VIE Magazine July 2019

Unique Treasures in Paradise C O A S TA L G E M S F O R S A L E A L O N G H I G H W AY 3 0 - A

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In this issue On the Cover

New York–based fashion designer and CFDA member Christian Siriano has been busy! Since his big win on season four of Project Runway, he has launched his eponymous brand, designed a home decor line, partnered with retailers such as Payless, released fragrances, dressed countless celebrities for red-carpet events, and so much more. This year, everything came full circle as Siriano became a mentor on the new season of Project Runway on Bravo and also celebrated the one-year anniversary of his latest retail endeavor, The Curated NYC. Read all about it on page 26!

Photo by Sara Kerens

46

“MY WORK IS ABOUT HOW MEANING GETS MADE AND QUESTIONS HOW CULTURAL NARRATIVES ARE APPLIED AND STRUCTURED AND HOW THAT COMES TO SHAPE OUR EXPERIENCES IN THE WORLD,” SAYS ARTIST ANGELA FRALEIGH, WHOSE SITESPECIFIC EXHIBITION SHADOWS SEARCHING FOR LIGHT SHOWED AT THE EDWARD HOPPER HOUSE MUSEUM FROM NOVEMBER 2018 THROUGH FEBRUARY 2019.

Photo courtesy of Edward Hopper House Museum

FEATURE 26

VISUAL PERSPECTIVES 69

A Self-Made Man: Living the American Dream

70 Glam for the ’Gram: Bold and Beautiful Women

LE MONDE 25 32 New York City Ballet x Shantell Martin: She Follows Where Her Pen Takes Her

38 Love The REP: Community Theater Making

Water Inspires Art

82 The Art of Perseverance 88 In His Nature

a Big Difference

95 L’intermission: Bubbles Not Bullets

42 Country for the Cause: Pepsi Gulf Coast

96 Painting for the Joy of It

Supports Hurricane Relief

46 Shadows Searching for Light

102 Something to Say: The Artist Speaks 108 Life Renewed

VOYAGER 51

114 An Authentic Voice

52 All Aboard the Seabourn Quest: North

INTROSPECTIONS

American Cruising at Its Finest

BON APPÉTIT! PUBLISHED BY

76 Making Waves: The Essence of

58 The Sweet Life: Spreading Happiness

C’EST LA VIE CURATED COLLECTION: ART-POP SUMMER 64

118 The Symphony of Noise

LA SCÈNE 120 THE LAST WORD: ART & ARTISTS 125 AU REVOIR! 129

TheIdeaBoutique.com info@theideaboutique.com V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 15

CREATIVE TEAM FOUNDER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LISA MARIE BURWELL Lisa@VIEmagazine.com

FOUNDER / PUBLISHER GERALD BURWELL Gerald@VIEmagazine.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR JORDAN STAGGS Jordan@VIEmagazine.com

CHIEF COPY EDITOR MARGARET STEVENSON CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SALLIE W. BOYLES, MARSHA DOWLER, FELICIA FERGUSON, MYLES MELLOR, KELSEY OGLETREE, TORI PHELPS, SUZANNE POLL AK, NICHOL AS S. RACHEOTES, JANET THOMAS

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY ART DIRECTOR TRACEY THOMAS Tracey@VIEmagazine.com

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS OLIVIA PIERCE HANNAH VERMILLION

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS HEATHER E. ADAMS, JONAH ALLEN, STEPHEN BUSKEN, CLYDE BUTCHER, DFREE, BOBBY FISHER, JACK GARDNER, MICKI GLENN, ARMANDO GRILLO, ERIK HARRISON, EVGENII IAROSHEVSKII, PAUL JONES, SARA KERENS, BRENNA KNEISS, JAMIE MCCARTHY, COSTAS PICADAS, LEV RADIN, ROY ROCHLIN, JOHN SHEARER, WILLIAM WALDRON, WOODY WALTERS, GETT Y IMAGES, LYNN CROW PHOTOGRAPHY, SHUTTERSTOCK

ADVERTISING, SALES, AND MARKETING DIGITAL MARKETING DIRECTOR MEGHN HILL ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ABIGAIL RYAN BRAND AMBASSADOR LISA MARIE BURWELL Lisa@VIEmagazine.com MARTA RATA Marta@VIEmagazine.com

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16 | JULY 2019

Editor’s Note

CHANGE MAKERS The Movers & Shakers

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2

It was a picture-perfect day in New York City as a seemingly never-ending line twisted nearly all the way around the theater, but it moved quickly and no one seemed to mind.

We were all too excited.

As we sat in the filled-to-capacity David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center for the Tenth Annual Women in the World (WITW) Summit, I was giddy with anticipation. The venue, our front-row seats, the extravagant lineup of speakers— Oprah, Brie Larson, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Diane von Furstenberg, Stacey Abrams, Anna Wintour, Bryan Cranston, Cindy McCain, Adwoa Aboah, and Maria Ressa, to name only a few—and the ideas and conversations covering an array of global topics certainly exceeded expectations. The ambitious three-day summit was executed flawlessly and with clockwork precision.

Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker and author of The Vanity Fair Diaries and more, needs little introduction: she is a worldwide leader, a change maker, and a media influencer. She founded WITW in 2010 and its eponymous foundation one year later with the mission to bring together women leaders, activists, and political voices from around the world to share their stories and offer solutions for building a better life for women and girls. I had the pleasure of meeting her in Charleston, South Carolina, this past fall at the Charleston to Charleston Literary Festival as VIE sponsored her lecture there. Needless to say, I am a big fan of hers. The stage was set in NYC and Tina effortlessly took her podium with quiet confidence as she welcomed the attendees and introduced her first speaker—Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah seemed to glide effortlessly across the stage and looked like a celestial vision.

She was powerfully engaging and, as one might expect, gifted everyone in the audience with her new book, The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose.

In her keynote address, she offered her vision on this year’s crucial question: Can women save the world?

Stay tuned for a feature story on this event in a fall issue of VIE, but for now, I will give you a glimpse into some key takeaways from this impressive summit.

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Countless speakers took to the stage, including real-life superhero Brie Larson of Captain Marvel fame. Brie was intriguing and refreshing; she has achieved much in her young life and seems to possess the wisdom of a sage. She is a fearless individual, and she recounts that is the only way she wants to live.

Tina Brown interviewed Priyanka Chopra Jonas—actress, producer, and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador—the following afternoon, and that was a charismatic and powerful conversation that led to a plethora of ideas. One of Priyanka’s responses to Tina really resonated with me: “Ideas are the currency of the present.” (To place this in context, the conversation was about how the world and business are changing at a rapid pace and how best to strategize and meander through this new world order.)

I thought long and hard about those words. My takeaway was that to survive and thrive, one must learn to think, to create, and to understand the importance of new ideas. Money is not something to worry about—or strive toward, for that matter. It’s all about ideas. Ideas can solve problems and create new perspectives.

We always strive to foster conversations with our readers, and I hope that as you dive into this issue, you will respect the ideas presented by the curated artists found within.

Artists can help start conversations and break barriers through their work, and this just might help in saving the world. They represent the new and unfiltered voices of our time. Read all about them and learn from what they say—their ideas are also currency.

Buy some art today and help keep the dialogue going.

4

To Life!

—Lisa Marie Founder/Editor-In-Chief

1. Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Tina Brown | 2. Oprah Winfrey | 3. Brie Larson | Photos courtesy of Tina Brown’s Women in the World Summit / Tina Brown Live Media 4. VIE founder/editor-in-chief Lisa Burwell and Meghan Ryan in New York City for the WITW Summit 2019 V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 19

La conversation

Glad to See You! WE LOVE TO COMMUNICATE AND INTERACT WITH OUR READERS! AND WE LOVE IT EVEN MORE WHEN THEY PROUDLY SHARE THEIR STORIES AND POSE WITH VIE FOR A CLOSE-UP! THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT: SHARING, LOVING, AND BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. WE THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AND WE APPRECIATE YOU!

@megan.waldrep I’ve also read this issue of @viemagazine about twenty times. I saved this issue for months, waiting for the perfect moment to indulge. The photo shoot with stylist @tytryone is AMAZING! #inspiringAF

@kyliejscott_ Sometimes I love a good long car ride by myself, and today I got one! Coming back and forth from Aubs has been giving me lots of time to reflect and listen to some inspiring podcasts . . . I’m always looking for new ones and would love to know any of your favorites! Photo: @viemagazine @brennakneiss.co

@saltharbor You can find our Seaside wedding in @viemagazine’s June 2019 issue!

@brittneykelley Honestly felt like a dream last night seeing my face as the June cover girl of @viemagazine! When they asked me through email, I had to reread the message several times to make sure I wasn’t seeing things! Sure enough, it was set in motion to work with one of the most wonderful teams I’ve ever worked with in this industry! @lisamburwell and her team are the epitome of TRIBE. They put their heart and soul into lifting up the movers, shakers, and creatives of the world. I am so grateful to have been asked and even more thankful that I’ve met a new group of amazing people to have as part of the TRIBE.

LET’S TALK!

@roxiewilson And . . . it was a “HOOP-LA”!

I cannot thank all the customers, awesome employees, friends, and family who helped us make this amazing weekend @thezoogallery such a success! We rocked! @viemagazine @ravenroxanne @magnoliapearl @baxterwilsxn @marisa_loves_magnolia_pearl @proffittpr @rbstork @jojomonster12

Send VIE your comments and photos on our social media channels or by emailing us at info@viemagazine.com. We’d love to hear your thoughts. They could end up in the next La conversation!

VIEmagazine.com @tribekelleysurfpost Saturdays are for beach babes! @viemagazine

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 23

Le monde

Interior of the refectory at Santa Maria delle Grazie (Holy Mary of Grace) in Milan featuring the mural of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci Photo by Evgenii Iaroshevskii / Shutterstock

Le monde GOES ROUND AND ROUND

As this year marks the five hundredth anniversary of the death of renowned Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), destinations around the world are holding special shows and events to celebrate his life’s work. The Louvre will open a new exhibition in October; the Parisian museum has the largest da Vinci collection and will display new scientific examinations of his work in this new exhibition. The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace in London will also display two hundred da Vinci drawings from May 24 to October this year, along with a newly discovered portrait of the artist believed to be by one of his students. Museo Leonardiano in Vinci, Italy—da Vinci’s birthplace—exhibited his first known drawing, Landscape 8P, through May 26; it can now be seen at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 25

Designer, entrepreneur, and TV personality Christian Siriano Photo courtesy of Christian Siriano 26 | JULY 2019

A SELF-MADE MAN LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM

INTERVIEW BY LISA BURWELL

What is it about Christian Siriano that makes him stand out from the crowd? One can speculate that it’s his raw talent and eye for design, uncanny entrepreneurship, unwavering belief in himself, and tireless dedication to growing his brand.

T

hese are all necessary ingredients in the recipe for success, but what makes him shine above and beyond is his heart for people and his kindness toward all. He’s very comfortable in his own skin as well—and why shouldn’t he be? He led the way for inclusivity in the fashion industry long before it was adopted by a slew of retailers and fashion designers in more recent years. His mantra is that all women matter, and he showed the fashion industry that they were missing out by ignoring a large segment of the population of consumers. The message that “People Are People”—a Depeche Mode song whose title has appeared on a T-shirt collaboration Siriano did with the band and is now the name of his latest fragrance—reinforces that he is a disrupter and a champion, and people have taken notice.

From including body-positive and gender-fluid models in his runway shows to dressing actor and singer Billy Porter in a showstopping tuxedo-style top with a full ball-gown skirt at the Oscars this year, Siriano makes waves just by being himself and helping others to do the same. He knows and loves just about every celebrity, and they love him back. A genuine appeal is felt by all ages, sizes, colors, and creeds as he’s able to connect with people. Watching the trajectory of his career from winning Project Runway Season Four to being where he is today is awe inspiring. I am generally not one to gush, but as I watched him on Project Runway over a decade ago, I felt a connection to him; I loved his style and the way his creations draped a woman’s body. I recall telling my husband that I would wear all of the clothes he made on the show. Fast-forward to several years later, and I am frequently wearing his designs. So there you have it—I’m unabashedly a big fan.

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 27

for the 2019 Met Gala in his studio there—he shares his thoughts with VIE:

The Curated NYC is Christian Siriano’s flagship store, design studio, and multibrand retailer in Midtown Manhattan.

Photo by William Waldron

H

is story is big, so it’s hard to know where to begin. As one of the stars on the current incarnation of Project Runway on Bravo a decade after his win as a contestant, Siriano is now passing on his wisdom and support to the next generation of designers. The show even filmed an episode inside Siriano’s retail brainchild, The Curated NYC, located at Five West Fifty-Fourth Street near Fifth Avenue in Midtown, now celebrating its one-year anniversary.

Above: Billy Porter in custom Siriano at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Photo by DFree / Shutterstock Left: Actress Alicia Silverstone at the grand opening of The Curated NYC in April of 2018 Photo courtesy of Christian Siriano Right: Christian Siriano accessories at The Curated NYC Photo by Sara Kerens

28 | JULY 2019

The Curated NYC opened in April of 2018 as a unique collaborative retail venue that is not only Siriano’s flagship store but also a designer potpourri of original art, jewelry and accessories, and home decor, as well as fashion lines by other couturiers. The midtown Manhattan store is a gorgeous late nineteenth-century neo-Renaissance townhouse that was originally designed by Robert H. Robertson for a wealthy neurologist and his socialite wife. The mansion has since been repurposed as a respite home for veterans returning from World War II and as offices for various businesses, including Fabergé from 1948 to 1970. It was meticulously restored in 1974 and then renovated again when Siriano took over the building in 2017. “I wanted customers to feel like they are in a home, that they are dressing in a beautiful closet,” the designer said following his grand opening. Lots of natural light, stunning crown moldings, rich hardwood floors, and delightful blush-pink carpet help achieve that goal.

