Charleston City Paper: Digs - April 2022

April 2022

HOW TO ATTRACT

HUMMINGBIRDS

TO YOUR YARD

TIME TO GET SOME

VEGETABLES IN THE GROUND

At Home with

MARIA WHITE a Charleston City Paper publication

Rūta Smith

Your Home Sold

GuaranteIt!ed or I’ll Buy

Volume 2, Number 9

April 6, 2022

Digs, our monthly home-focused publication, connects the people who make the Lowcountry special with content they’ve been missing. Digs gets up close and personal with stories on local personalities, home design and remodeling, plants and gardening, home repair and real estate. To learn more about advertising opportunities offered through Digs, contact our advertising team at (843) 577-5304 or send an email to: sales@charlestoncitypaper.com. Dig it!

PUBLISHER

EDITOR

STAFF

CONTRIBUTOR

Andy Brack

Chris Dixon

Samantha Connors, Rūta Smith

Toni Reale

Published by City Paper Publishing, LLC Members: J. Edward Bell | Andrew C. Brack

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Views expressed in Charleston City Paper cover the spectrum and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Charleston City Paper takes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. © 2022. All content is copyrighted and the property of City Paper Publishing, LLC. Material may not be reproduced without permission.

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DIGGING BIRDS

How to attract hummingbirds into your yard these petite powerhouses at home, consider these tips from the experts at Cole’s Wild Bird Products:

hummingbirds feel safe and comfortable, which encourages their consistent return.

Now is the time of year when you can Although hummingbird feeders can attract hummingbirds to your Lowcountry attract bees and ants, this feeder is uniquely yard with just a little extra effort.

Be conscious of beneficial insects. designed to keep pests at bay. It doesn’t Whenever you see flowers and trees begin Hummingbirds rely on insects, which drip, so large bees can’t get to the nectar, to bud and bloom and other migrating provide essential protein, to complement plus it has a built-in ant moat to keep ants birds, like warblers, that’s nature’s way of the nectar they crave. To attract insects, try away from nectar when filled with plain letting you know it’s time to ready your yard placing rotting fruit near feeders and leave it water. Since birds drink from the moat, for hummingbirds. until insects arrive for hummers’ easy eats. never use any repellents or additives.

It’s enchanting to watch hummingbirds Leave spider webs alone. Hummingbirds Hummingbirds are territorial and not — named for the humming sound of their use spider webs as construction material to likely to share feeders, so hang multiple fast-flapping wings — as their tiny size hold their nests together and pluck insects feeders far enough apart to attract more and speed make them natural wonders. caught in the webbing. birds. To ensure a steady stream of birds, Hummingbirds are quick and able to fly up Plant flowers. Trumpet honeysuckle, hang feeders in the shade to avoid fermento 30 mph, flapping their wings an estimated bee balm and sage plants are particularly tation of sugar-based liquids, check feeders 70 times per second. They fly in every direc- attractive to hummingbirds and provide bi-weekly to keep food fresh and clean tion, even backwards, which only hummers rich nectar. Hummingbirds consume 11/2 feeders as needed with one part white vincan do, and float majestically in midair. times their body weight daily, eating every egar to four parts water.

The birds get their brilliant color from 10-15 minutes and visiting 1,000-2,000 Choose the right nectar. Not all nectar is the iridescence in the arrangement of their flowers per day. alike, and hummingbirds can taste the diffeathers, not color pigment. Plus, they have Hang hummingbird feeders first. ference. Almost all commercial nectars conthe fastest metabolism of any animal on Feeders are one of the most effective ways tain one sugar source — sucrose — because earth, burning one to two times of their body to consistently entice and encourage humit’s cheaper to make. However, real flower weight in food daily. Hummingbirds draw mingbirds to come visit. However, not all nectar contains three sugar sources nectar from its source into their mouths, lap- feeders are created equal. For example, Cole’s — sucrose, fructose and glucose — in ping it up almost 12 times per second.

Hummer High Rise Feeder is scientifically varying amounts depending on the flower.

To increase your chances of observing designed with elevated perches to make Offer a water mister. Hummingbirds

From Staff Reports

Provided

When treated right, hummingbirds will return to your yard every year. adore bathing; a mister gives them the fine spray they prefer. Once soaked, they’re off to find a preening perch.

Provide tiny perches. Leave small, sturdy, bare branches for hummingbirds, to perch on for rest, preening and hunting.

Perches provide vantage points to see danger and launching pads to swiftly pounce on insects. Once hummingbirds find a favorite perch, they’ll use it repeatedly.

Don’t forget, hummingbirds have memories like elephants; once they discover your hummer-friendly habitat, they’ll come back every year if there’s a reliable food source.

Family Features contributed to this story.

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AT HOME IN THE LOWCOUNTRY

Maria White and the power of pottery

By Samantha Connors

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“To me, it makes so much sense that clay and mental health can work together,” said Maria White. “Sitting down at the wheel or just working with some clay in my hands can quickly help alleviate my anxiety in many cases.”

