Art and Science

Deb Shannan, Palladium Prints

In its fifth year, The Bascom’s photography residency has grown as an essential component of the organization’s mission. Attracting photographers from across the country, this unique residency opportunity not only benefits the resident artist through a variety of professional development opportunities, but also serves the community through important education programs for local students and adults.

Selected artists are given the time and space to further their studio practice, and to create a body of work for exhibition. For 2021, the exhibition opportunity has been elevated to a location in the Joel Gallery at The Bascom, demonstrating the increased importance placed on the program. The Bascom Photography Residency also plays a key role in bringing talented artists to our area to share their unique perspective with our communities and visitors.

In February, the recipient of the 2021 Photography Residency, Deb Shannan, arrived to begin her three-month immersive experience at The Bascom. A lifelong fine art botanical photographer, she also had a 28-year career as a science teacher, experience well suited to her role at The Bascom.

Regarding her approach to photography, Deb states, “My photography lies at the intersection of botanical art and science…I observe patterns echoed throughout the natural world that are the result of evolutionary adaptations, local geography, and seasonal changes. For me, observing the intricate tapestries of plant patterns found in the world sparks both scientific and aesthetic questions and brings forth a desire to explore and discover more about nature’s awe inspiring designs.”

As well as creating work for exhibition, Deb will be instructing classes and workshops at The Bascom. She will be leading our continued partnership with Macon STEM at Macon Middle School to provide supplemental STEM programming in the classroom using her knowledge of science and photography.

Please join The Bascom in welcoming Deb Shannan to Western North Carolina.

by Billy Love Creative Director, The Bascom

Point phone camera at QR code for more information about The Bascom.

The happy products of the Highlands-Cashiers Art League’s freewheeling Art Camps are on proud display at the Highlands Civic Center.

In the December, 2020 edition of the Laurel, we featured a painting done by Art League member Cynthia Kinard that today is located in the Church of the Incarnation.

The Art League of Highlands-Cashiers is the original formal organization of artists on the Plateau, having existed for more than fifty years. The Episcopal Church is one of four Highlands venues that house artistic legacy works produced by Art League of Highlands-Cashiers members.

This month we feature another venue, the Rec Park’s Civic Center, where a permanent collection of works produced by children participating in the League’s Summer Art Camp are on display. These pieces are found in the lobby, hallways and elsewhere in the building.

The Camp is sponsored by the Art League and the Rec Park for eight weeks during the summer each year. Under the tutelage of a professional instructor and League volunteers, children work on a variety of individual take-home projects and also collaborate on a group project that is donated to the Rec Park at the end of camp.

If you have never been in the building, or if you have been but have not noticed this artwork, we recommend that you visit once it’s safe to do so. The Art Camp has been run since 2007 (except last year, of course), so there are many pieces to enjoy. We think you will be impressed by the quality and creativity of the children’s work.

There are totem poles and fish and landscapes, and a representation of the solar eclipse, and…you get the idea. It’s truly remarkable to see the talent and imagination of area youth.

For more information about the Art League, visit its updated website at artleagueofhighlands-cashiers.com.

by Zach Claxton,

Art League of Highlands-Cashiers

arts and culture on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau?

thelaurelmagazine.com/culture

The Highlands Performing Arts Center is shaking off the 2020 pandemic slumber with an optimistic performance calendar, laced with a few surprises. For more information, visit HighlandsPerformingArts.com.

The Highlands Performing Arts Center is gearing up for the 2021 Season (optimistically.)

The Season has been booked. The Membership campaign has begun. Vaccinations have started.

Hopefully, we’ll see you all at PAC in the next few months.

The season will feature the favorite bluegrass group Seldom Scene; a countertenor, Terry Barber with Tony nominee Grace Fields; the comedy, Men Are From Mars/Women Are From Venus; retro rock/yacht rock with a tribute to Neil Diamond by Neil Zirconia; Broadway by Bravo Amici (formerly Amici Forever); more retro rock with Fleetwood Mask; and even more bluegrass with Sideline on Thanksgiving weekend.

In order to get first selection on reserved seating, become a member of the Performing Arts Center. The Membership brochure is entirely online this year. Log onto HighlandsPerformingArts.com, select PAC and follow the prompts. There is a video to help guide you through the process, if needed.

You can order your membership, select and reserve your seats, all online. Membership levels and benefits remain the same as last year – discounted and complimentary tickets, complimentary beverages, first choice of seats, and more.

Since Covid-19 is still a large part of our lives, the PAC is enhancing our HVAC system, working with engineers to improve the air exchange in the auditorium. Before each event the entire lobby, auditorium, rest rooms and back stage will be sanitized with a hospital-grade disinfectant. Masks will be required, hand sanitizer and wipes will be available. Construction on the new building will begin in late spring. The contract has been signed with the architectural firm of Lord Aeck Sargent. With a completion date in time for our 2022 Season. Good things are coming! Please support PAC by becoming a Member. Go online to HighlandsPerformingArts.com, and click on PAC. It’s that easy.

by Mary Adair Trumbly, Highlands Performing Arts Center

A long, languid visit to Hummingbird Lounge, located in the heart of Old Edwards Inn, is the perfect tonic for quarantine-induced sluggishness. It’s open to the public for lunch daily, from 11:30 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. For Old Edwards Inn hotel guests only, light fare is served from 2:00 to 5:00 P.M.; and Dinner 5:00 to 8:00 P.M.