As Siriano celebrates The Curated NYC’s first year in business and the many celebrities, friends, and customers who have already passed through its doors—not to mention having Project Runway on-site this season and creating some incredible looks

VIE: How has your first year been at The Curated? Congratulations on meeting this milestone!

CS: The first year of The Curated has been amazing.

We have learned so much about our customers and their wants and needs. I think I reached all my goals with the store—we just wanted people to have a place where they felt comfortable to shop and excited about fashion again.

VIE: What has been the response from the retail community as you’ve created a concept very different from the norm?

CS: I think other buyers and retailers have noticed that this could be a very successful business model, and it is exciting for the customers to try something new. I also think this is a business that can grow in so many cities.

VIE: How many celebrities have strolled through the doors of The Curated in the past year?

CS: We have had pretty much everyone and anyone walk into the store. It has been a mix of young and old and all different sizes of people. I love that some of our celebrity friends, even when they have a fitting for something else, find something in The Curated that they love. Our beautiful friend Christina Hendricks bought some art the other day, and we can’t wait to see where she hangs it!

WE JUST WANTED PEOPLE TO HAVE A PLACE WHERE THEY FELT COMFORTABLE TO SHOP AND EXCITED ABOUT FASHION AGAIN.

VIE: How has it felt for you to return to Project Runway ten years later, sitting on the other side of the experience and being a mentor instead of a contestant?

Janelle Monáe rocks a custom look by Christian Siriano at the 2019 Met Gala in New York City Photo by John Shearer/ Getty Images for THR

CS: Being a mentor on the new season of Project Runway has been exciting.

It is very different to be on the other side, but I Ashley Graham walks in Siriano’s Fall/Winter think the young designers 2019 runway show are getting a real-world Photo by Armando Grillo mentor who is an actual designer. I try to give them advice based on the real-life experiences that I’m living in right now. So, when the designers had a red-carpet challenge, and I just happened to have dressed six people for the Met Gala, I might know something about what it takes to do a great red-carpet look. I can’t wait for everyone to see The Curated when it makes its TV debut in an upcoming episode of the show!

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 29

Christian Siriano at his Fall/Winter 2018 runway show, which marked ten years of the eponymous brand Photo courtesy of Christian Siriano

VIE: How do you have the courage to take so many risks and then succeed each time?

CS: I love to take some risks and think that’s the most exciting part about fashion. I think if you’re not taking risks, then this isn’t the job for you. I also think a lot of my success has had to do with all the risks that I’ve taken—everything from dressing certain people on the red carpet to collaborating with mass retailers like Payless. It is all part of a bigger picture.

VIE: What are your plans for the future of The Curated?

Producer, writer, and director Ryan Murphy on the pink carpet at the 2019 Met Gala in custom Christian Siriano Photo by Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images

CS: We have so many future plans and tons of projects that we are working on right now, and the goal is to grow The Curated as much as possible—maybe even venture into another city. We are bringing on new brands all the time and are very excited to celebrate our first anniversary!

The Curated NYC is open at Five West Fifty-Fourth Street in New York City. Learn more online at TheCuratedNYC.com and ChristianSiriano.com.

Left: Rapper Cardi B in Siriano at his Fall/Winter 2018 runway show Photo by Lev Radin / Shutterstock Far left: Fern Mallis and Debra Messing join Siriano at The Curated NYC grand opening Photo courtesy of Christian Siriano

30 | JULY 2019

Architecture designed around You and the things You love...

www.aboheme.com

A BOHEME DESIGN AA 26001879

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED A BOHEME DESIGN, LLC / CHRISTOPHER BARRETT PHOTOGRAPHY 2019

NEW YORK CITY BALLET

X SHANTELL MARTIN

Le monde

Artist Shantell Martin collaborated with the New York City Ballet to create art displays for its six-week winter season at Lincoln Center.

SHE FOLLOWS WHERE HER PEN TAKES HER P HOT O G R APH Y B Y R O Y R O C H L I N

W

HEN SHE WAS GROWING UP IN GREATER LONDON’S THAMESMEAD DISTRICT, SHANTELL MARTIN PROBABLY WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE NEW YORK CITY BALLET WAS NOT ONLY A WORLD AWAY IN

DISTANCE, BUT ALSO A WORLD AWAY FROM WHAT SHE DREAMED OF DOING WITH HER LIFE. NOW THE PROLIFIC CONTEMPORARY ARTIST HAS ADDED A BALLETIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SORTS TO HER LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS. NO, SHE HASN’T DONNED A TUTU AND HOPPED ON STAGE—BUT SHE WAS NAMED THE BALLET’S SEVENTH-ANNUAL NYCB ART SERIES PARTNER EARLIER THIS YEAR. “This project has been a highlight for sure, and it was such an honor to work with everyone at NYCB,” Martin says. “It was also incredible to perform or be in conversation on each of the special artist nights.”

The NYCB Art Series invites one standout artist each year to collaborate with its dancers and use the inspiration of their movements, performances, and interviews to create site-specific art that is shown at NYCB performances in Lincoln Center during the company’s six-week winter season. Carrying on a strong tradition of the ballet’s partnership with visual artists that dates back to 1964, the NYCB Art Series has previously showcased artists FAILE (Patrick McNeil and Patrick Miller), JR, Dustin Yellin, Marcel Dzama, Santtu Mustonen, and Jihan Zencirli. “Architect Philip Johnson and NYCB Founder Lincoln Kirstein curated a permanent collection for what was to become one of New York City’s great public spaces and included works by V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 33

Le monde

Jasper Johns, Lee Bontecou, and Elie Nadelman,” says the NYCB website. “In more recent years, other leading and emerging artists—luminaries like Keith Haring, Julian Schnabel, and Santiago Calatrava— have collaborated with the company in a variety of ways on and off the stage. Art Series builds on these traditions.”

“This was the seventh artist series at NYCB, and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next,” Martin shares.

Through her collaboration, Martin studied the NYCB dancers during rehearsals for weeks and spoke with many of them individually about their artistic processes and inspirations. “Essentially, the result was a larger-than-life installation in the home of NYCB at Lincoln Center,” Martin says. Her black-and-white linework art spanned the upper windows of the center lobby (this was a huge mural that read “Who Are You”), lined the walls on each floor of the atrium, and even stretched across the floor. It was also featured on the cover of the season’s playbill.

“I started the project with a number of in-person interviews with dancers from the company,” Martin says. “Quotes from these interviews later appeared in the installation itself in the form of written words in the artworks, floor, and fabricated seating that came out of the ground. It was also great fun drawing for hours and hours during the onstage rehearsals for ballets like Liebeslieder Walzer, The Nutcracker, and Justin Peck’s new work, Principia.”

34 | JULY 2019

“

I STARTED THE PROJECT WITH A NUMBER OF IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS WITH DANCERS FROM THE COMPANY. QUOTES FROM THESE INTERVIEWS LATER APPEARED IN THE INSTALLATION ITSELF.

The art of Shantell Martin took over Lincoln Center as part of the Seventh Annual NYCB Art Series.

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 35

Le monde

Martin attended NYCB rehearsals and created an extensive series of drawings based on the dancers’ movements and interviews. Her art was displayed on the walls, floor, and windows of Lincoln Center, and some of the words from her pieces were turned into 3-D sculptures for the lobby.

36 | JULY 2019

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his endeavor is just one of many lofty undertakings for Martin, whose work has become revered for its realness and her stream-of-consciousness style of creation.

She has lived in New York City on and off for the past decade and is currently an adjunct professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a visiting scholar at the MIT Media Lab. Her work has been seen in group shows at the Digital Graffiti festival in Northwest Florida, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of the Moving Image, in solo exhibitions at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, and in a seventy-five-minute performance with Kendrick Lamar at Art Basel Miami 2016.

Despite her impressive résumé, Martin remains as down-to-earth and humble as ever, finding that staying true to herself is the only thing that has ever worked for her professionally—and obviously it’s working really well. “I’m definitely leaving this experience more open-minded,” she says of the NYCB Art Series, “and I encourage all that have not been to see a ballet to please do so.”

VISIT SHANTELLMARTIN.ART TO SEE MORE AND SHOP HER ART, OR FOLLOW ALONG WITH HER JOURNEY ON INSTAGRAM @SHANTELL_MARTIN. V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 37

LOVE

CO M M U N I T Y T H E AT E R M A K I N G A B I G D I F F E R E N C E

THE

REP

BY MARSHA DOWLER

The town of Seaside, Florida, has been home to the Repertory Theatre for almost twenty years. Its troupe frequently performs in the Amphitheater at Seaside and in the seventy-five-seat Meeting Hall.

Photo by Jack Gardner Opposite: Performer and production assistant Kyle Walter in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) Photo by Brenna Kneiss 38 | JULY 2019

Le monde

easide, Florida, is credited worldwide with revolutionizing the way America builds by launching a return to sustainable and traditional building practices—the movement known as New Urbanism. Celebrated for its iconic architectural character and intimate town plan, Seaside emerged from the dunes along Scenic Highway 30-A and became a vibrant center for culture and the arts that has transformed the experience of community life on the Emerald Coast. From this small community of just over three hundred homes, five distinguished nonprofits make an enormous impact in the region through a compelling array of creative and performing arts, education, and spiritual life.

At the center of this unique intersection of architecture and the arts is an intimate seventy-five-seat black box theater located in the very heart of downtown.

Founded less than twenty years ago as part of a homeowner-led grassroots renaissance, the Repertory

Theatre (The REP) in Seaside is Northwest Florida’s premier professional theater and one of the region’s most beloved cultural institutions. Located in the award-winning Hybrid Building designed by international architect Steven Holl, The REP mounts more than three hundred performances with audience totals of over twenty-five thousand per year. This astounding output is created through rigorous attention to every detail by hard-working staff and a supremely talented professional company of actors who take on multiple roles as a close-knit theatrical family.

This astounding output is created through rigorous attention to every detail by hard-working staff and a supremely talented professional company of actors who take on multiple roles as a close-knit theatrical family.

“Whether you have been going to The REP for years or are visiting us for the first time, you instantly become part of our family when you step through our doors,” declares Aubrey Ainsworth, the director of artistic operations, as she flashes her megawatt smile and welcomes guests with a honeyed laugh.

Ainsworth also serves as stage manager and costume designer and helps select actors and technicians at regional auditions. Under the guidance of executive director Brook Stetler—who also acts, writes, and directs—The REP’s creative programming has expanded to new horizons. In addition to putting on superb outside-the-box theatrical experiences, The REP also provides enriched learning for students in Walton County schools through educational and mentorship programs. The year-round Live@ TheREP Concert Series attracts extraordinary music artists and singer-songwriters from across the country. The REP Film Club, launched this year by local enthusiasts, screens compelling documentaries, art films, and popular classics. During the relative quiet of the winter season, the nationally recognized Escape to Create Arts Residency presents classical chamber music, the annual Valentine to 30A concert, and works by visiting playwrights and authors.

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hroughout spring and summer, The REP maintains a whirlwind schedule of shows rescripted by Stetler to spark a love for the arts in the young while providing fresh entertainment for audiences of all ages.

Something magical happens when Stetler dons a lampshade and, along with company actors, cavorts with childlike abandon in a wig, tulle skirt, and high-tops. Young and old alike surrender to uncontainable laughter, and a shared joy lingers long after the final bows. Original productions of Alice in Wonderland and Stories By the Sea, written to engage kids of all ages in an interactive storytelling experience, can be enjoyed in Seaside’s outdoor central amphitheater throughout the high season. Jack and the Beanstalk is performed exclusively at Rosemary Beach on the beautiful tree-lined green in North Barrett Square. Adventures in Alys is an hour of energetic children’s improv that exercises young imaginations through creative storytelling and wordplay.

Kyle Walter, Kevin Boyle, and Brook Stetler in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) Photo by Brenna Kneiss

With its high standards of artistic excellence and dedication to providing memorable theater experiences, The REP Theatre in Seaside is the epicenter for arts and entertainment on 30-A. When vacationing families depart from the 30-A corridor for the start of another school year, it is time to pause and appreciate both our patrons and our artists and celebrate the many contributions The REP makes toward the vibrant community life of 30-A. The October Membership Party has all the intimacy of a joyful reunion. The annual Tribute 40 | JULY 2019

REP executive director and camp instructor Brook Stetler performs in Shipwrecked! with Kyle Walter (above left) and Charis Sellick (left).

Opposite: The REP poster for Adventures in Alys, an original storytelling series performed in Alys Beach, Florida Photos courtesy of the Seaside Repertory Theatre

Le monde

Concert is a themed concert featuring local music artists in support of the theater as the region’s top venue for intimate music performance. Both events are vital fund-raisers for the nonprofit theater.

The year will close with the tenth anniversary run of Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some!), which is refreshed each season almost to the point of comedic combustion. The laughs begin with the opening line of this fast-paced, hilarious romp through Christmas traditions from around the world, every carol that was ever sung, and every iconic Christmas character with a dizzying array of props and costume changes. All elements of successful theater are on full display in this routinely sold-out play. One has the clear sense the actors are having as much fun as the audience is. What better way to celebrate the holidays than by sharing joy and laughter with friends, family, and perfect strangers?

With its high standards of artistic excellence and dedication to providing memorable theater experiences, The REP Theatre in Seaside is the epicenter for arts and entertainment on 30-A. “Our mission is to present theatrical and other artistic performances that engage, entertain, and inspire people of all ages,” states board chairman Bert Trucksess. Our rapidly growing coastal community is made far richer thanks to our beloved REP.

VISIT LOVETHEREP.COM TO LEARN MORE OR GET TICKETS.

