sticker strips. Like Jett’s hands, his brain is always going, but in a way where you get the impression that not a single thought is wasted. Even when he’s bored he says he’s thinking of inventions. A Rube Goldberg apparatus, for instance, to get something out of the fridge without having to do anything but turn a crank from the living room to drop a bowling ball onto a see-saw and so on, until the sandwich
24
Maker in the Making
is catapulted into his hand where he’s playing
a tiny paper bird pop from inside, all from a single
Assassin’s Creed 4 in front of the television.
8-by-80-inch piece of rectangular paper, no cuts, no tape. Creating the clock is a 200-step process that
Jett is a perfect blend of gregarious and gifted. He’s
takes a minimum of six hours, and that’s if you’re
real smart, but he’s also a real kid. He listens to Led
Robert Lang.
Zeppelin and reads Harry Potter. He’s an origami purist, insisting that creations be made from a single
Jett is most proud of a dragon he made, on which
sheet of paper, but says if he could go anywhere it
he spent five hours fashioning the torso alone.
would be Paris so he could skateboard around the
Each of the torso’s scales had to be folded out of
city’s architecture. One minute he’s explaining to me
the one single sheet and consists of several folds in
the difference between an “E” note on the saxophone
itself – the three-dimensional dragon is covered in
versus the guitar, and the next he’s deriding the
dozens of them. Jett shows me a six-headed crane
family’s territorial donkey, Sonic.
he folded while on a drive up north. “I was so bored
You may think that being limited to a single sheet
I thought I was gonna die,” he says, rolling his eyes
of origami paper would mean all cranes and paper
and smiling. As it turned out, the highest number of
airplanes, but you’d be wrong. Jett works from
heads an origami crane ever had before Jett Kiminas
instructional books by origami artists with step-by-
came along was four, but he’s in no apparent rush to
step directions on how to fold, for instance, Robert
claim his place in the book of world records. Jett may
Lang’s 12-by-6-inch Black Forest Cuckoo Clock. The
dedicate inordinate amounts of time and labor to his
clock is embellished with eight paper leaves on each
creations for someone his age, but he’s definitely not
side and a pendulum which can be pulled to make
folding under pressure.
25
Local chefs serving up homegrown eats with a modern twist. Around-the-way artisans showcasing their soulful wares. Music lovers of all ages shimmying to swingin’ rhythms. Come April 26, these will be the tastes, sights and sounds of Due South. In its third year, this festival dedicated to our shared Southern heritage promises to deliver plenty of fodder for feel-good memories. General Admission tickets are $10. The VIP party starts at 6p.m.; tickets are $125. MADE IN THE SOUTH As part of Due South, Thomasville Center for the Arts is bringing the “The Southern Makers Market” to downtown Thomasville. Join your friends and neighbors to have a gander at locally crafted jellies, jams, hand-tooled leather, pottery, jewelry and all manner of sweet Southern-produced goods. The Makers Market will be open festival day from noon to 5 p.m. DANCIN’ IN THE DAYLIGHT…AND MOONLIGHT And since the entire day will be fit for cuttin’ loose in the streets, Due South is delivering an amazing line-up of family-friendly musicians proud to call our Southern environs home. Plenty of eats and drinks will be on hand as the Fried Turkeys, Two Foot Level, Midnight Rain and Soul Gravy play back-to-back from noon to 5:30 p.m. Shoes and Laces will kick off the evening set at 6:30 p.m. Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys will headline at 8:30 p.m. DUE SOUTH Thomasville Center for the Arts Building 209 209 W. Remington Avenue Thomasville, GA thomasvillearts.org | facebook/duesouth.tca 26
It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. - Henry David Thoreau
CHUBB
A S S O C I AT E S
Fine Real Estate Investments
114 West Jackson Street 229. 227. 0079 Bridal & Baby Registries Available
schermerpecans.com
STANLEY F. SMITH, ARCHITECT, LLC 105 South Broad Street Thomasville, GA 229.228.5016 stanleyfsmith.com
DOWNTOWN THOMASVILLLE | DINNER TUES-SAT | 229.236.2467
209 S. BROA D ST. D OWNTOWN THOMASVILLE 229.227.6777
rOBiN Wise DDS 428 REMINGTON AVENUE THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA 229-226-8481 SOUTHGEORGIASMILES.COM
Undeniable service. Unforgettable smiles.
cornerst ne CO R N E RrSsTollc O NE builde BUILDERS LLC 239 S Madison St
239 S. Madison St. Thomasville, Ga 31792 Thomasville, GA 31792 229.672.1334 229.672.1334 229.672.1346 229.672.1346
102 E. JACKSON STREET THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA 229.228.9244
Our family tradition since 1981. 217 Remington Ave. Thomasville, GA | georgeandlouies.com
FIRST
THOMASVILLE REALTY
229-226-6515
ftrealty.com
4 22 R E MI N GTO N AV E N U E • T HOM A SV IL L E, G EORG IA
THOMASVILLE, GA • TALLAHASSEE, FL ALBANY, GA - Coming Soon AshleyFurnitureHomeStore.com
EXPERIENCE. THE DIFFERENCE.