Ihope it’s obvious that there’s an undeni- stocked wine cellar, and a full catalog of craft Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley and his beable optimism and energy infusing this beers), and, this is important, quicksilver loved Mary had long evenings in the taverns issue of Laurel. conversations with friends punctuated with of Lake Geneva before inclement weather

Page after page of springtime events, the sudden insights and off-kilter laughter. kept them inside Byron’s estate for a gray Audubon Report, even Highlands Biologi- Every element of this afternoon was pre- weekend of creativity and terror. cal Foundation’s announcement of the ar- cious in these Covid-cramped times. And while we’re on the subject, let’s conrival of armadillos on Plateau – I can’t help The salons of Europe understood these sider the salons and bistros and taverns of feeling invigorated. essentials. During his exile from France, Paris that seduced and ensorcelled the Lost

These are good things, and you can’t help Voltaire cultivated his Enlightened ideals Generation in the 1920s. but feel a little frisson of excitement. while indulging in lengthy conversations in All of these places at all of these critical

But part of my sunny disposition is almost the salons of Berlin, Geneva, Strasbourg, times fostered a sense of engagement and certainly the result of a languid lunch at Old and Amsterdam. You can bet that those the freedom to synthesize new ideas and new Edwards Inn’s Hummingbird Lounge. chat sessions were lively, and the meals were artistic and cultural sensibilities.

I reveled in the sweet indulgence of care- generous and, this being Voltaire, the wine And that’s what Hummingbird Lounge fully crafted dishes, wisely chosen adult bev- flowed in cascades. offers to those who hunger for a bit of lively erages (from a very clever bar and a deeply And of course, it’s a certainty that Lord conversation shared over groaning tables of

food and generous pours.

What a precious commodity, and a callback to a more langourous, genteel time.

The place is designed for easy conversation and sophisticated dining. There’s an almost irresistible library setting of overstuffed chairs and a sofa in front of a carefully tended fireplace. Settle in here, and it’ll take a spatula to get you out of your seat and back out into the real world.

If you manage to resist plopping yourself in this easy fireplace vignette, you’ll find yourself in a cozy lounge with tall bistro tables and plush chairs along the perimeter.

This is where we settled in for our opulent salon session.

As I noted above, it was essential to those socially satisfying salons that they offer generous dishes and liberal refreshments. And here again, Hummingbird Lounge follows those venerable traditions.

During the course of our blessedly unhurried conversations, we enjoyed and (safely) shared Smoked Mountain Trout Dip, Hummus, Chicken Potato Soup, an extraordinary Painted Hills Farm Burger, (Sister Restaurant) Madison’s Chicken Salad Sandwich, Southern Fish & Chips, Shrimp & Grits – all of this capped with slices of the startling Butternut Squash Cheesecake and a pair of showstopping servings of Coca Cola Cake.

Our conversations were enhanced with the inclusion of a Bloody Mary; Bären Toddy (Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur, Earl Grey Tea, and Lemon Juice); and the bistro-tested Boulevardier (Bulliet Rye Whiskey, Campari, and Carpano Antica Formula Sweet Vermouth).

With all of this bounty, you’re probably wondering what grand things will come from this gathering of cultural powerhouses and avant garde activists. A 21st Century Candide? The Plateau version of The Great Gatsby? A bracing reconciliation between Hyperrealism and Postmodern Expressionism?

Well, sadly, our conversations danced between rants about the difficulty of not looking like you’d been held underwater for an extended period of time during a Zoom session; how binge watching can overrun your life; and, of course, stories about exceptional children and grandchildren.

It is, after all, the 21st century.

Hummingbird Lounge is open for every day, and Lunch is served from 11:30 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. and open to the public. For Old Edwards Inn hotel guests only, light fare is served from 2:00 to 5:00 P.M.; and Dinner 5:00 to 8:00 P.M. Beverages are served from 11:30 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.

by Luke Osteen

Point phone camera at QR code to learn more about Hummingbird Lounge.

Andrea Schmitt

In earlier days, Eugene Walters, the renowned Southern raconteur and teller of tales about food, referred to me as “Miss Mile-a-Minute.”

That’s a title that would now be more aptly conferred on my much younger cohort– Andrea Schmitt, owner/chef at Meritage Restaurant.

In her daily duties at the restaurant she buzzes about the property with quick, long strides speaking in a rapid succession of words.

These days it’s rare to see a family dish in a fine-dining restaurant. But, Lamb Meatloaf, a dish inspired by Schmitt’s German Grandmother who took inspiration from her Italian Mother-in-Law, has been on the menu since the beginning.

1 tablespoon Sunflower or other Neutral Oil 1 medium Onion, finely chopped 1 Medium Carrot, finely chopped 1 t tablespoon Ground Cumin Ground Black Pepper to taste 1 lb. Ground Lamb ¼ cup Egg Whites – from 4 Egg Whites

1 jar Roasted Red Peppers - 12 to 14 oz. 1 small can Tomato Paste – 4 oz. 4 cloves Garlic, chopped 1 tablespoon Sugar 1 teaspoon Salt 1 teaspoon of Black Pepper 1 teaspoon Cumin 1 tablespoon White Vinegar 1 tablespoon Sunflower Oil

1. Make the meatloaf: Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a rimmed baking sheet with oil. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium. Add onions and carrots, stirring occasionally until softened about 8 minutes. Add cumin and black pepper and stir until aromatic – about 2 minutes. 2. Place the ground lamb in a large bowl. Add to onion and carrot mixture and mix until well blended. Add the egg whites and mix gently to combine, being careful to not overwork the meat. Shape into a meatloaf on the prepared pan, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. 3. Meanwhile make the Riviera Sauce. Combine tomato paste, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper, cumin, white vinegar and oil in a food processor blender and puree until mostly smooth. Add the red peppers, one at a time and pulse after each addition until smooth. 4. Remove meatloaf from the refrigerator and place on a middle rack in the preheated oven. Bake until nicely browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 160 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer meatloaf to a platter and let stand tented with foil, 10 to 15 minutes. Slice and drizzle with the Riviera Sauce.

by Marlene Osteen