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COUNTRY FOR THE CAUSE

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY

OF PEPSI GULF COAST JAM

Once a year, some of country music’s biggest performers make their way to Panama City Beach on the Emerald Coast—famous for its crystal clear waters and sugar-white sands— for Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam music festival. The 2019 fest, which will take place August 30– September 1 at Frank Brown Park, has announced that Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, and Kid Rock will be joining the extensive lineup alongside other phenomenal artists, including Midland, LoCash, Big and Rich, Lanco, Gretchen Wilson, Lauren Alaina, and many more!

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Opposite: Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam 2019 headliner Tim McGraw

e are beyond excited about the headliners for our seventh year,” says Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam’s executive producer, Rendy Lovelady.

“This group of artists represents not only three decades of amazing music, but also countless awards, number-one singles, and top-selling albums. We can’t wait for all of them to hit the stage for another amazing event.”

In addition to presenting an incredible Labor Day weekend music lineup, Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam’s producers are donating ten dollars from every ticket sale to Hurricane Michael relief efforts in the Florida Panhandle.

“Our PCB Entertainment team lives and works in Panama City Beach, and we were all affected in some way by Hurricane Michael,” COO Mark Sheldon states. “The devastation was beyond words, and there is still an incredible need for assistance all across the Panhandle.”

Since its inception in 2013, Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam has brought huge names in country music to the Panhandle and helped put Panama City Beach on the map as a premier event destination. Its producers at PCB Entertainment followed that up by introducing SandJam in 2018, with a rockand-roll lineup that included Incubus, Sublime, and Fitz and the Tantrums. SandJam 2019 was even bigger, with two stages set up on the beach at M.B. Miller County Pier and headliners Kings of Leon, Third Eye Blind, and Young the Giant rocking the beach.

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Le monde

Kid Rock also joins the Gulf Coast Jam 2019 lineup.

IN ADDITION TO PRESENTING AN INCREDIBLE LABOR DAY WEEKEND MUSIC LINEUP, PEPSI GULF COAST JAM’S PRODUCERS ARE DONATING TEN DOLLARS FROM EVERY TICKET SALE TO HURRICANE MICHAEL RELIEF EFFORTS IN THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE. Last year’s Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam drew a record 73,000 fans from all fifty states and fourteen foreign countries. Past headliners have rocked the stage and brought the heat every time—Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Thomas Rhett, Luke Bryan, and many more. The 2019 festival is shaping up to be just as big as the last, if not bigger. Other highlights at Frank Brown Park will include local and area vendors, the VIP and Military Appreciation tents, food by local chefs, and more.

Follow along with Gulf Coast Jam on their website and social media pages for more news and details as the event gets closer!

TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE NOW AT GULFCOASTJAM.COM. 44 | JULY 2019

Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam 2019 headliner Jason Aldean

Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam producers Mark Sheldon, Rendy Lovelady, and Dave Trepanier at the 2018 festival

BESTIN DESTIN VIP DESTIN MAGAZINE READER CHOICE AWARD

2019

Le monde

S H A D OW S S E ARCH I N G

FO R

P h o t o g r a p hy c o u r t e s y o f A n g e l a F r a l e i g h & E d wa r d H o p p e r H o u s e M u s e u m

H ow c a n a p o r t r a i t s a y s o m u c h a b o u t i t s s u b j e c t ev e n w h e n t h e f a c e i s h i d d e n f r o m t h e v i ewe r ?

Ask fans of American realist Edward Hopper, and they might tell you that body language, light, and setting can speak volumes about a person even when the facial expression isn’t shown. Hopper’s paintings Nighthawks (his most famous work), Girl at Sewing Machine, Summer Interior, New York Interior, New York Restaurant, and many others often show people from the back or otherwise not directly facing the viewer, lending an air of mystery and even a hint of sorrow, longing, or loneliness, depending on the audience’s interpretation. It was this mystery, along with Hopper’s personal life, that drew contemporary artist Angela Fraleigh to his work.

Shadows Searching for Light, a site-specific exhibition by artist Angela Fraleigh, showed at the Edward Hopper House Museum in Nyack, New York, from November 2018 through February 2019.

Above right: In the dark, with the sound of the sea Oil on canvas, 20 × 16 in., © Angela Fraleigh, 2018

Fraleigh’s site-specific installation that ran at the Edward Hopper House Museum and Study Center in Nyack, New York, from September 2018 through February 2019 featured a series of female portraits exploring the psychological space within Edward Hopper’s paintings and the dynamics of his marriage to fellow artist Josephine “Jo” Nivison. The installation, called Shadows Searching for Light, was a continuation of Fraleigh’s series of paintings representing marginalized female figures in art history and “freeing them from their previous roles” by putting them in a new context.

Many of the women in Hopper’s paintings were said to be inspired by his wife, who modeled for him, and this professional dynamic caused rifts in their relationship.

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Le monde

Petunias, Larkspur and The Picnic Oil on canvas, 20 × 16 in., © Angela Fraleigh, 2018

or more than forty years, Jo devoted herself to helping Hopper flourish in the art world while their personal relationship suffered,” explains curator Elizabeth Colleary. “She was always the stalwart supporter of her husband—serving as his model and muse and meticulously documenting his artistic output—while she struggled to maintain vestiges of her own creative life. Her husband would denigrate her efforts, but she nonetheless plodded on, enjoying the many hours the artists spent painting side by side and producing some of her best, though largely unseen, work.”

Fraleigh’s portraits of “Hopper’s women” (who were modeled after poses and gestures from Jo) were accompanied by murals of bright splashes of purple, pink, yellow, and turquoise used as wallpaper throughout the museum. These backgrounds were inspired by Jo’s work—a bold color palette and animated brushstrokes.

48 | JULY 2019

According to the museum, “They provide a fitting backdrop for paintings that reflect Jo Hopper’s often isolated persona within the context of her relationship with her reclusive husband.” Fraleigh goes on to say that having the privilege to observe the space and know that her paintings were going to be displayed in the place where the Hoppers lived and worked was inspiring. “It’s a somewhat sentimental or romantic gesture, photographing a contemporary model in the Hopper home with the same light Hopper would have painted from, positioning the figure in the same place Jo would have posed,” she says.

When creating her series, Fraleigh studied the works of Edward Hopper and his wife, Jo Nivison, as well as the dynamics of their professional and personal relationships.

“ It ’s a so m ew h at s enti m enta l o r When night begins to fall Oil on canvas, 20 × 16 in., © Angela Fraleigh, 2018

romantic

g es tu re, p h oto g ra p h i n g a co ntem po ra r y m o d el i n th e H o p p er h o m e w ith th e s a m e

light

H o pper

wou l d h a ve pa i nted fro m, positio n i n g th e f ig u re i n th e

same

p l a ce Jo wou l d h a ve pos ed .”

“My work is about how meaning gets made and questions how cultural narratives are applied and structured and how that comes to shape our experiences in the world,” says Fraleigh, a South Carolina native who received her art degree from Boston University and master’s from Yale and now teaches at Moravian College in Pennsylvania. Her work is on display for purchase at Inman Gallery in Houston.

Shadows Searching for Light was accompanied by a series of events at the Edward Hopper House; these included a studio tour, a family open house, and an artistcurator talk with Fraleigh and Colleary hosted at the Nyack Public Library. “Jo would be heartened by Fraleigh’s efforts to position her so prominently as an artist in her own right and within her husband’s creative process—” says Colleary, “recognition that is long overdue.”

VI S IT A N G E L A F R A LE I G H .CO M O R E DWA R D H O PPE R H O US E .O R G TO LE A R N M O R E .

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Incredible view from Cape Royal on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim Photo by Erik Harrison / Shutterstock

Voyager

SEE THE WORLD

With a magazine issue full of incredible artists, it’s good to be reminded that Mother Nature is truly the greatest artist of all. Few places reinforce that concept with more impact than the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River has been carving out the famous “painted” Arizona gorge for an estimated 70 million years. Today, millions of visitors flock to Grand Canyon National Park each year to enjoy panoramic views of the colorful cliffsides, hike its many trails, view wildlife, experience Native American culture, and more.

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JA

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TH E S E A B O U R N Q U E S T NORT H A MER IC A N CRU ISING AT I TS FINEST

GET ON BOA R D W I T H T HE NORT H A MER IC A N C RU I S I N G WAV E , A N D Y O U ’ L L F I N D F J O R D S , R I V ER S, MOUN TA INS, OCE A NS, ISL A NDS, GL ACIER S, L A K ES, A N D W ILDLIFE G A LOR E. It’s incredible how much nostalgia can burst forth from a single, perfectly dried, shockingly red maple leaf.

Purposely pressed between the notes and keepsakes of my recent sojourn aboard the Seabourn Quest, the leaf brought to mind the treasured itinerary of New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

Now in its thirty-first year of luxury cruising, Seabourn sees a growing demand for North American cruising.

The company’s senior vice president of global sales and marketing, Chris Austin, confirmed: “In response to the growth of travelers’ interests in new destinations, Seabourn has increased our North American sailings in recent years, including the addition of Alaska and British Columbia in 2017 and a new series of cruises to Cuba beginning in the fall of 2019.”

There’s nothing like autumn in New England, and visitors to Boston and Bar Harbor, Maine, will agree.

Venture deeper—into a less-chartered territory for many—and you’ll discover Canadian gems like Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Baie-Comeau, and Saguenay.

Quebec City, one of

the top cruising destinations in all of North America, holds the historic cobblestoned pleasure called Old Town, while cosmopolitan Montreal makes you want to linger for the fantastic food, music, walking, and shopping.

Colorful, quaint fishing villages from a simpler time beckon you throughout this Seabourn itinerary, and what a privilege it is to absorb the sights, sounds, and tastes of Mother Nature. This entire region is a lobster lover’s dream; everything—from fresh jumbo lobsters to lobster rolls—is available. One example is an incredible lobster congee, featuring fresh Nova Scotia lobster, ginger, and green onions in a rich, thick porridge, sold at a seemingly nondescript stand. Elsewhere, maple trees give the generous gift of syrup, which is made into every exquisite butter, jam, and candy imaginable.

Back on board, champagne and caviar seem to be at every turn, and Seabourn’s intimate ships with all oceanfront suites feel like an exclusive—but approachable— private club. Their crew-to-guest ratio makes you feel pampered and cared for—because you are. The team has a keen sense of impeccable service and initiative: mention that you particularly enjoyed something, like the red wine served at dinner last night, and you might just find two bottles of it promptly placed in your suite.

Partnerships with Chef Thomas Keller and spa and wellness expert Dr. Andrew Weil, plus purposeful tours ranging from exhilarating Zodiac and kayak adventures to in-depth educational excursions with UNESCO, make for an unforgettable cruising experience.

The luxurious Seabourn Quest currently offers 2019 cruises to New England and Canada as well as the US Eastern Seaboard, Iceland, England, Ireland, Scandinavia, South America, and Antarctica.

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MEGASHIP MAGIC North America owns bragging rights as the thirdlargest continent, stretching surprisingly close to both the Equator and the Arctic Circle—and cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, and Celebrity, are happy to satiate the public’s expanding demand for cruising with impressive, even futuristic, new ships. Think of cruising as an ideal way to unpack once, relax, and visit multiple destinations in one vacation.

Want to ride go-karts on your cruise? Look no further than Norwegian, who ups the ante with a two-level race track on the launch of Encore (did I mention part of the track extends beyond the ship’s side?). Celebrity’s new Edge made a splash with its rooftop garden and Infinite Veranda staterooms, taking guest rooms right up to water’s edge. The Magic Carpet (a cantilevered platform that functions as a moveable deck) makes the Edge recognizable from miles away; and thanks to precise engineering, this delightful feature can be used at different times of the day for various purposes, including Dinner on the Edge.

Not to be outdone in the megaship arena, Carnival’s upcoming Mardi Gras has a guest capacity of 6,500 and debuts the first roller coaster at sea. Itineraries will focus on Western and Eastern Caribbean voyages, including stops in Turks and Caicos, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Port Canaveral, near Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, is responding to the burgeoning interest in cruising by adding a massive 54 | JULY 2019

T he seventy-four-foot Hatteras vessel, staffed w ith a captain, crew, and chef, is like a f loating luxur y fishing lodge (reeling in ever y thing from bonefish, marlin, tuna, dorado, wahoo, snapper, barracuda, and shark).

TAKE ME TO THE RIVER Europe isn’t the only destination for river cruising.

American Cruise Lines showcases the mighty Mississippi River with sailings on the lower Mississippi (hello, New Orleans and Memphis!) and the upper Mississippi between Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Saint Louis, Missouri. Build a few extra days into your vacation to stay and play on land. In New Orleans, for an excellent example, stay at The Saint Hotel’s over-the-top Archangel Michael or Archangel Lucifer suites, nosh at Tempt Restaurant, and indulge at their Burgundy Bar. (Sensing a whimsical theme here? It’s like wicked with a wink.) In Memphis, look no further than the Peabody for a refined stay, and Rendezvous or Corky’s for the best in slow-smoked barbecue.

Another example of river cruising that might not come readily to mind lies in the pristine Pacific Northwest.

Immerse yourself in stunning nature with a journey along the Columbia and Snake Rivers, where highlights include the Columbia River Gorge, Multnomah and Palouse Falls, and Mount Saint Helens.

new cruise terminal that will welcome Mardi Gras. Port Canaveral is a destination in itself, with an entertainment district, parks, marinas, a seven-story event venue, and interactive exhibits.

Also cruising out of Florida, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line makes a quick, carefree jaunt to the Bahamas a breeze. Two-night cruises depart daily near swanky West Palm Beach, with a full fun-in-the-sun day on Grand Bahama Island.

Stretch your on-island stay a few days to go diving, deep-sea fishing, and biking, or go swimming with those famous local pigs.