140 No r t h br oa d s tr e e t t homasvi lle , ge orgi a 229 - 2 2 6 - 0 0 2 0 w e l l i ngt on shi e lds.com
WEALTH MANAGEMENT • INVESTMENT BANKING RETIREMENT PLANNING • TAX PLANNING • FINANCIAL PLANNING
A M B W E A LT H . C O M Thomasville, GA • Tallahassee, FL • St. Simons Island, GA • Charleston, SC • Charlotte, NC Securities offered through Allen, Mooney & Barnes Brokerage Services, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC
THE WRIGHT GROUP Real Estate Brokerage & Advisory Services
Hickory Head Plantation 2388 +/- Acres Brooks County, Georgia
El Destino Plantation 4138 +/- Acres Jefferson/Leon County, Florida
PENDING Island Pond Plantation 1800 +/- Acres Baker County, Georgia
229.226.2564 wrightbroker.com
Alexander & Vann, LLP Attorneys at Law 411 Gordon Avenue, Thomasville, GA 229-226-2565 • alexandervann.com
138 S. Madison Street Thomasville, Georgia 229.228.4181 relicsthomasville.com
THE WRIGHT GROUP Real Estate Brokerage & Advisory Services
229.226.2564 wrightbroker.com
NOW AVAILABLE FOR SALE Circa 1884 Paxton House Bed & Breakfast Call for information on this exceptional offering
Sewell, Morgan & Hilliard, PC Certified Public Accountants
M. Clay Sewell, CPA Carrie T. Morgan, CPA Vinston L. Hilliard, CPA 121 N. Love Street Thomasville, Georgia 229.226.2001
yoUr interest First
240 south hansell street, thomasville, ga 31792 229.228.1822 www.mmhpinvest.com Longevity
i
PartnershiP
i
growth
103 S. BROAD STREET
DOWNTOWN THOMASVILLE
October 23, 2014 Warren Jones, Piano, Susanna Phillips, Soprano, Erik Ralske, French Horn, Philip Setzer, Violin November 20, 2014
Cantus and Theatre LattĂŠ Da
January 22, 2015 February 14, 2015 March 5, 2015 April 14, 2015
Dover Quartet Boston Brass and Enso Quartet : Notes from the Balcony
Peter Nero, Piano Australian Chamber Orchestra
tef box office: 229-226-7404 or tefconcerts.com
229.226.6074
THOMASVILLEASSISTEDLIVING.COM
Foodies
AS I’M GUIDED THROUGH rows of carrots, head
decision to provide wholesome sustainable produce
farmer Tom Heerema rolls by on a tractor, tilling
beyond what she grew for her family, but also a
up rich earth behind him. The air fills with a moist,
concurrent large-scale food movement that began
earthy musk. He throws us a thumbs-up, and
to pull consumers away from fast food and
gleefully yells, “Soil!”
industrial agriculture.
In the beginning, all farming was organic. There were
Mary is a Thomasville native and landscape architect
no chemical fertilizers, ammonia-based fillers or
by trade, who comes from a line of restaurateurs.
synthetic hormones that could make chickens grow
She admits all of that has overlapped into her
oversized breasts. At Orchard Pond Organics, it’s hard
farming endeavors, though most of what has been
to accompany Mary Phipps through her verdant rows
accomplished on the farm, she says, has been by
of leafy vegetables and happy farm hands and not
trial and error. People shouldn’t mistake holistic
wonder how the care and sensibility with which she
growing methods for the idea that organic farming
runs her farm has been so utterly lost in agriculture’s
is somehow easier than the conventional variety. If
industrialization over the last half-century.
you’re going to run an organic farm and communitysupported agriculture (CSA) operation, you need more
The story of Orchard Pond Organics begins with a
than seeds, knowledge of soil and irrigation, tillers,
young mother who planted a single row of organic
wheelbarrows and seasoned farmers. Mary says it’s
vegetables after the birth of her first daughter. What
a constant process of learning what works and what
propelled Mary’s farming operation was not only a
doesn’t that keeps her on the farm nearly every day. CSA operations like Orchard Pond’s, with its 150 or so members, have been around for more than two decades. They follow a shared-risk economic model, where the farm accepts payment at the beginning of a growing season, then harvests and provides meat and crop shares to its members on a weekly basis. It’s a much more intimate operation that provides über-fresh eats, minimizes environmental impact and puts consumers face-to-face with the people who actually grow their food. Orchard Pond’s CSA members pick up their shares directly from the farm in northeast Tallahassee, at the Lake Ella Growers Market on Wednesdays, Market Square Farmers Market on Saturdays or at Tallahassee’s Whole Foods on Mondays. Shares are available for pick up in Thomasville at George & Louie’s restaurant on Mondays. The farm has a burgeoning tupelo honey operation where a year’s worth of honey, about 50 drums, is harvested in two weeks every May – the supply now rarely lasts through the year because of demand. Honey, plus homemade granola, pesto and beef jerky from their certified organic kitchen can be ordered through their website. In addition to their CSA’s fruit,
80
Foodies
vegetable and beef shares, coffee shares are available
Along the east-side of the farm’s 15 acres of produce
through a partnership with Thomasville’s Grassroots
lies a row of family garden plots which Mary rents by
Coffee, as are shares of 100% whole grain bread
the month; the farm provides the soil to get growers
through Tallahassee’s Three Sons Bakery.