White spreads this mentality by sharing her knowledge of ceramic arts through her nonprofit, Mugs for Moms. It offers pottery classes and mental health resources for moms experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety.

White, who was born in Las Vegas but raised in Summerville, discovered her passion and talent for ceramics while pursuing an art degree from Winthrop University.

“I took a ceramics class and fell in love with it,” she said. “I called my dad and told him I wanted to be a potter and he said, ‘You want to be a what?’ ” she said.

She continued her artistic studies after graduating from Winthrop in 1998 by studying under sculptor Michael Sherrill, who is known for inventing Mudtools, a unique set of ceramic carving tools that potters all over the world use today. “I still have and use some of his very first tools,” she said.

She went on to assist him in teaching workshops and later created Michael Sherrill Retrospective, a documentary about his decades-long career as a potter. The film screened at the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian.

“I was and am fortunate to have a mentor that thinks outside of the box and encouraged me to do the same and challenge myself and push myself to explore whatever I’m passionate about”, she said.

Pottery and film

White kickstarted her professional pottery career after leaving Charleston for Los Angeles in 2001. During her time in L.A., she created pottery for high-profile chefs, interior designers, and movie and television sets. You may have spotted her work on the set of ’90s

White founded a nonprofit, Mugs for Moms.

Rūta Smith

Digs 04.06.2022

Mount Pleasant potter and filmmaker Maria White believes in the therapeutic power of pottery.

hit sitcom Friends, the 2005 movie Monster-in-Law starring Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez, and on the set of Academy Award-winning film La La Land.

She also made a name for herself as an independent filmmaker and co-founded the Los Angeles Women’s Film Collective to help empower female filmmakers.

Now, she continues to dabble in filmmaking, often collaborating on projects with her filmmaker husband Matthew Mebane, who recently worked on The Righteous Gemstones series.

White relocated back to Charleston with her family in 2015. She is part of Studio Union pottery studio in Charleston and recently completed a six-week residency at the Gibbes Museum of Art. She uses porcelain clay and 22K gold luster to create her current collection, which she describes as minimal and inspired by forms and textures she sees in nature.

“My pieces are made to be touched. I want people to pick them up and feel the textures,” she said.

THE LOWDOWN ON MARIA WHITE Age: 45.

Birthplace: Las Vegas, Nevada.

Education: St. Viator’s Catholic School (Las Vegas); Summerville High School; Winthrop University; Penland School of Craft.

Current profession: Potter; occasional filmmaker; founder of Mugs for Mom. Past professions of interest: Was a stand-in for the most famous fictional potter of cinema, Demi Moore, in Charlie’s Angels 2.

Family: Husband, Matthew Mebane, and two children — a son, 10, and a daughter, 8.

Providing mental health support for moms

Provided

White’s beloved Breville and a favorite porcelain mug by Norwegian potter, Elisa Heland-Hansen.

Favorite things to do outside of work: Eat my way through Charleston or any other city, look at art and meet new people who are willing to share their stories and adventures. Visit studios. Healthy debates. Entertain. Dance!

Your passion: My family and community. Mental health awareness and collaborating with other makers.

Photos provided

Art adorns many spaces in White’s home. purchase pottery created by local ceramics artists and connect with others.

This year, Mugs for Moms will also offer an opportunity to sponsor a mug that will be delivered to a pregnant woman or a new mom as a gift along with information and resources surrounding maternal mental health.

“The idea is the mug goes out into the world and it’s a daily reminder of community and resources for someone who is struggling or if you’re struggling yourself,” White said.

Throughout the year, Mugs for Moms offers free ceramics classes called Muddy Meetups for moms to create something with their hands and connect with others having similar experiences.

“We want to offer our first class for dads, because I know for my husband in particular watching me struggle with mental health was really hard on him too, and dads often don’t have an outlet as well,” she said.

“So, we want to be able to open it up. There are families with two dads or families with two moms, and we want to respect all kinds of families that exist in our city and provide an outlet and resources for them.”

During the Muddy Meetups, there is also a mental health professional present to help navigate discussions around mental health and parenthood.

White said she hoped to continue expanding the Mugs for Moms program in the coming year by offering additional classes and mug drops.

“It’s rewarding for everybody,” she said. “It’s exciting to see the connections they make during the meetups.

And, it’s a way to learn to take better care of one another and in turn take better care of ourselves.”

Favorite novel: Love in the Time of Cholera. Or, The Hobbit. Both of these books haunt me.

Favorite cocktail or beverage: Cappuccino (non-alcoholic) or a margarita.

Five foods you always -need in your refrigerator: Butter, cheese, tortillas, hummus and eggs.

What meal would you want served to you for your last supper: Oyster sliders from The Ordinary; cauliflower wings from Basic Kitchen; butterbean and flatbread from Obstinate Daughter; potato puree and gnocchi from FIG; the pub cheeseburger from Little Jack’s Tavern; and coconut cake from Peninsula Grill.