Smaller luxury ships are a growing segment in the North American cruising market.

We often think of the Caribbean and Alaska for dreamy cruising—with good reason—but venture outside that box, and you’ll find other fascinating and unique itineraries. Explore all that the Great Lakes have to offer with Pearl Seas cruises to see parts of Wisconsin, Michigan (yes, Mackinac Island!), and Ontario, Canada. What an incredibly refreshing destination this area is in late summer and early fall!

North American cruise companies continue to push the envelope when it comes to new ships. American Jazz, set to debut in 2020, is the third vessel in American Cruise Lines’ Modern Riverboat Series.

Operating the largest and newest American-built cruise ships in the United States, the company has a total of five sleek riverboats planned for the series, each welcoming just 187 passengers. Themed cruises cater to history, culinary, and music enthusiasts.

Another exciting itinerary is the East Coast Inland Passage, which includes stops at Savannah, Hilton Head Island, Charleston, and Baltimore.

INTIMATE & E XCLUSIVE If you’d like to check out the polar opposite of the megaship category, treat yourself and five other privileged guests to an ultimate, intimate yachting experience in the Bahamas by booking the Eleven Mothership. The seventy-four-foot Hatteras vessel, staffed with a captain, crew, and chef, is like a floating luxury fishing lodge (reeling in everything from bonefish, marlin, tuna, dorado, wahoo, snapper, barracuda, and shark). Local Bahamian guides lead guests on a multitude of angling adventures on your preferred schedule. Completely customized trips of any length await, as does the Mothership’s sister

Left: Seabourn’s Veranda suites feature a living area, a queen-size bed or two twin beds, full-length windows and a glass door to a private veranda, and more.

Photo courtesy of Seabourn Opposite left: Explore the deep blue sea on a diving excursion through your cruise with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.

Photo courtesy of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line Opposite right and bottom: A cruise on the Eleven Mothership means a fishing adventure led by local guides, along with the ship’s captain, crew, and private chef.

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A lso cruising out of Florida, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line makes a quick, carefree jaunt to the Bahamas a breeze. Two-night cruises depart daily near swank y West Palm Beach, w ith a full fun-in-the-sun day on Grand Bahama Island.

Above: Cruise and stay when you book with Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and spend some time onshore at the Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach and other sister properties.

Photo courtesy of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line Right: Fishing on Andros Island in the Bahamas with Eleven Mothership’s adventure package Photo courtesy of Eleven Experience Opposite: The view from a suite on the Celebrity Edge can’t be beat!

Photo courtesy of Celebrity Cruises 56 | JULY 2019

boutique property, the Bahama House on Harbour Island, well known for its idyllic, laid-back luxury and pink sands. The chic Bahama House dates back to the 1800s and is exquisitely restored to bring guests the utmost in stylish service and authentic Bahamian culture.

ALL ABOUT ADVENTURE As for unique North American cruising destinations, Cuba is undoubtedly holding the public’s interest, and several lines are dedicating more ships to that market; these include Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Oceania, Viking Ocean Cruises, and the supersophisticated Silversea. Alaska continues to be a huge draw, with 2019 likely to be a record cruising year. New vessels like the four-thousand-passenger Norwegian Bliss help ensure that demand for space will be met.

Another welcome respite for some cruisers is an exploration-style line such as Lindblad Expeditions or UnCruise, who promise small ships with big adventures.

These ships can navigate areas the big guys can’t, and small-group travel affords a closer connection to the land and culture you’re visiting. Imagine the hiking, kayaking, and paddleboarding possibilities of the UnCruise Olympic Wilderness and San Juan Islands itinerary. Expect to see whales, seals, sea lions, orcas, and

eagles as you depart Seattle and discover Puget Sound, the Salish Sea, Deception Pass, and an abundance of lush islands such as Lopez, San Juan, Orcas, and Sucia.

Cap off the journey with the prized Olympic National Park.

Now venture into the future with Ritz-Carlton as the brand launches its custombuilt yacht collection in 2020. Each of its three ships will feature 149 luxury suites—choose one suite or consider a private charter of the entire yacht. Perhaps not too surprisingly, Richard Branson has also tossed his hat into the posh cruising ring with Virgin Voyages, where they say there are no passengers, only “RockStar sailors.” Expect the adults-only Scarlet Lady to ply the Caribbean in 2020, and more yachts in the coming few years.

So you see, the sea’s the limit. Select your North American cruising dream, get on board, and get out there. Bon voyage!

VIE contributor Janet Thomas has penned articles for Modern Luxury, Dallas Morning News, Organic Spa, Jezebel, and other publications. She’s a former editor-in-chief of American Airlines’ premium magazine, Celebrated Living, and travels the world for good stories with heart and soul.

Tile + Mosaics

Design Stone + Concrete 17 Uptown Grayton Circle Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 (850) 213-0000 · Q-Tile.com

Bon appĂŠtit!

BY Jordan Staggs PHOTOS BY Lynn Crow Photography 58 | JULY 2019

It’s safe to say that the founder of Smallcakes Cupcakery, Jeff Martin, knows a thing or two about spreading sweetness.

The former Cupcake Wars contestant opened his business in 2009; since then it has grown to about 220 locations (and counting) around the world—but why stop there?

“About five years ago, I wanted to try something new,” Martin admits. Always looking for the next great opportunity, he professes that he’s got more ideas than he knows what to do with. Luckily for his patrons, some of those have already come to life. In addition to Smallcakes, three other concepts now fall under Martin’s umbrella company, Buttercream Dreams Hospitality Group: Decadent Coffee and Dessert Bar, Southern Charm Gelato, and the all-new CowLick Scoop Shop.

Decadent, a gourmet café serving up fresh coffee and house-made breakfast and lunch items daily, first opened near Kansas City, Missouri, and now has ten locations, with about thirty more franchises in the works, says Martin. Its newest café opened at 30Avenue town center in Inlet Beach, Florida, in March of 2019.

Martin and his family made the move from Kansas

City, to the scenic corridor of Highway 30-A four years ago, and the headquarters for Buttercream Dreams moved with them. “Everything here is growing, and because it’s such a small local community, you get honest advice from clients who want to see you succeed. The high-end area also allows us to do things we can’t necessarily do somewhere else.” The natural progression of his businesses becoming local favorites followed seamlessly. Smallcakes now has four locations nearby, Decadent has become a hit in the community, and CowLick is poised to take homemade ice cream to the next level at the new Shoppes @ Inlet.

With mottos like “Tastes too good to be morally sound” and “The only man worth chasing is the ice cream man,” each concept carries a playful nature that focuses on rich quality and delicious products over being the healthiest option available.

Decadent Coffee and Dessert Bar is a community café concept by Buttercream Dreams Hospitality Group, the team behind global cupcake phenomenon Smallcakes.

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Bon appétit!

ll of Jeff ’s concepts are things that make people happy,” says Martin’s assistant, Kelley Stobaugh. “Everyone leaves smiling, even if they’ve just cheated on their keto diets.” Stobaugh says she thrives on the energy of being part of the Buttercream Dreams team, and her role there has been nothing short of a sugar rush in the best way. “It’s so fun working with Jeff; the ideas never stop, and I love helping him bring them to life.”

Right: Jeff Martin, founder of Smallcakes, Decadent Coffee and Dessert Bar, Southern Charm Gelato, and CowLick Scoop Shop Below left: Decadent Coffee and Dessert Bar offers a wide selection of homemade pastries and cakes that are baked fresh daily.

Below right: The café also offers delicious breakfast and lunch items!

Decadent, Stobaugh points out, has a mission to be a family-friendly community space that offers board games and books in addition to mouthwatering baked goods and milk shakes, small-batch coffee, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and more. Its location near the Ohana Institute school in 30Avenue has made it a go-to stop for students and their parents, and its quiet atmosphere during the day makes it a great workspace for those doing business on the go. Book clubs and moms’ morning out groups often meet in the café, and the second- and thirdgrade students from Ohana have even hosted poetry slams there.

The brand’s drive to do good in the community also shows through its commitment to environmentally friendly water bottles, as well as various philanthropic endeavors that Decadent and its sister brands undertake. These have included assisting victims of Hurricane Michael as well as supporting local organizations such as Ohana Institute, Food For Thought Outreach, Alaqua Animal Refuge, and more. On a national level, Smallcakes has worked with Ronald McDonald House for the past eleven years.

“One of the things we’re built on is community,” Martin says, “and it’s encouraged in all our franchise locations.

We try to leave it up to our owners to decide who to partner with locally.”

Partnering with local vendors is also a way Decadent and its sister brands have built community relationships. Northwest Florida artists Liza Snyder and Lynn Crow Photography have created work for Decadent, surfboards and graffiti painted by Joseph Cloutier will adorn the walls of CowLick, and graphic artist David Higgs made unique metal signs for CowLick and Sweet Brands HQ. The 30Avenue location is proud to serve Grayton Beer Company selections, and all Decadent locations receive their small-batch coffee beans from a roaster near Martin’s hometown of Kansas City. The coffee is delivered in just one day, so it’s always fresh.

Although Martin says the coffee side of the business has grown tremendously, the sweets are still the stars of every concept and every location. Smallcakes is slowly taking the globe by storm—what the brand calls Worldwide Cupcake Domination—with franchises in thirteen states and in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and soon,

60 | JULY 2019

THE BRAND’S DRIVE TO DO GOOD IN THE COMMUNITY ALSO SHOWS THROUGH ITS COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY WATER BOTTLES, AS WELL AS VARIOUS PHILANTHROPIC ENDEAVORS THAT DECADENT AND ITS SISTER BRANDS UNDERTAKE.

Qatar. Southern Charm Gelato features homemade flavors that use Italian ingredients but with a Southern twist on preparation—simple and delicious. Decadent’s name speaks for itself with its thick milk shakes, “drinking chocolate,” skillet cookies and brownies, and bakery items with names like Big Boy (a Twinkie-like cake filled with buttercream frosting). And CowLick, which Martin calls “the mean little brother” concept to his other brands, balances its “California skateboard coastal” vibe with ice cream flavors such as honey lavender, rhubarb pie, acai berry, and more.

Decadent Coffee and Dessert Bar is located in the beautiful 30Avenue town center and convenient to Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, Seacrest, and Inlet Beach, Florida.

The sweet life only seems to be getting sweeter for Martin, his franchises, and his many fans around the world. We can’t wait to see what he cooks up next!

Visit SmallcakesCupcakery.com, DecadentDessertBar.com, and SouthernCharmGelato.com to learn more or find a location near you.

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C’est la vie

ART-POP SUMMER

Just as the art-pop music genre draws from fashion, cinema, avant-garde literature, art history, and postmodern explorations of society, our C’est la VIE Art-Pop Summer collection is inspired by bold statements. We encourage you to take a risk, go for that extra wow factor, and show off your style with bright colors and sparkles this season!

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The Girl from Ipanema

Bromelia Ipanema Bikini $98 – bromeliario.com 64 | JULY 2019

Seeing Stars

2

Saint Laurent Appliquéd Suede Jacket $4,990 – net-a-porter.com

3

Hang Out

Luxxu Pharo Chandelier luxxu.net

4

Pop Rocks

Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) 1967 Lithograph Reproduction $395 – 1stdibs.com

Face Value

5

alice + olivia x SteamLine Luggage Collection $450–$895 – steamlineluggage.com

6

Ace in the Sole

Gucci Ace Sneaker with Crystals $1,250 – gucci.com V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 65

C’est la vie

Gold Standard

7

Ulla Johnson Demetria Gown in Citrine $1,295 – ullajohnson.com

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8

On Lock

Schiaparelli Padlock Link Necklace $1,050 – bergdorfgoodman.com

Crystal Clear

9

Balmain Embellished Tulle Mini Dress $11,000 – net-a-porter.com

Pearl Power

10

Alighieri Gold-Plated Pearl Earrings $295 – net-a-porter.com

Hey Girl

11

Leigh Viner Cricket Fashion Illustration Print $28 – leighviner.com

12

Art Pup

Dana Mooney Medium Floor Pillow or Pet Bed in Coral Sage $198 – danamooney.com

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Visual Perspectives

Visual Perspectives EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Transformation Mixed media on canvas with encaustic wax, 60 × 60 in., © Tali Almog Visit TaliAlmogPaintings.com to see more.

“I have always been an artist with all my heart and soul,” says Israeli artist Tali Almog. “The circles I use reflect the energy of the body. The phi ratio—1.618, the number of God—has repeated appearances throughout nature. Every inch of our body, the butterfly, the shell, the daisy flower, the Star of David— it is engrained all over our DNA. This has helped me find the inspiration to continue my artwork into the next stage of my career.” Taking cues from the fashion world with bold color and design, Almog’s work also reflects humanity, nature, and connection to the universal energy that provides all life. It often depicts butterflies, symbols of the change and transition that all humans experience. An avid philanthropist, Almog has also donated proceeds from auctioned artwork to wounded warriors and their families in her home country and to community and education programs in her new home of Miami, Florida.

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Glam for the ’Gram BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL WOMEN

BY K E L S E Y O G L E T R E E A RT B Y TA LU L A C H R I S T I A N

TALULA CHRISTIAN ISN’T A HOUSEHOLD NAME (NOT YET, ANYWAY), BUT THIS BOSTON-BASED PAINTER IS RAPIDLY RAISING HER PROFILE IN THE ART WORLD. SHE’S COLLABORATED WITH BRANDS TO SHOWCASE HER PATTERNS, SUCH AS ON SHOES FOR BUCKETFEET, PAJAMAS FOR SOMA INTIMATES, AND LABELS FOR LINK WINES USA, AND CREATED SCORES OF COLORFUL PAINTINGS THAT ARE AT ONCE WHIMSICAL AND GLAMOROUS—AND OFTEN DOTTED WITH SWAROVSKI CRYSTALS, GLITTER, AND PEARLS.