started along with the water. There is currently a waiting list for plot rentals, but the farm always
The farm runs on a staff of five. In the fields are
welcomes volunteers to help with larger harvests.
members of Worldwide Opportunities on Organic
Orchard Pond also offers a subsidized share program
Farms, USA (WWOOF), an organization which places
for qualifying applicants, based on the belief that
volunteers on farms across the country. In exchange
access to wholesome foods shouldn’t be limited by
for labor, volunteers receive room, board and the
income brackets.
hands-on organic farming experience they’re after. Orchard Pond takes in volunteers from all over the
A lot of what Mary and other organic operations
country, and is currently hosting four WWOOFers, as
do involves educating people about the realities of
they’re called, who reside in a house on the property
local sustainable farming. For the average consumer,
called the WWOOF Den.
there are no seasonal limitations in produce sections
81
real cost of food, or why they can’t get kale in July or sweet corn year-round. It’s especially difficult for people to understand why a sweet potato might be more expensive than a fast-food cheeseburger, and sadly, why they should choose the former over the latter. Unprecedented rates of obesity and cases of early-onset diabetes were two of many revelations at the center of the mid-2000s food movement. Advocates tied the decline of public health to big agriculture’s shift to industrial farming in order to meet the demands of fast food companies, particularly the demand for beef. Orchard Pond’s lot of five-hundred cattle is grass fed, and cows are slaughtered three at a time. The farm at large food retailers because vegetables can be
uses rotational grazing on a few thousand acres of
imported from wherever they’re in season, no
land, where the cows, who are natural foragers, eat
matter how far away. It’s often said that the average
the grass while simultaneously fertilizing a particular
American meal travels anywhere from 1,000-1,500
field. Cows are then moved to subsequent fields in a
“food miles” before landing on the dinner table. When
cycle that allows the grass time to replenish while the
I first heard that statistic, I got out a map and drew a
cattle continuously feed. No antibiotics or chemical
thousand-mile radius around the Red Hills region with
fertilizers are necessary, and the health benefits of
a compass. There had to be hundreds of farms within
grass-fed beef are astronomical.
the far reaches of that circle, yet the majority of what was in my crisper drawer was from South American
Mary remembers how she made a phone call to
countries. Why? Because I didn’t know any better.
Cypress Restaurant in Tallahassee to see if they’d like to buy (they did), but as for most of the others, she
Despite the large-scale growth of CSA operations and
says, they called her. “Everyone wants local stuff right
the organic industry – the Organic Trade Association
now,” she says. Where before the farm catered to the
reports that annual organic food and beverage sales
industry, the industry is now catering to the farm.
went from $1 billion to nearly $27 billion between 1990 and 2010 – the fact remains that few people know there may be a CSA farm five miles up the road. Just like I had no idea that Orchard Pond was a sevenminute drive from my house. Advertising is not in the budget for small farming operations, so by-andlarge they thrive on word-of-mouth advertising. CSA members help by bringing in friends and family, and neighboring farms promote each other by often working together. If one farm runs short of a particular crop needed to complete a CSA share, a neighboring farm will provide it. Operations like Orchard Pond eliminate the middleman, but even so, most organics are costlier than their conventionally-grown counterparts. It is difficult, Mary says, to make people understand the 82
Foodies
Mary has an impressive list of fine-dining establishments that buy from her, including Tallahassee’s Cool Beanz, a culinary landmark for nearly 20 years. Executive Chef Nathan Knight says that, though the restaurant has bought from local farms since day one, he’s certainly noticed a major increase in the demand for organics, and in the number of new local farms over the last five years. Cool Beanz buys locally, he says, “Because it’s good for the community, and because when it comes to taste and freshness, there’s no comparison.” In the beginning, there were one or two local farms where they would buy. Now they buy from up to five at once. “I think the demand has gone up,” he says, “because people are more conscious. They want to buy from companies who aren’t going to put pesticides or hormones in their food.” Local soil. It’s a good thing. Orchard Pond Organics
orchardpondorganics.com
83
Trailblazer
“YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE a long-term plan,” says Lyle
Antibalas; and far-out funk luminary, Bootsy Collins.