Secret vice: It’s probably not a secret but I can be an impulsive tool purchaser. If there’s a new ceramics tool on the market, I’ve probably already ordered it or am coveting it.

Describe your best day in 50 words or less: Sleep in past 6 a.m. Then have a coffee from my espresso machine in a favorite ceramic vessel. Then head to the beach for a long walk/run and watch our dog chase birds. Then have a breakfast with the perfect amount of savory and sweet foods.

Then go kayaking for shark teeth and then head to the studio to make some orders and help host a Mugs for Moms Muddy Meet-up. Then meet friends and family for dinner that included local seafood and pasta and talk/laugh into the night finishing with an impromptu dance party.

Philosophy: What are you waiting for? Make something — whatever it is you feel drawn to making or doing — with the best skills you have. And if you know that it wasn’t your best effort or you’re dissatisfied, have the courage to start over and even ask for help from a mentor.

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But White’s ceramics work extends well beyond her artistic career. She launched Mugs for Moms in 2019 with a fundraising event to benefit Postpartum Support Charleston.

The 2020 fundraising event was canceled due to COVID-19. So White began exploring other ways to fuse ceramics arts and mental health awareness.

“During the pandemic, a lot of people were asking me for clay,” she said. “People were going kind of crazy.

They wanted to work with their hands.” “I realized how lucky I am to work with my hands and clay, so I thought, what if we created ways for moms — and anyone really — to do this.”

Mugs for Moms offers several ways for people in the community to get involved. The organization’s 2022 annual fundraiser is May 14. During the ticketed event, moms and other attendees will be able to sip coffee, eat small bites, explore mental health information tables,

Something people would be surprised to learn about you: I actually don’t love making mugs (handles are a total pain when working with porcelain, but I’ll do it if I have to). I’ve also always wanted to play the accordion.

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Time to get some vegetables in the ground

By Toni Reale, special to City Paper Now that the threat of frost in the Lowcountry has passed, it’s time to plant spring vegetables. Seasoned gardeners and amateurs alike have been out in droves in recent weekends stocking up on compost, fertilizer, and a variety of edible plants and showy blooms. It can be difficult to start a garden as the options of what to plant can be overwhelming.

Here are some tips to set up your vegetable garden for success whether you are planting in raised beds Reale or pots:

Plant what you eat and eat what you plant

Before plant shopping, think about what vegetables you and your family enjoy. If you’re not typically a beet or kale eater,

don’t plant them. Instead, spend your energy caring for things that you eat on a regular basis.

Plant things that go together

If you’re starting out, try planting lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes for a quick salad. A container with a variety of herbs will always come in handy in the kitchen.

Chives, parsley and cilantro are versatile and can give many dishes that freshness that can’t be duplicated with their dried counterparts. Try mint which pairs nicely with watermelon and summer mojitos.

Tend to your soil before planting

A nutrient-rich soil is the foundation of a healthy garden. If you are planting directly into the ground, add two to three inches of compost to the surface. If you are planting in containers or a raised bed be sure to use a quality soil, preferably organic. The local garden go-to resource, Rita’s Roots, states that to have high yields, you must amend your soil each season because overtime plants use up all the nutrients. Rita also recommends using an all-purpose organic fertilizer in the hole of each new planting.

Get the family involved

Gardening can be a lot of work and any hands can be helpful. Most children love to get their hands dirty and are thrilled to be involved. A garden provides the perfect opportunity for family team-building, establishing patience and an overall respect for how food is grown.

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Use quality organic soil if you’re planting a raised bed.

Vegetable plants grown here in the Lowcountry are more likely to be successful in your garden as they’ve already been conditioned for our climate. Seek out local plant sales such as those at Rita’s Roots and the Plantasia event from April 6

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to April 10 that is hosted by the Charleston Horticultural Society.

Mix in cut flowers

Pollinators will benefit your garden and cut flowers will help draw them in. Additionally, cutting a few flowers and bringing them inside will bring happiness into the home and will provide a reminder of the benefits of your hard work in the garden.

Available and ready to plant

Rita’s Roots just hosted a spring plant sale and these were just some of the items ready to be planted now. Roadside Blooms will host another Rita’s Roots plant sale on April 23.

• A variety of kale and lettuce • Cherry, heirloom and other varieties of tomatoes

• Beets • Eggplant • A variety of peppers • Herbs • Cucumbers • Squash • Cut flowers such as yarrow, sunflower, rudbeckia and cosmos • Edible flowers such as nasturtium • Watermelon • Okra • Beans Toni Reale is the owner and creator director of Roadside Blooms, a unique flower and plant shop in Park Circle in North Charleston. It specializes in weddings, events and everyday deliveries using near 100 percent American and locally grown blooms. Online at: roadsideblooms.com. Visit at 4610 Spruill Ave., Ste. 102, North Charleston.

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Gardening is the perfect opportunity to get the entire family involved.

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