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“I

just like everything to sparkle,” says the self-described “overly serious” Christian.

Serious or not, Christian is best known for her playful Marie Antoinette–inspired paintings, a series that combines many personal aspects for the artist: her costume and wig design degree, her love of old movies, and her admiration for strong women.

She shares her talent with the world through her Etsy shop and Instagram account (@talulachristianart). In fact, every Antoinette painting she’s sold—including her wildly popular reprints of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—has been purchased through social media, perfectly illustrating the evolving way that technology impacts art in this digital age.

Christian hasn’t always lived in a high-tech world.

Her calling in life first became apparent as a young child growing up in small-town Missouri, armed with only paper and crayons.

“When I was in kindergarten, my art teacher approached my parents,” says Christian. “She said she thought I was talented and that they should try to cultivate my artistic side.”

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W

hile she never took art lessons or enrolled in any formal training, her parents always encouraged her to be creative, stocking up on supplies and letting her experiment with art.

Christian’s grandmother, also a painter, worked with her to develop her illustrative work; however, as Christian got older, she discovered she had a passion for portraits. She spent a lot of time doing graphite drawings of children and parents through her college years. That came to a halt in 2011.

“I got burned out on the portraits—there are only so many smiling kids you can draw,” says Christian.

Then, her grandmother passed away, and her drawing style changed. She picked up illustration as an adult for the first time and discovered how her beloved family member was still influencing her work. “I realized I was drawing in the way my grandmother had taught me as a kid,” she says.

She was living in Boston by that time, where she’d moved on a hope and a prayer—and without a job.

“

I WANT TO FEATURE WOMEN WHOM I FEEL WERE TRAILBLAZERS, WHO ARE STRONG, AND WHO DESERVE THAT WORD CELEBRITY.

“I had a mini Oscar in my room. I was into having that lifestyle of fame and overindulgence,” says Christian. “Looking back, the Antoinette collection is a mix of that world I was creating as a kid—of

(That was nine years ago.) Without very many connections in the area, she opened an Etsy shop online to sell her watercolors, and it began to take off.

A few years later, in 2014, Christian randomly started a sketch of Elizabeth Taylor, featuring the actress with dark locks piled high atop her head and a ship nestled among the curls.

Something sparked in the artist. Next, she started on a similar illustration of Dolly Parton.

Little did she know at the time that these drawings would soon become her calling card.

“They were just little pencil sketches I did one night after I’d had a couple of glasses of wine, and I didn’t know why I was drawing them,” she recalls. “In a few weeks, I had a bunch of them, and they were all I wanted to draw.” It was the beginning of her ongoing Antoinette series.

She began to connect the dots, understanding why these images of glamorous women

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were popping into her brain and onto her pages. As a kid, she was obsessed with old movies, which led her to pursue a degree in costume design. As an only child growing up in a rural area, she kept company with the likes of stars such as Doris Day and Ginger Rogers through their films, dreaming of a day when she could pursue something bigger.

celebrity and excess—that also plays on society’s obsession with those things in general.”

To this day, Christian still relies on Hollywood for inspiration, often turning on movies like Harold and Maude as she works in her home studio. She’s created Antoinette paintings of a wide range of stars, from those of yesteryear (like Lucille Ball, Audrey Hepburn, and Julie Andrews) to today (Adele, Carrie Fisher, and Beyoncé, inspired by her Vogue cover). The older generation of actresses is still her favorite genre to paint, though.

“I’m not as inspired by people today,” Christian admits. “Now there is so much instant fame, with people like reality stars. I want to feature women whom I feel were trailblazers, who are strong, and who deserve that word celebrity.”

Although Instagram has been a wildly successful tool for growing her business, Christian says she has yet to tag Beyoncé in the painting she created in her image. While a few of Christian’s works, such as the Antoinette of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, have been released as limited-edition reprints, the Queen Bey painting is one of a kind.

Instagram also allows the art-buying process to be very personal. Christian sold her Antoinette of the Golden Girls when it was just a sketch after she posted a progress photo on her account. The couple who purchased it was able to follow along during the creation process, leaving comments on what they liked and offering feedback.

“It was a nice journey of creating something together,” says Christian. “That blind faith in the piece helped me a lot as an artist to believe in my work.”

Little by little, her confidence is growing, and it shows in her pieces as her Antoinette series continues to get brighter and bolder—sort of like Christian herself.

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Visual Perspectives She’s even added a few fellas to the mix with portraits of icons David Bowie, Elton John, and Freddie Mercury. This summer, she hopes to gain even more wind in her sails through her newest collaboration: a licensed illustration that will appear on the hull of a racing yacht.

While her works portray profiles of the glamorous set, Christian doesn’t need anything fancy in her day-to-day life to be inspired. Simply looking at what she’s created, a symbol of how far she’s come, is enough to keep her moving forward.

“I have Antoinettes hanging all throughout my house,” says Christian, “and it’s nice— it feels like my own little world.”

VISIT TALULACHRISTIAN.COM OR FOLLOW HER ON INSTAGRAM @TALULACHRISTIANART TO SEE MORE.

Kelsey Ogletree is a Chicago-based writer covering travel, wellness, and design for publications that include Robb Report, Shape, Architectural Digest, and more. Always on the hunt for stories and forever a notetaker, she never leaves home without her mini Moleskine and at least two pens.

Visual Perspectives

M A K I N G

WAV E S T h e E s s e n c e o f Wa t e r I n s p i r e s A r t

By Abigail Ryan Photography by Jonah Allen

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Indonesian Shores “Elevated three hundred feet above a cove, I patiently waited two days to make this image,” says Jonah Allen. “As the sun emerged from the clouds, it illuminated the emerald sea which melted away the footprints of beach dwellers. When I gaze at this image, it still brings me back to that serene moment when these two silhouettes neared the vast expanse of the ocean.”

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A-Frame “As a wave refracts around a shallow sandbar, it breaks in a seemingly perfect manner, creating an A shape,” Allen says.

“As a surfer, looking at this image allows my mind to drift into the ideal state where I am fully present.”

Below: Photographer Jonah Allen Bottom: Gliders

F

lash back to a young boy on the beach, visiting the Gulf of Mexico in Seaside, Florida, on a family vacation.

At age ten, he took his first surf lesson, and it changed the course of his life. He realized the transformative power of water and grew to become obsessed with the ways it flows and moves.

Born and raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Jonah Allen endured a sort of long-distance relationship with his love, the Gulf of Mexico, as a teenager. As a solution to his heartache over being five hours away, Allen began photographing the other bodies of water around him—lakes, streams, pools, and more—to ease his withdrawal from the Gulf. Thankfully, his family often took trips back to the beach. “I spent countless hours in the emerald gulf, mesmerized by the energy within it,” Allen recalls. “With my camera, I could capture those fleeting moments and take them back to Georgia as memories. This ended

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up creating a division in me—I lived in Atlanta, but my true home was at the beach. That division lasted fifteen years until I finally decided it was time to leave Georgia.”

Following this life-changing decision, he worked for months to save the money for a round-the-world trip. With a little help from his father, who worked for Delta Air Lines, Allen took a leap of faith and set out on a yearlong journey to surf in different places and document the inspiring waters along the way.

His photos tell stories from his adventures in Chile, Indonesia, Europe, Peru, and many more destinations. But it was always the Gulf of Mexico that called to him the most.

After Allen spent a year traveling the world, surfing the most incredible waves, and capturing the powerful waters of the earth in his photos, he finally moved full-time to the Gulf Coast of Florida. “Reflecting on the whole year abroad, I really saw how water

“Reflecting on the whole year abroad, I really saw how water connects us all, no matter where we are on the planet.” connects us all, no matter where we are on the planet,” he says. “I gained many different perspectives on water, from the respect of the Hawaiians to the vitality of the ocean in Chile, the agricultural use in Indonesia, and the consequences of climate change in Peru. Something that emerged was the duality of water; it provides life just as easily as it can endanger it, and our usage influences this. All around the world, people are both using water sustainably and misusing it. This got me thinking, ‘What is happening to the water of Walton County and the Gulf of Mexico?’ So, I’ve been creating artwork around this idea and raising other questions: How are all the watercourses of the Gulf being influenced? What does water mean to the people around the Gulf ? What draws people to the Gulf waters?”

Using aerial photography, Allen can explore different perspectives and challenge his viewers to look at water in new ways. He creates large-format art (four-by-six feet and larger) depicting views of the coastal dune lakes, the Gulf, and other waterways in Northwest Florida by piecing together several photos so that the finished project

Above: Outfall No. 1 “The coastal dune lakes have become an icon of Walton County, Florida—especially the view of Western Lake,” Allen says. “I wanted to take that icon and interpret it differently. For the last year, I’ve been photographing almost every local coastal dune lake outfall where the lake flows into the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a mesmerizing process and even more interesting from above.”

Left: Outfall No. 64 V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 79

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Sea Study No. 3 “For the last ten years, I’ve sought to capture the calming essence of the ocean in a photo, with the hope to transport the viewer into the peaceful state the ocean brings to me,” Allen explains.

“This image taken in Seagrove, Florida, is part of that neverending quest to show the ephemeral beauty of water and light.”

Right: Converge “Standing on the edge of a cliff in Indonesia, I watched massive waves batter the surrounding cliffsides, reflecting into one another,” says Allen.

“This phenomenon created a wedge as two waves converged to create a seemingly perfect confluence of energy, water, and light. Because there were shrubs on the cliff blocking my view below, I had to grab a tree and dangle over the edge to capture this moment.”

can show acres at a time. The results are stunning statement pieces that fit perfectly in the luxurious homes along the Gulf Coast. He also accepts commissioned works for clients who would like a specific view or idea to come to life. His venture is growing, and his art has gained recognition around the area and beyond—he was even chosen as an exhibiting artist for the Digital Graffiti festival in Alys Beach this year and earned an honorable mention from the judges.

“On the surface, my collections are based on the allure of water; yet, on a deeper level, the images aim to inspire a deep respect for the earth’s waterways,” Allen shares. “Ultimately, water is all we have. It facilitates our very existence. It is why we are here on this tiny blue planet. My hope is that my artwork will inspire people to not only appreciate our watercourses but also think about how we can make them last for future generations.”

To learn more about Jonah Allen, visit his website at JonahAllen.com and visit his Instagram page, @jonahallenstudio.

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Ar t Perseverance THE

OF

By

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FELICIA

FERGUSO N

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Art

by

CARLY

ASHDO WN

Visual Perspectives Wanting more opportunities for their daughter than the school offered, Ashdown’s parents transferred her to public school. But she couldn’t avoid the condemning words of teachers and staff. In high school, the teachers took pity on her and told her to focus on typing. They reasoned she stood at least a small chance of getting a job if she had that skill to offer employers.

But Ashdown had bigger dreams and plans and was determined to see them fulfilled. She longed to prove that not only was she capable, but she could also thrive in spite of the disability that restrained her in the eyes of others. She pursued the idea of university education. Again, ignoring the naysayers, she persevered and was accepted into Leeds Beckett University’s arts program, choosing to focus on film and photography since she was not fond of traditional art.

She completed her coursework and graduated, hoping finally to silence the critics. But they trailed her like a dark cloud into the work world. Employers would

Many of Carly Ashdown’s paintings, such as Phoenix (opposite) and Fear Nothing (left), are inspired by the movement, passion, and human connection of dancers.

Below: Take Me Back to the Night We Met

To view the art of London’s Carly Ashdown is to see into our souls. Her paintings beckon us to embrace the magical and the miraculous and to absorb the peace and joy displayed. They entice viewers with their movement, but a closer look reveals an invitation to sit, breathe, surrender, and give over to the rhythm and timing of life.

A

Breathe in the possibilities, releasing the negative thoughts that hold you captive.

Ashdown’s work is herself: the vibrancy and joy of her painting titled Freedom; the earnest contemplation of Dusk; the confidence and self-possession of Fire.

A stroke at birth and the diagnosis of cerebral palsy soon after marked Ashdown’s life not with tragedy, but with perseverance. She was told she would never walk and never hold a job, and the special-needs school she attended focused on surviving the status quo. But leave it to sibling rivalry to provide the right motivation.

When she was five years old and her younger brother began walking, Ashdown noticed the attention he received. After that, she was keen to learn for herself.

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love her personality and charisma, but her physical limitations and their requirements of starting as a runner—a rite of passage in television—kept closing doors.

By sheer will, she forced her way into the field. Working for Channel 4 and later the BBC in TV postproduction, she experienced incredible success and proved her teachers wrong.

But, even though Ashdown was doing everything she had always fought to achieve, she wasn’t happy. Something tugged at the back of her mind and soul—a deep existential need to discover what she was called to do with her life.

Knowing television and media held few answers, she turned to the mental health field and began studying the human psyche at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. She later volunteered with Concord Institute, a group that researches how the mind, body, and spirit work together.

It was there she received a call that would upend her thriving, white-picket-fence life. As happens with many people, an internal dialogue ran through Ashdown’s head with negative thoughts about her life and self. But in one moment, that internal criticism stopped. A voice from something much more significant and entirely apart from herself spoke. It called her to paint.

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Above left: Crow Above: No Mercy Left: Trust

“It was unbelievable,” she says. “I almost fell out of my chair because it hit me with force as well. Within ten seconds, my internal dialogue started again, saying, ‘Carly, no, you can’t do that. That makes no sense. You’ve got a great career in TV. And, let’s not forget, you don’t like to paint.’”

Despite the apparent divine call, the negative thoughts won, and Ashdown continued to work in television.

But every day she remained in that field, she became more depressed. “I think when you get a direct call like that, if you’re going to ignore it, then there are going to be consequences. In the end, what I discovered was the fear of it going wrong was not nearly as painful as the despair from not painting.”