Williams. “Not just that you want to make a lot of
Over the course of the weekend, more than 50 acts
money.” He adds, “And do your homework.”
took to the stage, keeping the music flowing nearly nonstop during the festival.
Lyle, a Thomasville native and current New Orleans resident, is the creative force behind a pack of North
“I remember being a teenager and my dad gave me
Florida music festivals. The largest of these events is
the Led Zeppelin box set and two Cat Stevens records,”
the Bear Creek Music and Art Festival, which is now
says Lyle. “For some reason, that stands out as ‘the
entering its seventh year.
moment’ music started to sink in for me. Music has been a part of my life ever since.”
Each November, upwards of 8,000 music fans assemble in a campground situated along the banks
Lyle’s father, the late Tommy Williams, was a larger
of the tea-colored Suwannee River, surrounded by
than life figure. A prolific philanthropist, the senior
towering cypress trees all buttressed and draped in
Williams achieved a legacy of good works and was
spanish moss, at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music
beloved by many. It’s fascinating to see Lyle forging
Park, in the otherwise quiet North Florida town of Live
his own legacy of connection with people. “Music
Oak. Over the course of the weekend, festival-goers
can change the world in such a good way,” says Lyle.
are treated to a smattering of musical acts pooled
“There has always been a therapeutic value to music,
from the tasteful undercurrent of modern jazz, funk
ever since the first person picked up a stick and used
and R&B artists. The list of musicians that appeared
it to make a sound.”
at the most recent Bear Creek festival, held this past November, included notables like platinum-selling
In 2006, just after graduating from the University of
hip hop band, the Roots; innovative afrobeat group,
Tennessee, the idea of staging a music festival struck
86
PHOTOS: DINO PERRUCCI
PHOTO: jeffrey dupuis
Trailblazer
87
88
Trailblazer
Lyle as he was standing in the audience at the Wanee
vendors, along with many other headaches. For
Festival, also held in Live Oak. He partnered with a
instance, there is a real Bear Creek, near the originally
friend, Paul Levine, to create what would come to be
planned site of the festival, but Gadsden County
known as Bear Creek. Lyle and Paul founded a live
wouldn’t issue a permit for the event. “We were
event production company, Big IV Productions, which
crushed, but I knew the Spirit of the Suwannee Music
has gone on to launch numerous festivals, all held at
Park was there,” says Lyle. “Six weeks out, we moved
the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park.
the festival to Live Oak.”
Lyle’s musical horizons have expanded greatly since
Lyle has clearly done his homework when it comes
his early introduction to Zeppelin and Stevens, as
to live event production. All of Big IV’s festivals skip
illustrated by the eclectic range of music he helps
over mainstream pop acts, favoring instead what
bring to the stage. He tells me that, in addition to
Lyle calls “real music” – real musicians playing real
being his first festival venture, Bear Creek is the
instruments, for real fans, with real improvisations
most popular. Big IV is also responsible for two
and, occasionally, real mistakes. Lyle tells me that
other popular festivals held annually at the Spirit
fans – as well as bands – come from all over the
of the Suwannee Music Park: Suwannee Springfest
world to attend the festivals. The festivals’ successes,
and the Purple Hatter’s Ball. All of these events
he adds, are a testament to the changing dynamics
attract thousands of fans, and they do so by billing
of the music industry. Even as illegal peer-to-peer
some of the best live acts on the road today, while
downloading continues to make a substantial dent in
generally avoiding the costly big-name anchor acts
recorded music sales, live music gains popularity, with
that dominate other festivals. This is a formula that
many artists declaring that live performance is the
reflects Lyle’s own musical taste and has proven
only way to make money in music these days.
successful for Big IV. So, what’s next for Lyle Williams? He’s still a part It hasn’t always been clear sailing, though. I’ve always
of Big IV, handling the organization of the Florida
had the utmost appreciation for anyone who could
festivals online and over the phone from his new
succeed in an undertaking on the scale of a music
home in New Orleans. He tells me that he’s immersed
festival. See, I’m someone who is interested in the big
in promoting some smaller shows in his new city, even
ideas – those daunting challenges that only the most
as he plans the next Suwannee Springfest.
ardent, most vigorous and most inspired souls among us can make happen. As you might imagine, putting
Lyle Williams proves that, sometimes, it pays
a major music and arts festival together is hard
to think big.
work. Festival organizing comes with the logistical nightmares of scheduling bands, recruiting staff,
BIG IV PRODUCTIONS
obtaining permits, selling tickets and incorporating
bigivproductions.com
89
90
Explorers
Written by Bunny Byrne Photographed by Carrie Viohl
“REMEMBER THAT GREAT HAGGIS we had at that little breakfast spot?” says Rhonda Foster to husband Scott. If haggis is a little out of your normal routine, you’re not alone. For the Fosters, food is an adventure that borders on obsession. They travel the world in search of indigenous foods, the latest techniques, the classics and the experimental. And the menu at their restaurant, Liam’s (named for their son) reflects their palate. “We cook what we like to eat,” says Rhonda. They both have decades of experience in the restaurant industry and say they started traveling for one reason only: to eat. When I meet them one morning at their restaurant, Rhonda offers me hot tea and a jar of artisan honey. I am not one bit embarrassed to heap a spoonful of that pricey bee sugar in my tea (and that’s a mini-commentary on the Fosters, there’s not a lot of pretense with them). I don’t need a polite spoonful. She gave me the good stuff – not to look at, but to eat. Though I’ve known the Fosters for roughly four years, we feel like family. And that word “family” is a recurrent theme in our interview. When you walk into the Fosters’ home through the back door, as friends and family do, you’re immediately faced with a striking wall of art. It’s hung floor to ceiling, Victorian style, with folk art the Fosters have acquired over the years. It’s like spoons or stamps for other collectors, but they’re not stamp people. They’re these big, bold personalities that wrap around the outside of two of the warmest hearts you’ll ever meet. Their home is homey, with a hearth in the middle and ivy covering the front porch columns. We scroll through photos on an iPad: Scotland, Canada and a place it 91
Explorers
takes a Snow Cat to reach. There’s no new car in their
Their last big trip of 2013 was to Scotland, where
driveway, no McMansion. Their priority is spending
they’d also been in 2012. “I don’t know how it
time with family, and the way they do that is through
happens,” says Rhonda, “but it seems like every time I
travel and dining. “Travel feeds the fire, it makes me
book a hotel or a restaurant, that place ends up being
feel ignited,” Rhonda says.
on the Food Network or Travel Channel.” But when I ask her how she finds these places, it’s clear that she
“Our first trip was to visit my family in the U.P.,” says
does the same kind of research as magazine scouts.
Scott, meaning the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. “It’s
It starts with an idea of a place or experience, and
not a food destination, but it’s authentic.” They were
Rhonda digs deep into the Internet, hopping from
living in South Florida and Rhonda had never been
major travel site to the smallest of blogs, to find the
to Michigan. Authenticity, something the two of them
most out-of-the-way destinations. She looks for the
sniff out like trained hounds, is a ribbon running
chefs who are still hands-on in the kitchen, who are
through all of their travels and takes them to places
still passionate. She finds the purveyors and suppliers.
you might not see on the cover of Travel + Leisure. Though Rhonda will tell you, “I find more great food
“Down the road from The Three Chimneys (a
in travel magazines than in food magazines.” Scott
restaurant and inn) was this old Scottish guy who
agrees. “We stopped taking industry magazines years
harvests oysters,” Scott explains. “He sells wholesale,
ago,” he says.
but to make a little extra money, he smokes some of
92
93
Explorers
them and sells them at his shop.” Scott’s a big guy who cuts an imposing figure, but when you see him this worked up about food, his eyes are childlike. “He’d smoked them in peat moss, harvested from the bogs, right there,” he says with wonder. On this trip, they also met a local chef and had something of a “jam session” talking about food long into the night. They traveled to the Isle of Skye, fished for supper and pulled fresh vegetables from the house garden. “Those kinds of experiences are something I’d love to share,” says Rhonda. “Our customers are like our family, and a big part of our travel is our family. We want to give Liam these amazing experiences. He understands that not everyone his age gets to do these things.” Nor, I might add, do many adults. In fact, in January of this year, they embarked on a trip to Quebec City, so that Liam could eat at his favorite restaurant for his birthday, Le Lapin Sauté. Their home’s kitchen and adjoined living room have walls of books, many of them recipe and travel books. Much more useful than postcards, I’d say. This is the room where they have their annual Christmas party for staff and customers. The place is jammed wall-towall with guests – an entire roasted pig sits on their dining table, contentedly smiling in the fray. The Fosters have some grand plans in the works, though those plans aren’t yet public. Let’s just say we’ll all be happy if those plans happen. And they’re toying with the idea of leading food tours, so if you’d love to let a travel-and-food-obsessed couple haul you around the globe, drop them a line and let them know. The next big trip they take may be the one you’re meant to be on.
LIAM’S RESTAURANT 113 E. Jackson Street Thomasville, GA liamsthomasville.com 94
95
96
Written by
It paints the air like magnolia blossoms in July. Tantalizes like grits, chicken apple sausage
Nikki Igbo
and buttered biscuits just after sunrise. Intrigues like the fickle call of a Brown Thrasher.
Photographed by
Delights like the smiling salutation of a longtime neighbor. Each weekend in Moultrie, it
Carrie Viohl
takes front and center stage after an age of cameos on front porches and choir stands. A community rejoices.