So, she stepped back from her position at the BBC, answered the call on her life, and began painting.

Even though the first works were, in her own words, “absolute rubbish,” she felt a tremendous sense of peace. “It felt like the brush was moving me.” She took classes in life drawing, and her work improved.

Six months after she left full-time television work, she had her first gallery show. Opportunities continued to build on each other, and Ashdown even found a publisher to promote her work.

“It’s joy; it’s heartbreak.

But it is in the movement of both where humanity can find itself.”

Dancers inspired her first collection. Drawn to the sense of freedom and possibilities, Ashdown views dance in its very essence as an expression of life.

“It’s joy; it’s heartbreak. But it is in the movement of both where humanity can find itself,” she shares.

And viewers have responded. Some pieces from the collection have found homes as far away as Australia and Dubai.

For Ashdown, painting is an organic and meditative process. She starts with an initial structure and then thinks about which colors to use, revealing that it’s almost like they tell her what to do. Only then does she pick up a brush and paint, relying on instinct for the right brushstrokes to build the subject. She’s always a bit surprised by the outcome and the person who develops from the original structure. What appears to be deliberate is what she calls a “natural formation of the painting.”

As her passion for helping others has grown, Ashdown’s work has acquired an innate rawness, enticing viewers into her tribe of self-discoverers. Her latest collection uses hidden text, written back to front and readable with a mirror, asking us to look a little deeper into the paintings and ourselves. The goal is to unleash our confidence and inner strength by facing our fears, silencing the negative voices, and taking hold of our true identities. “It takes deep bravery and a willingness to be vulnerable to enter a space of real self-confidence and power,” Ashdown explains. “And it is a constant work in progress to keep that confident stance.

It’s also then a reflection on the ideas we have of others and the assumption we understand another’s world. You never know what a person has been through to become who they are.”

Above: Gold Star

Ashdown fully admits she was lucky to receive a direct call from the universe that led to self-discovery, but she is the first to say that becoming one’s true self requires work. “I worked in television production because I was trying to prove a point that I was worth something after I had so long been told that I wasn’t,” she says. “This isn’t a story about my disability. It’s a story about being a human being. My example is really obvious and tangible, but we all have limitations. We V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 85

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all have struggles. You have to get rid of the static, push aside the fear, let go of the old ideas and understandings of yourself that hold you back, and take the leap.” Self-discovery is one part reflection and another part release. When those two combine, the result can be a miraculous metamorphosis from who we believe we are into the person that God or the universe originally intended us to be.

Left: Artist Carly Ashdown

View more of Ashdown’s work on her Instagram, @carly_ashdown_art.

Felicia Ferguson holds master’s degrees in healthcare administration and speechlanguage pathology but is currently a freelance writer and author. She finds inspiration in lakes and gardens and is blessed to have both at her home in Destin, Florida. More details can be found at FeliciaFergusonAuthor.com.

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Visual Perspectives

BY TORI PHELPS

I

|

P H O T O G R A P H Y B Y C LY D E B U T C H E R

n the war against environmental degradation, a celebrated shutterbug uses his camera as the ultimate weapon.

Acclaimed nature photographer Clyde Butcher hopes his pictures don’t end up in a museum—at least, not as part of an exhibit on extinct ecosystems. He is privy to some of the nation’s most spectacular biological phenomena through a storied career spent capturing everything from California’s redwood forests to Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve and now finds it impossible to simply take pictures. So he’s decided to take a stand. And while doing so, he’ll continue to show the world exactly what he’s fighting for.

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For Butcher, a California native, Mother Nature and photos have gone hand in hand since he was nine years old. That was the summer his parents bought him a camera to document the family’s trip to several national parks. Photography wasn’t something he considered as a career, though; instead, he pursued architecture at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. There was only one problem: he couldn’t draw well enough to illustrate his designs accurately.

The resourceful college student built a simple but serviceable pinhole camera in hopes that it would help convey his architectural ideas.

It did.

Gaskin Bay 5, Everglades National Park, Florida © Clyde Butcher, 1998 V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 89

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A

fter graduation, he got a job working for noted architect William Pereira in Los Angeles, but an economic downturn practically eliminated the area’s architecture and construction jobs—the only two things he knew. With a wife and two small children to support, he needed money fast. Luckily, a friend who’d seen Butcher’s black-and-white images suggested he try to sell the photos at a local art festival. “I made more money that weekend than I did in an entire week as an architect,” he recalls.

Soon afterward, he launched a wildly successful company with partner Peter Gates to supply decor photos—which Butcher conceded to produce in full color to match the era’s avocado and gold hues—to customers like J. C. Penney and Montgomery Ward. But seven-day workweeks and sky-high stress levels were killing his marriage, and he was tired of photographing images based on what customers wanted.

Butcher sold the business, and the family celebrated by trailering a boat from California to Florida. His wife, Niki, also a California native, wasn’t interested in moving to Florida full-time, but she agreed to an extended vacation. And then they both fell in love with the state.

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Still wild about nature—and always conditioned to think about what would sell—Butcher started photographing Florida beaches. The photographs proved popular, but beaches didn’t satisfy his soul the way a millennia-old redwood or towering saguaro cactus did. Luckily, his wife dragged him to Tom Gaskins’ Cypress Knee Museum in Glades County. While Niki explored the treasures inside, Mr. Gaskins invited Butcher out back, where a rickety boardwalk led to a dense cypress swamp. “I stood there looking out over the swamp, and the same primeval feeling came over me as when I was in the redwood forest,” Butcher says. “Later, I learned the cypress tree and the redwood are related.”

He began venturing out to Big Cypress National Preserve, first with his close friend Oscar Thompson and then on his own. Thompson’s passion for the Everglades was contagious, and Butcher soon developed the same zeal for the ecosystem. His photos, though, weren’t up to his usual standards. Because the subject matter along the Eastern Seaboard seems to be more about the biology of the place rather than the geology—as compared to what he was accustomed to shooting out West—Butcher initially ended up with lifeless pictures that looked like

Little Butternut Key 1, Key Largo, Florida © Clyde Butcher, 1997 Above left: Photographer Clyde Butcher capturing the wonders of the Everglades Photo by Woody Walters

CLYDE ESCAPED TO NATURE IN SEARCH OF SOLACE, RETURNING TO THE COMFORT OF THE BLACKAND-WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY HE HAD ALWAYS LOVED BUT GIVEN UP IN THE NAME OF SALABILITY.

Visual Perspectives “just a bunch of leaves,” he admits. He had to relearn composition as it applied to biological subjects.

He did, of course, because that’s what he does. When a problem arises, Butcher builds a solution, whether it’s a makeshift pinhole camera or a forty-by-sixtyinch vertical washer to accommodate the mural-sized silver gelatin prints for which he’s famous.

With his biological images now springing to life on film, he was enjoying a new creative spark and a revitalized family life. But it all came crashing down when his seventeen-year-old son, Ted, was killed by a drunk driver. Each of the Butchers grieved in his or her own way. Clyde escaped to nature in search of solace, returning to the comfort of the black-andwhite photography he had always loved but given up in the name of salability. “I decided life was too short not to do what was in my heart,” he shares. “I didn’t really care if it sold or not.”

His wife, a talented artist in her own right, was doing well with her work, so the family had some financial wiggle room. He soon found, however, that his heart had led him in the right direction. The black-andwhite work, which Butcher says focuses viewers on the entire image rather than on a specific color, was in such high demand that he and Niki decided to invest in a gallery.

Today, they have three Florida galleries—in Ochopee, Venice, and Sarasota—each a two-toned wonderland for fans of nature and fine art. Big Cypress Gallery in Ochopee offers more than a substantial collection of Butcher’s photos, however. Located on thirteen acres in the Everglades, the gallery is surrounded by national park wetlands and cypress strands; clients can book eco tours or photo safari swamp walks and even stay in an on-site vacation cottage.

The opportunities expose guests to a worldview that has come to define Butcher as an artist and a human. Both he and Niki have been environmentally conscious from an early age, and their concern for Florida, in particular, escalated as they traveled around the state. They joined a movement to help educate locals about the dangers of losing the Everglades, with Butcher using his photography as a teaching tool. “The majority of people who live here have never ventured into Florida’s environment,” he says. “I wanted to show them the beauty with the hope they would fall in love with it and save it.”

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Moonrise, Everglades National Park, Florida © Clyde Butcher, 1986

Conservation 5, Everglades National Park, Florida © Clyde Butcher, 2004

“THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE HAVE NEVER VENTURED INTO FLORIDA’S ENVIRONMENT. I WANTED TO SHOW THEM THE BEAUTY WITH THE HOPE THEY WOULD FALL IN LOVE WITH IT AND SAVE IT.”

T

hat beauty, he maintains, is threatened by toxic red tides along the coasts and in the Saint Johns River, widespread water pollution, rapid depletion of springs and aquifers, and deforestation to make way for Florida’s influx of residents.

And he hasn’t even gotten to global warming yet.

As a coastal state, Florida is already feeling the impacts of climate change, and it’s getting worse by the day. Instead of setting a positive example for other states, Butcher fears Florida is demonstrating what not to do. While crediting former governor Bush for his efforts on western Everglades water restoration and helping clean up the Kissimmee River and, by extension, Lake Okeechobee, Butcher says there’s much left to tackle. He’s hopeful that Governor DeSantis will make good on his ambitious water policies but encourages residents to get involved by rallying for conservation laws, approving a tax increase to address existing issues, and making green choices. For their part, the Butchers installed solar panels on their home and

the vacation rentals at Big Cypress Gallery, and they drive an electric car.

On the national level, Butcher is pleased with the new wilderness preservation legislation but says it doesn’t counteract the current administration’s cuts to the EPA and the Department of the Interior (National Parks), the elimination of tax credits for owners of electric vehicles, the opening up of previously protected lands to mining and oil, and other missteps.

Amid his tireless environmental efforts, Butcher remains devoted to his work behind the camera.

His calendar is booked with high-profile events like the July opening of his America the Beautiful exhibit at the Yellowstone Art Museum and other shows and book signings surrounding his Cuba collection, which showcases images he captured as part of a United Nations conference for the sustainable habitat of mountain regions.

Like that of the iconic Ansel Adams, to whom he is frequently compared, Butcher’s career is one for the history books. Among the highlights are meetings

with world leaders (he even guided President Carter on a swamp walk), photographing historic events, and receiving the highest honors in his industry. But relationships—like with his two grandchildren, his daughter and son-in-law who’ve joined the family business, and his employees—are what mean the most along the way.

Butcher’s relationship with the environment is also fundamental; that’s why he hopes his photographs inspire people enough to ensure the scenes live on outside a frame. “This earth is a gift to us. It gives us life,” he says. “We need to return the favor.”

Visit ClydeButcher.com to view more of his work and to learn more about upcoming exhibitions.

Tori Phelps has been a writer and editor for nearly twenty years. A publishing industry veteran and longtime VIE collaborator, Phelps lives with three kids, two cats, and one husband in Charleston, South Carolina.

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L’intermission

Bubbles Not Bullets

Bubbles Not Bullets Mixed media on deep-edge gallery wrap canvas, 10 × 10 in.

HeatherFreitas.com Instagram: @heather_freitas

A thoughtful and poignant work of art is a powerful thing. Thank you for creating this, Heather Freitas.

Love, VIE xo

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Visual Perspectives

96 | JULY 2019

BY S A L L I E W. B OY L E S A R T BY B E T H P I C A R D P H OTO G R A P H Y BY PAU L J O N E S

“HENRI MATISSE IS MY FAVORITE PAINTER EVER,” SAYS BETH PICARD, REFERRING TO THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY FRENCH ARTIST. “HE ALWAYS USED SUCH GREAT COLORS.” A KINDRED SPIRIT, PICARD ESPECIALLY RELATES TO THE RANGE OF MATISSE’S WORK. “WHEN I WENT TO NICE AND VISITED HIS MUSEUM,” SHE REVEALS, “I WANTED TO STAY THERE. HE BUILT DOLLHOUSES, MADE SCULPTURES, DID TAPESTRIES. HE WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE, AND IT HIT ME THAT HE DID ALL THESE THINGS.” Picard, too, has produced art in many forms, but until her Matisse-inspired epiphany, she thought her tendency “to get bored and move on to do something else” was a “bad personality trait.” Two years ago, when she was close to turning sixty, another jolting moment of clarity led her to focus full-time on painting—but only things that brought her joy.

Throughout her life, Picard has sketched and painted, a gift she inherited from her father. Her first teacher, he also passed along great tips, such as how to make a grid drawing of Donald Duck. “He can paint a bird that looks like it could fly off the page,” Picard says, claiming her skills were never quite so refined. “I can’t draw faces,” she insists. (Evidence suggests otherwise!)

With her mother and father’s support, Picard was six when she began taking art lessons in her hometown of Opelika, Alabama. “Miss Rosalyn was wonderful,” Picard recalls of the teacher she had until high school. “She never said anything was bad.” If something wasn’t working, then Miss Rosalyn inspired a fresh approach.

Picard’s grandmother, a.k.a. Gaga, also had a “profound effect” on her work. “She was always asking me if I was painting,” Picard relays, “and said a million times, ‘God didn’t give you this talent for you to waste it.’ She commissioned a painting of her poodle from me and hung it in her bedroom. What I painted was the scariest looking animal, but she didn’t care!”

Gaga wasn’t her only patron. “My very first entrepreneurial job was painting the backs of denim shirts,” says Picard, who was then still in high school. “All the women in Opelika wanted them.” Industrious from the start, she expresses, “Nobody ever said to me, ‘Oh, you’re not going to get a real job if you’re an artist.’”