On a Friday in Moultrie IT’S 7:00 P.M. BEANS & STRINGS is buzzing like worker bees after a dressing down from the queen. People ranging in age from elementary to AARP begin to fill the café seats around the stage. Near the center of this music school with a coffee shop in the front, musicians lounge in adjacent sofas catching up on the word around town. As one local says, Moultrie folks love all things Moultrie. And there is evidence of that love in the air. Something like a broad-smile-with-an-inhale appreciation of what’s happening around town. The Gilbert Girls take the stage. The mother-daughter-daughter team sings their way through covers of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” and Vince Gill’s “What You Don’t Say”. Some fans nod their heads to the rhythm. Others sip their coffee with head cocked to the side. Each pays close attention to the fair-haired ladies. The ladies, in turn, happily display all they’ve learned in a special Beans & Strings program that teaches aspiring bands the ins and outs of stage performance. Beans & Strings owner Eric Foster says his outfit is simply answering a community call. As far back as anyone can remember, there’s always been a strong tie with music in Moultrie. Country, soul and rock music is a constant. Many sing in their church’s choir. You really can’t walk a block in town without running into someone who plays the guitar. Most folks learned to play from an uncle, a cousin, a family friend. Those same folks either played at home or searched outside of town for a spot to play to an audience. Until 2009, there was no such place. Since that time, several businesses have opened downtown due to a steady stream of entrepreneurs who have returned home from sojourns abroad. Many of those and existing businesses have also become live music venues. The Square, Blue Sky Bar & Grill, Beans & Strings, Heritage Embroidery, Lazarus Department Store. With each new weekend, the opportunities to hear good local music grow and grow.
BEANS & STRINGS 19 1st Street SE Moultrie, GA beansandstrings.com 97
Placemakers
Around 8:00 p.m., there is no such thing as a bad
clean as a cat with OCD. Fried green tomatoes and
seat at The Square. However, the best seats in the
white wine. The gentle serenade of poetry set to
young thing of a restaurant are in front. These special
guitar strums.
spots face Moultrie’s famous courthouse, a building as beautiful as a Rembrandt. To accompany this
Music lives in Moultrie but it’s hard to understand
view, owner Carrie Viohl suggests starting out with
the precise reason why. Dr. James Huffman, a fellow
the roasted tomato bisque. She will continue to gush
diner and half of musical duo Red Clay Raven, says
about everything else on the menu because – as
it’s because of Moultrie’s geography. The town is a
all diners witness from the pan-fried quail to the
crossroads for Georgian folk and Floridian blues. Gary
pumpkin pie bread pudding and ice cream – it’s
DiBenedetto, another diner and owner of a local full
all good.
service recording studio, says Moultrie has always provided an environment for creativity. The pace of
To finish satisfying the senses, Daniel Parrish plays
living is easy, laid back, calm. Matt Eakin, yet another
acoustic guitar on a small stage next to the hosts’
diner and member of country band Highway 55,
desk. Daniel doesn’t look like the director of Moultrie’s
simply smiles big and nods. He really likes the bread
Planning and Community Development Department.
pudding and the good company. If music does indeed
He resembles a cross between a Sunset Beach surfer
live in Moultrie, it seems to have dinner at The Square.
and a Quaker. He meanders through songs from his album entitled Mione Road with head thrown back and
THE SQUARE
eyes closed. The scene is almost too perfect. A packed
25 1st Street SE
restaurant sitting on a town square with streets as a
Moultrie, GA
98
Placemakers
Just before 10:00 p.m., Michael Little is a bouncing
and background vocals himself. However, the patrons
lottery machine ball of energy. He’s managed to
actually provide the background. Their arms thrown
borrow Fireball’s mic, speaker and amplifier and he’s
about each other’s shoulders, beer bottles raised in
just about done with setup. Fireball, a guy who looks
the air. They sound good. They sound as if they’ve
nothing like his nickname, is the owner of Blue
been singing with each other for a long time. Soprano
Sky Grill. Blue Sky Grill is where Michael is about
and tenors combined. Voices lifting and falling to
to rock the mic, the house and anything else that
complement each other.
needs rocking. When you sit back and take this in, you know you’re For any visiting city dweller, this restaurant/bar may
seeing the beginning of great things to come. It’s like
seem odd. The ceiling is painted with a blue sky and
watching the Hollywood sign being resurrected onto
cotton clouds. The bathrooms are ridiculously clean
Mount Lee. Or the final slat of the boardwalk being
and smell faintly of lilac. None of the patrons notice
placed in Atlantic City. A flame of an idea has caught
or complain when the Norcross vs. Lowndes game
in Moultrie. Music is the fuel. Community is the key.
ends and an orchestral concert begins on the big
Local talent is excited. Fans are supportive. The town’s
screen. There’s a family sitting at one of the booths
future as a live music destination – something like
with two baby seats perched on the table. One baby is
New Orleans with less public intoxication and more
asleep while the other is giggling.
primary schoolers – is being shaped.
Michael launches from a cover of Poison’s “Every
BLUE SKY GRILL
Rose Has Its Thorn” to Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No
125 1st Street SE
Sunshine” to Oasis’ “Wonderwall”. It seems as if
Moultrie, GA
Michael is miraculously performing both the lead
blueskygrill.com 99
Artist
Written by
CINDY INMAN IS ODD. Not catch-the-coodies-if-you-sit-next-to-her odd, but
Nikki Igbo
ocean-breeze-dancing-through-the-Mojave odd. She’s unexpected and refreshing.
Photographed by Katie McTigue
As the winner of Flaunt 2013’s Best in Show, I imagined her as a goddess of arts who always painted with a mystic metaphor in mind. Cindy has a couple of giant portraits of lemons against an unapologetically bright background of red and bluish-green hanging in her kitchen. The lemons don’t have anything to do with capturing the essence of sunshine or challenging the notion of quantum physics as it relates to the power of cosmic pancakes. She painted the lemons because she likes bright colors, saw the lemons and wanted to paint them. Refreshing. Cindy has painted since the age of 12. As a teenager in Texas, she won first place in an arts show when she created a portrait of an older gentlemen using a motley mix of bright hues instead of the usual natural tones. What kept her from winning Best in Show was one judge’s disbelief that anyone so young could capture wrinkles so well. She only remembers the story because her father loves to retell it. Cindy really doesn’t think about art show wins and losses; she simply enjoys the process of painting. Being able to make a comfortable living out of art is the cream cheese frosting on the cake. As I sat with her at her kitchen table, she kept staring at a painting of sunflowers hanging next to her back door. Now and again, she commented on how it was unfinished. The background could be deeper and more vibrant, the petals of the flowers brighter and more pronounced. I looked at the same painting and I saw something I had neither the patience nor the will to create – a gorgeous largerthan-life interpretation of flowers that seemed to vibrate against a dream of a landscape. Cindy felt that she could improve the painting, perhaps consult Dick (her über-talented, classically-trained artist of a husband) to get it right. I got the sense that she felt that way about most of her work, though she is particularly proud of an alligator she has hanging in a back hallway. She joked about the need to make a living and how holding onto her artwork didn’t get the bills paid. But, she also said it was better for her to get her paintings out into the world because the longer she kept a painting, the more she felt as if the work was
100
artist
This is why Cindy is looking forward to her fall show as a part of Thomasville Center for the Arts’ Flaunt: Pop It Up! She wants whatever she does to be new and different from what she’s done before. Perhaps she’ll try a new technique. She asked me to remind her of the show’s date just to make sure she had enough time to create something special and described herself as impulsive in the next breath. She gave the sunflowers another glance and offered me another cup of coffee and a donut hole before apologizing about sniffing the milk to see if it was still fresh. Another glance at the sunflowers. I watched her move back over to the kitchen table and sit down with a little shrug and a half smile and that’s when it struck me. I’d like to be the artist I see in Cindy: down-toearth yet every bit as dazzling as a rainbow — a prism through which all of life’s bright colors truly shine. CINDY INMAN STUDIO
Thomasville Center for the Arts unfinished. She made it sound as if Dick possessed
Building 209
all of the talent when it came to painting portraits of
209 W. Remington Avenue
people. Then she pulled out a small album of prints of
Thomasville, GA
children’s portraits she’d done and I was bowled over – her work is outstanding! Page after page of carefullyrendered youth stared back at me as precious as prayers. Again she commented on how she could improve a detail here or there and then I began to really see her. Cindy is the type of artist who genuinely loves what she does and wants to create awesome work every time she touches a brush to paint. She’s unaware that she’s in search of a talent she already possesses. Her gift is innate, something that exists simply because she exists. I’m pretty sure she’s been told that throughout her life, but that’s the thing with talented people. They never get to the point where they think they can’t be hit in the butt with a red apple. They keep honing their skills, daring to push themselves and get uncomfortable. 101
Written by
DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE. This is the expression I employ to describe the
Jennifer Westfield
impossibility of using one artistic discipline to exemplify another. Kenneth Bridger
Photographed by Jay Bowman