A tyrannical professor at the University of Alabama, however, derailed her plan to major in art. “He was one of those nightmares you hear about,” Picard says. “He threw a bunch of trash—hay and other things—on the floor and said, ‘Draw this.’

I had never been around anyone who acted like that.” To graduate on time, she settled on a degree in advertising. Upon realizing that art directors were hiring only art majors, Picard found her own opportunities.

Opposite: You Talkin’ to Me? Mixed media on gallery wrap canvas, 30 × 24 in.

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Visual Perspectives

Top right: Hello Boys Mixed media on gallery wrap canvas, 24 × 36 in.

Bottom right: Wild Women of the World Mixed media on gallery wrap canvas with 2.25inch painted sides, 16 × 72 in.

Below: Andy Throws a Party Andy Warhol tribute Mixed media on gallery wrap canvas, 36 × 48 in.

98 | JULY 2019

nterior designers in Birmingham, for instance, commissioned her to paint floor cloths.

“When I had my own business,” she says, “I did hand-painted designs on children’s clothes.” For a period, Picard designed and crafted ceramic pieces. Working with mosaics, she made decorative sinks for a real estate developer and benches for a retailer. She didn’t treat it seriously, but in the nineties, Picard wrote and illustrated a children’s book, The Bedside Table, chosen as a book of the month by Birmingham’s Books-A-Million. From 2002 to 2009, she ran her own wholesale business of designing and manufacturing high-end stationery, which is how Picard and her husband (“number three’s the charm”), Alan, met.

By 2011, Picard had taught herself enough about digital graphics to create designs for clients to use on products they sold. When they asked for instructions, Picard produced a hundred how-to videos that she offered through a subscription.

She next created fresh artwork for her merchandise, such as beach towels, leggings, luggage tags, and baby bibs. (The leggings are still available through her

website.) “I probably had fifty or sixty items that I was making myself,” she says. Picard admits to working eighteen-hour days and being miserable, yet says, “I wasn’t planning to shut down the business.”

Her reality check arrived while on a beach trip/ birthday getaway with her husband, children, and grandkids. Alan, who would typically surprise her with flowers and gifts, had nothing. With her chaotic schedule, he hadn’t counted on the vacation, much less time to celebrate. That’s when Picard said, “Okay, I’m shutting it down.” Regarding Alan, she contends, “I absolutely could not do what I am doing without him. He is my encourager. He is my biggest fan.”

“ I A BSOLU TELY CO ULD NOT D O WH AT I A M D O IN G WITH O U T HIM . HE IS M Y EN CO UR AGER .

HE IS M Y BIG GE S T FA N .”

Because of him, Picard took a leap of faith back to painting. “My mother saw me as a huge risk-taker,” she says. “I don’t see myself as a risk-taker at all. I’ve never thought that anything I’d ever do would fail. I don’t do failure.” A big believer in the Law of Attraction, Picard says, “What you put out, you get back. If you put out negative, you’re going to get negative.” Talent is another undeniable factor, and her work ethic is extraordinary. Picard still works from nine to four, seven days a week.

“If you paint what you like,” she insists, “it will show through your painting.” She currently has three main series: Throws a Party, Smoking Hot Women, and Wild Women. In case people are wondering, she says, “There’s no secret meaning. I’m not that deep.”

Ideas for her paintings do play on her subconscious, sometimes materializing in dreams, as with Andy Throws a Party, an homage to Andy Warhol. “I dreamed up the Warhol party because I love parties,” she shares. Naming him among her favorite artists, Picard points out, “I’d never painted a realistic face.”

Telling herself, we’re just going to do this, she confides, “I painted everything else first because then I was too committed to the painting to stop.”

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Visual Perspectives

Right: Serena the Seer Mixed media on gallery wrap canvas with 1.5-inch painted sides, 30 × 30 in.

Opposite: Mother Earth Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, 24 × 36 in.

Below: Artist Beth Picard with her painting You’re Boring Me, Dahling Mixed media on handmade canvas, 27.5 × 36 in.

he collage series also includes Ashley Throws a Party, a tribute to someone Picard greatly admires, fellow Alabama-born artist Ashley Longshore (“Pop Art’s Rebel Queen,” VIE, May 2018). “My sister told me to follow her,” says Picard, confessing that she “stalked” the artist online. From learning about her, Picard incorporated the people and things Ashely loved. “I had no idea if she would ever see it,” Picard says. To improve her odds, she tagged Ashley’s team when she posted a photo of the finished painting on Instagram. Immediately, Ashley commented that she wanted to buy the piece. They arranged for Picard to bring it to Ashley’s gallery, where she pronounced, “This has everything in it I love!”

For someone who doesn’t do faces, Picard gives her women highly expressive features; their eyes speak volumes. “When I start one,” Picard says, “she’ll tell me who she is, what color of hair she wants, and I’ll go from there.” They amuse her so much that Picard’s often laughing while working, making Alan wonder what’s so funny. “If she’s not talking with me, then I’ll put her aside,” Picard notes. “If she’s in a bad mood and doesn’t want to be painted that day, she has to sit in the corner!”

She loves it when her paintings “speak” to others. “E.J. Nobles, who owns the 1842 Inn with his partner in Macon, Georgia, just bought his twelfth painting from me,”

she informs. “He has been my greatest collector. I mean, even my mother wouldn’t hang twelve of my paintings in her house!”

It’s a good thing Picard works on several paintings at a time! Refusing to wait more than twenty minutes for the paint to set, she appreciates that acrylic dries quickly and that “you can cover it up. I love that I can layer it with Japanese papers.” When finished, she puts her signature on the side, and signs and dates the back with the title. “Seeing someone’s big signature on a painting is distracting to me,” Picard says. “There are no distractions if my name is not on it.”

FOR SOMEONE WH O D OE SN ’ T D O FACE S , PI C A RD G I V E S HER WOMEN HI GHLY E XPRE SSI V E FE AT URE S; THEIR E Y E S SPE A K VO LUME S .

“I’m not a rule follower,” Picard proclaims, choosing, for instance, to show and sell her work almost exclusively through her website, BethPicard.com. At the same time, she welcomes collaborations. Plans are under way for designer Chloé Kristyn (ChloeKristyn. com) to debut a “Mother Earth” kimono (with a graphic of Picard’s painting on the back) in the 2019 holiday collection. Likewise, subscribers to Suthingirl (Suthingirl.com), which fills seasonal and luxury gift boxes with curated Southern-branded merchandise, can soon anticipate Picard’s artwork on items like jewelry trays and hand-painted silk scarves.

100 | JULY 2019

Given the breathing room to paint and spend time with her extended family, Picard also loves to encourage young artists, including her granddaughter Liza, to paint for the joy of it. “If she wants black grass, that’s fine,” says Picard. “Somebody burned the yard!”

Many talented people also follow Picard on Instagram and seek her guidance about painting techniques, artwork pricing, and more. If they can’t believe she’s graciously shared her phone number, Picard says, “Do you think I’m some celebrity? I’m never that busy!” Ultimately, she’d love to sell enough of her work to help up-and-comers financially until their art can sustain them.

Considering all who’ve been there for her, Picard concludes, “You put out good, and good’s going to come back.”

VISIT BETHPIC ARD.COM TO SEE MORE OR TO INQUIRE A B O U T P U R C H A S I N G P I C A R D ’ S A R T. Sallie W. Boyles works as a freelance journalist, ghostwriter, copywriter, and editor through Write Lady Inc., her Atlantabased company. With an MBA in marketing, she marvels at the power of words, particularly in business and politics, but loves nothing more than relaying extraordinary personal stories that are believable only because they are true.

Visual Perspectives

Ceramic disc wall hanging by Michele Quan, MQuan Studio Photo by Stephen Busken 102 | JULY 2019

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THE ARTIST SPEAKS

It was the deep meaning and impeccable craftsmanship of Quan’s work that first drew the attention of The Zoo Gallery, a unique retailer with locations in Grayton Beach and Miramar Beach, Florida. Since 1979, The Zoo Gallery owners Roxie and Chris Wilson have scoured the globe for artists who inspire their sense of wonder and taste for the unusual. These have included many ceramic artists whose work has been showcased in their stores; currently, pieces by Michele Quan, Ashley Benton, Denise Greenwood, and Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi are available.

“A FI R S T N AT I O N S A R T I S T O N C E S A I D TO M E , ‘ E V E R Y T H I N G W E N E E D TO K N O W I S I N T H E S K Y,’ A N D S O M E T I M E S W H E N YO U LO O K AT T H E S K Y, I T C A N C U T S T R A I G H T D O W N TO T H E B O N E .

I T I S T H I S M O M E N T, I N T H E M I D S T O F I T A L L , T H AT I T R Y TO CO N V E Y,” S AY S C E R A M I C A R T I S T M I C H E L E Q UA N .

Quan tempers her creations with a heavy dose of symbolism and a lot of passion, and the result is a collection of wall hangings, planters, and other ceramic art pieces that make a bold statement in any home. Symbols inspired by Buddhist teachings, constellations, moon phases, and more adorn many of her pieces. According to Quan, her flower, disc, and feather-bone wall hangings were a result of the “raw, spontaneous, fresh imprint of a fingerprint made in clay.” Meanwhile, her ceramic garlands represent “an offering of reverence to the world. Made originally to hang in trees, I imagined them becoming part of the landscape and how beautiful they could be, moving in the wind with the ever-changing background.”

Quan shares her musings on the importance of ceramic art and what drew her to the medium: “When I first started to work in ceramics, it felt like the underdog of the arts, and I kind of loved that. On a physical level, I was drawn into the tactile responsiveness and immediacy of the material! It’s exactly this experience that I have based my nonprofit workshop, The Humble Pot Project, on. It’s the heart of what I do and what I strive to share.”

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Visual Perspectives he Humble Pot Project invites guests to events hosted by Quan where they learn to create a simple clay pinch pot—a small bowl-shaped pot that is made using only your hands.

Quan says this form of container “houses the potential for all vessels” as creators can learn the way the clay works, witness its adaptability, and imagine all the other things they could make from it. The workshops start at ten dollars, and 100 percent of the sign-up fee is donated to a predetermined charity or cause. Readers can find upcoming workshops on the Events page of Quan’s website.

Fellow ceramic artist Denise Greenwood says her favorite thing about working with her medium is the exploration of the relationship between beauty and imperfection. “My work is about human imperfection in all its guises,” she says. “I resent the package we are sold by much of media regarding a one-size-fits-all notion of beauty. Having grown up with a handicapped brother, I learned of the incredible beauty in imperfection. When we have young people with body image problems, self-loathing, and a massive lack of self-confidence, this is a problem I feel we need to address. My question is, ‘What is beauty and what is perfection?’ My message is,

Decorative containers

by MQuan Studio Photo by Bobby Fisher

Wall art by MQuan Studio in Brooklyn apartment designed

by Tyson Ness Photo by Costas Picadas

104 | JULY 2019

Left: Whimsical sculptures by Denise Greenwood can be found at The Zoo Gallery.

Below: Colorful vases and more by Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi are among other unique ceramic artworks at the shop.

Bottom: This decorative piece featuring an indigo eye exemplifies the symbolism found in much of Michele Quan’s art.

Photo by Bobby Fisher

Q UA N S AY S T H I S F O R M O F CO N TA I N ER “H O U S E S T H E P OT EN T I A L F O R A L L V E S S EL S” A S C R E ATO R S C A N L E A R N T H E WAY T H E C L AY W O R K S , W I T N E S S I T S A DA P TA B I L I T Y, A N D I M AG I N E A L L T H E OT H ER T H I N GS T H E Y CO U L D M A K E F R O M I T.

‘We get to decide.’ My work is mostly play. Where I do work, though, is in trying to explore that middle place where beautiful and grotesque, edgy and whimsical, dark and light converge.”

The Wilsons handpick each artist and brand displayed in their shops with careful attention to detail, and when they welcome a new artist, that person becomes part of the family. Many of those relationships have been built over decades, something Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi of LPE Clay says has been a blessing. “I met Roxie and Chris years ago at market,” she says. “Several artists told me about the gallery and how great they were to work with, so, naturally, I wanted them to carry my work. It took a few shows to get them to pull the trigger, but it finally happened! It has been a fantastic relationship ever since. I was introduced to their son, Baxter, as they were bringing him into the business. All three of them are great people at heart and care about the artisans behind the work in their gallery.

They are truly wonderful to do business with!”

In addition to ceramic, metal, and wood sculptures, The Zoo Gallery’s eclectic art collection comes in all forms: paintings and prints, furniture, home goods and decor, jewelry and clothing, whimsical greeting cards, books, and much more.

VISIT THE ZOO GALLERY IN GR AY TON BEACH AND MIR AMAR BEACH, FLORIDA, TO SEE ALL THESE ARTISTS AND MORE. FOR INDIVIDUAL INFORMATION, VISIT MQUAN.COM, ARTOFGREENWOOD.COM, ASHLEYBENTONSTUDIO.COM, AND LPECL AY.COM. V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 105

Ashley@purebarre.com | purebarre.com

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Visual Perspectives

“I FEEL LIKE T HE RE HA S NE V E R B EEN A MO R E FER TILE TIME F OR WOMEN CRE AT I V E S A S T HE RE IS N O W IN O U R W O R LD . W E A RE B LOSSOM ING , A ND TH E LIG H T IS B RIGHT !”

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his is the hope-filled sentiment of artist Reese Forêt of Gulf Breeze, Florida. Her mixed-media artworks often contain words of encouragement and feeling—messages to her audience as reminders to appreciate life, love, and the simple pleasures in the world.

Always an artist at heart, Forêt says the part she loves most about creating things is the freedom of it. “I am free to put down one mark on paper or to fill the page with a million tiny stars if I want to,” she says.