showed me the perfect shape formed by two overlapping musical octaves. He explained that the measurements within octaves form Fibonacci spirals which are dictated by the ancient mathematical ratio that gives living cells, shells, flowers, fruits and certain works of art spatial congruity and aesthetic pleasure. Kenneth conveyed the beauty of music without making a sound. He danced about architecture. A shaman once told Kenneth that his name, Bridger, was apropos because of what he brings together in his art: a limitless knowledge of religions, indigenous cultures, mathematics, music and technical skill. He works in enamel, metals, encaustics, glass, wood, stone and deconstructed objects – handsaws, electronics, oxcarts, pocket watches, pianos – to create massive mixed media installations, jewelry and the relatively new medium of sound art. Kenneth once played with a few giant metal rims from an old oxcart in Puglia, Italy. He rolled two rims into each other until they became entwined and perfectly crossed. He added a third rim, which made the object appear spherical, and strung it with sections of piano wire. When wind blew through the finished product, it created a deep resonating sound that pleased an Italian factory owner so much that he fetched himself a crane to position it atop his house. What really takes my head off about Kenneth – aside from the flying squirrel he
102
Artist
keeps in his pocket – is that he didn’t set foot in an art school until 2009, though he’s trekked 30 countries, can chisel rock, mold metal, carve wood and traverse disciplines like a down-and-dirty DaVinci. When he did so, it wasn’t as a student. When he wanted to make a totem piece out of a hunk of granite, he picked up a hammer and a chisel and just did it in his spare time. Kenneth worked full time in advertising in Milan for two decades before recently coming home to Albany to care for his ailing parents. Kenneth believes, to quote the mystic poet Rumi, “As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears.” Earlier this year, he decided to enter a competition in Atlanta for kinetic art installations. He didn’t know anything about kinetic art. He said, “I remember someone asking me ‘How can you make kinetic art when you’ve never done it before.’” Kenneth approached the competition like everything else and won. SkyFish stands at one of the entrances to Piedmont Park. It is a school of wooden fish, on tenfoot metal poles, that moves like weathervanes. When the air stills, the fish spin to a stop and land pointed every which way, which is representative of each person’s individual journey. When the wind kicks up, the fish all swim in the same direction and represents humanity’s collective journey. If you lie down beneath the installation when the wind is blowing, the fish swim in a vast, azure sea of sky. Kenneth radiates conviction when he speaks of his experiences as if each life, death, excursion, skill and component for his artistic creations were brought into his realm of existence by destiny. When you understand his artistic philosophy, experience his work or ever find yourself in his presence, you may think there isn’t anything on earth that he couldn’t turn into a profoundly meaningful something. You certainly won’t be able to resist petting the squirrel he’ll produce from his pocket. He named this tiny creature Guru, the Sanskrit word for spiritual teacher. NoMadic Creations kennethbridger.com
103
FEATURED Artists
Jay Bowman is an artist and
Daniel Shippey has owned and
creative director from Atlanta
operated a photography studio
scheduled to finish his MFA
in Tifton since 2009. He received
in photography from SCAD
his BFA in Mass Media from
this spring. He specializes in
Valdosta State University. He has
photographing people and depicting a fashionable version of life as it is lived.
traveled the nation driving tour vehicles for bands and documenting concerts through photography and video. danielshippey.com
Bunny Byrne bikes downtown with her Chiuahua in a milk crate,
Having a long-standing desire
and is a frequent lecturer on the
to become a professional
connoisseurship of macarons and
photographer, Abby Caroline Mims
the fine art of lunching. She holds
obtained a degree in Commercial
a journalism degree from UGA,
Photography in 2006. Abby has a
founded The Thomasville Townie newspaper and has
love for photographing architecture
a zero tolerance policy toward the Oxford comma.
and interiors as well as a passion for portraiture of
bunnybyrne.com
children and families. abbycaroline.com Nikki Igbo is a freelance writer,
Jennifer Westfield holds degrees
editor, political scientist and avid
in creative writing from Florida
crocheter. Recently, the SCAD
State and The Center for Writers
grad student learned that she
at the University of Southern
loves whipping egg whites to
Mississippi. She has a pirate heart,
peaks. When not giggling with her
and frequently tromps across the
husband, she enjoys jogging and interpreting her dog’s
Panhandle in search of scarlet sunsets and feel-better
facial expressions. nikigbo.com
beverages. She writes earnestly awaiting the reunion of Sleater-Kinney and George R. R. Martin’s next novel.
Katie McTigue is a freelance
jenniferwestfield.com
photographer and amateur designer/artist/musician. She plans
Trey is a recent graduate of the BFA
to get her MFA in Visual Arts once
Graphic Design program at SCAD.
she’s finished up her undergrad in
He is now a Design Consultant with
“something useful”. You can make
the Worldwide Licensing Team at
her extremely happy by hiring her to do something
Coca-Cola Global Design. When not
creative. kmctigue.com
at Coke, he offers freelance design services. treyveal.com
Todd Spear is a blogger and journalist. He’s helped media
TO BECOME A FEATURED ARTIST
outlets and brands alike connect
Illustrators, Photographers and Writers Please Contact
with their audiences. He’s a regular
Thomasville Center for the Arts
contributor to Anthill Online,
229-226-0588
the Quote Roller Blog and Naluda
sellis@thomasvillearts.org
Magazine among many other sites. toddspear.net
104