“Ultimately, I love knowing that what I create can connect with someone else and inspire them in some positive way.”

She earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from Auburn University in 1995, but after that, Forêt admits, pursuing her dreams took a backseat to life— marriage, children, and then, a few years ago, divorce.

But through an unfortunate situation also blossomed the chance for a new life. “I found myself at a point where I finally gave myself permission to focus solely on my dreams of being a full-time artist,” she says.

That leap of faith has led to the creation of Forêt’s many mixed-media paintings as well as commissions from customers around the Gulf Coast area. “I am most often commissioned to paint people’s pets and places they love the most. I just finished a landscape for a very sweet couple that has a favorite spot to go camping in California. The wife commissioned it for her husband for his birthday, and when I delivered it, he was so touched that he started crying! That made the wife cry, and then, of course, I starting crying! All good tears, though. It makes what I do so gratifying— bringing so much joy to the world.”

The paintings from Forêt’s imagination—those not commissioned by her clients— are often inspired by her life and the natural surroundings near her home, a charming cabin in Gulf Breeze near the water. “Most every morning, I ride my bike around the local park and then by the dock,” she says. “I take the time to stop and observe what’s going on around me. There is never a dull moment down by the dock!

Also, I have a fire going any chance I get. It calms me down and helps me focus on new ideas. I work on most of my paintings outside by the fire, so I guess you can say the elements of the earth inspire me.” Those elements have manifested in her works depicting the globe, stars, plant life, dragonflies, marine creatures, and even snakes—a motif that Forêt admits was born as a way to get over her fears of snakes and dating.

Left: Awake and Aware Mixed media on canvas, 36 × 36 in.

Opposite: Artist Reese Forêt with her painting Starlight Love Mixed media on canvas, 48 × 36 in.

Special thanks to George and Suzon Wilson of Conner’s Corner in Gulf Breeze, Florida, for the photo shoot location.

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to make a crown for that piece and place one of those crabs on there to honor our Cajun heritage.

I also attached beer-bottle tops that my dad gave to me—he loved his beer—as jewels on the crown. My Southern roots run very deep, and I love to celebrate them in my work any chance I get.”

The artist also celebrates the people she meets and those she has known, perhaps subconsciously creating art that will inspire them as much as it does her.

“What I love the most about living along the Gulf Coast is the people,” Forêt says. “We are the salt of the earth and full of true grit. We live in paradise, never taking for granted the calm, sunny days—always knowing in the back of our minds that a hurricane could take it all out in a matter of hours. It is our shelter, our home, and our heart.”

“I FIND OBJECTS

E V E RYWHER E I GO. SOM E TIMES THEY

FI ND ME . ”

Above: Love Your Mama Mixed media on canvas, 60 × 48 in.

Right: Happy Hour Around the World Mixed media on canvas, 36 × 36 in.

Opposite: Be Sweet Mixed media on canvas, 72 × 32 in.

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A

nod to her use of found objects in her work, Forêt has coined her brand as ReeseCycledArt. “I find objects everywhere I go. Sometimes they find me,” she says. One such object was a huge conch shell she literally stumbled upon half-buried on the beach in Aruba. It inspired a painting that now hangs in a friend’s condo in Pensacola Beach, Florida. Other objects and materials, which Forêt says allow her to create a new environment from things that were once just old and forgotten, might include old keys, pieces from magazines or cardboard boxes, and more. She enjoys giving them new life and making something that her viewers can connect with in their own ways. “I also use items that are very sentimental to me” she continues. “I have a box of bleached crab shells that are from the last batch of crabs that my dad and I steamed up together.

He was from New Orleans and loved steaming a fresh batch of crabs. I used one of those in a crown on a collage piece I call Zydeco King. It seemed appropriate

Visual Perspectives

“ULTIM ATE LY, I LOVE KNOWING THAT WHAT I

C RE ATE

CAN CONNECT

WITH SOM EONE ELSE AND

I NSPI R E

THEM IN

SOM E POSITIVE WAY. ” Forêt’s appreciation for the colors and natural beauty of the Gulf Coast and her desire to enjoy it and all of life also inspire her more whimsical artwork. “I try to represent important messages with a fun and jovial twist,” she explains. “I mean, life can be so serious. Sometimes you’ve got to lighten up, right?” This mission has shown itself even when she creates works that are meant to draw attention to certain matters, such as environmental conservation. “I did a large painting of the earth, and across the middle of it, it said, ‘Love Your Momma.’” Another example is a recent piece about the urgency of saving the bee population: “I used the words ‘awake + aware’ and ‘bee vigilant’ made out of cardboard from liquor boxes from the local Winn Dixie.” Her environmental conservation work was also featured at Downtown Pensacola’s Earth Day–themed Gallery Night event on April 19.

Aside from accepting commissions, Forêt also has a somewhat unusual service available to clients—live painting. She will join them for special events to document the day or evening with a one-of-a-kind painting.

“The live paintings are so much fun!” she says. “That’s the reason I was in Aruba—to paint the reception of a beautiful wedding under the stars. It was magical! The biggest challenge is completing the painting at the scene of the event. Everybody is having such a good time; all I want to do is hit the dance floor with them and join in on the celebration. I love a good party! It brings new meaning to the phrase ‘work hard, play hard.’”

With a fresh batch of original art ready for purchase, Forêt says she is on the lookout for collaboration opportunities and possible gallery representation. In the meantime, her fans can view and purchase art from her website (although she says it’s best to email her to see her V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 111

Visual Perspectives THE ARTIST ALSO

CELEB RATES

THE PEOPLE SHE M EETS AND THOSE SHE HAS KNOWN, PERHAPS SUBCONSCIOUSLY CREATING ART THAT WILL

INSPI RE

THEM AS M UCH AS IT DOES HE R. most recent collections). They can also follow along on

her Facebook and Instagram pages for news, such as details on an upcoming art show and fund-raiser she is planning with her brother, Ted, at his event space in Bruce, Florida. We can’t wait to see what’s coming up next in her new life as an artist!

Visit ReeseCycledArt.com to learn more or follow Forêt on social media at Facebook.com/ReeseCycledArt and Instagram, @reeseforet.

s h i rt s m a d e f r o m

recycled plastic bottles r o s em a ry - s e ag ro v e - gu lf p l ac e - 3 0 age a r. c o m

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114 | JULY 2019

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Voice B y S u z a n n e Po l l a k

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Artwork by Jonathan Green

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hat makes very young people able to turn their passions into a living, marrying their gifts with the discipline to create their life’s work? How can they know so early, possessing the confidence and necessary focus to keep them on their path? I dreamed of being a painter but derailed in college, distracted by thoughts like If I am not Picasso, is it worth it? If my work is not going to hang in the Met, what does that say about me? If I am not ‘in,’ then can I still keep going forward and not give a damn what anybody thinks?

graduating he deemed himself a professional artist, and a brief conversation with master Jacob Lawrence taught him the best way to do that in three words: “Tell your story.” Green was smart enough to listen, take the challenge, and implement what he’d learned. He used his paintings to tell stories about his region, culture, and history, all in astonishingly original texture, color, and atmosphere. His paintings seem to sing.

Jonathan Green knew in his very being the irrelevant nonsense of those distractions, which don’t mean a thing at the beginning of a career—or maybe ever. That’s why I love him. He actively chose to master one field (actually three: painting, fashion design, and the social graces) instead of being a jack-of-all-trades.

Distant Thoughts Oil on canvas, 36 × 48 in., © Jonathan Green, 2002 Right: South Carolina– based artist Jonathan Green

Just out of high school, Green escaped the tiny town of Beaufort, South Carolina, and headed for the Art Institute of Chicago, probably an unheard-of trajectory nearly fifty years ago for a gay African American man from a small, newly desegregated Southern city.

Maybe those very issues made him fiercely determined to be the most prominent personality he could be.

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Visual Perspectives

I Above: Strolling by a Sluice Gate Acrylic on archival mat board, 11 × 14 in., © Jonathan Green, 2013

n terms of inspiration, Green’s process has nothing to do with external factors. He is not copying anything, nor is he looking at photographs. He never pays attention to the art world, museums, galleries, or what anybody (with or without money) thinks. He is creating from his mind. His subjects are based on memories of growing up and observed details—in particular, things he wants to pull out of present reality and situate in his own creative bubble. If he is working on a painting of a woman, he might see someone walking down King Street in Charleston with the right silhouette, the perfect shape, and take in the details of the way her dress moves or how she relates to the scenery around her.

Opposite: Robert Smalls Acrylic on Arches archival paper, 14.25 × 10.75 in., © Jonathan Green, 2015

Green’s subject source is family: their environment and history and, more broadly, the role and contributions of African American people in his low-country

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G reen’s s ub jec t s o urc e i s fam ily: t h ei r env i ro nment a nd histor y a nd , mo re b ro a d l y , t he role and c o nt ri b ut i o ns o f A fri c a n Am er ican peo pl e i n h i s l o w - c o unt ry landscap e. landscape. The community around Beaufort allows him to encompass the world.

This subject matter is inexhaustible; it’s everything imaginable, representing all kinds of people. But the foundation of these universal themes is his home in the South Carolina Sea Islands.

Green arranges all of his work in a series of ten to thirty pieces, like chapters in a book telling a single story. He starts with a series of thoughts and ideas, then moves into drawings, then to watercolors. By the time he starts the canvases, he has already put in two-thirds of the thinking, the doing, the discipline. He is

their European captors cutting down any large trees so that they could not be made into dugout canoes for escape. Green feels if he doesn’t paint the story, then no one will retain the knowledge since so few people are reading these histories today.

Monastic to the core, Green gets up early at four o’clock. He and his partner, Richard, socialize for an hour, drinking their tea and coffee and organizing their day. Richard is Green’s gatekeeper and makes sure that he doesn’t have to get involved with external things that take away from his art. Green pulls himself together personally for the next hour, and painting starts at six o’clock. From there, the concept of time is not part of Green’s world until his stomach sends the hunger signal. He and Richard break for a two-hour lunch, their main meal, and then it’s back to work. The only thing of any importance is completion; but even that is not important because Green believes if you are working on something every day, time is irrelevant, and the work will get done. His focus, energy, and vision are all about what he is doing and the subject matter on which he’s working; they’re not about anything or anybody else.

meticulous. When he is halfway into a series, he is already thinking of the next one and might spend six months researching in advance. He never waits on the muse. (He says he doesn’t even know what that is.) Green believes in the importance of strong energies and thoughts about what he is going to do next before he finishes a series. There is no downtime or waiting for something to happen next.

He simply knows.

One series focused on his grandfather’s moonshine business. Green experienced making moonshine with this dominant male figure, but as a boy, he was more focused on taking in the scene—the birds, the clouds, the incredible colors at that hour in the morning when the sun begins to rise. The subject matter just happened to be his granddad making moonshine. His figures set up the mood, and his joyful, brilliant, bright shades of sky, water, foliage, and sand reverberate around them.

Green is currently working on a canoe series. He wants to talk about the creativity, spirituality, and economics of canoes by telling the history of enslaved people leaving the shores of West Africa in little boats that could not handle the waves. Other paintings in the series will depict imprisoned Africans around the Caribbean and

Green’s quiet elegance, strong sense of self, style, composure, and general ease are lovely. But make no mistake—he doesn’t care what you think about him.

He is his own person with his own unique language.

He interprets history, culture, community, and people in a way that is joyful, moving, and luminous.

Few artists speak so authentically.

To learn more, go to JonathanGreenStudios.com or visit his gallery at 164 Market Street in Charleston, South Carolina.

Suzanne Pollak, a mentor and lecturer in the fields of home, hearth, and hospitality, is the founder and dean of the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits. She is the coauthor of Entertaining for Dummies, The Pat Conroy Cookbook, and The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits: A Handbook of Etiquette with Recipes. Born into a diplomatic family, Pollak was raised in Africa, where her parents hosted multiple parties every week. Her South Carolina homes have been featured in the Wall Street Journal “Mansion” section and Town & Country magazine.

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Introspections

NOI SE THE SYMPHONY OF

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BY NICHOLAS S. RACHEOTES

Do you share my romantic appreciation for life in ancient times, when the world overflowed with lovely natural sounds? Children laughed, bees hummed, potters’ wheels spun, and the hooves of draft animals gently massaged the fields. Roosters crowed us awake, and nightingales sang us to sleep.

W

hy, there was even so much to inspire poets in the less pleasant assaults on hearing. Swords and shields clanged, the riggings of ships sang in the wind, and women screamed newborns into earthly existence. In silent monasteries, pens whispered the treasury of civilization onto parchment.

The smith’s hammer rang, and church bells either welcomed the village to services or warned of disaster.

Nowadays (does anyone say “nowadays” nowadays?), it’s as easy to imagine a world without the amplified human voice as it is to picture a snowstorm while vacationing in the Caribbean. It’s as possible to embrace encompassing silence as it is to hope for a widespread electrical blackout.

of keyboards is relieved only by log-on signals or the acoustic summons to read the latest incoming—often thoroughly annoying—email, text, or whatever.

I deliberately omit the delivery room. However, once babykins is born, how many moms and dads wish for the silent kitchen, free from beeping appliances of every sort? In my little town, bells don’t ring in empty or repurposed churches. As for the digitized voice, we’ve learned to appreciate its fault accuracy in auto-tuned music, to tolerate its regular failures on our phones, and to think that every sportscaster has pipes of gold.

Then came cacophony! Even the word is onomatopoetic.

Please don’t make the mistake of thinking that we’ve gone all negative here. The new noise is a sign of our evolution, prosperity, and long life. This case is as easy to make as setting the timer on the microwave oven.

Children certainly play as they always have, but now they do it with earbuds planted on either side of their heads accompanied by processed music to their video games or hits blaring through the speakers in the gym. We awaken and fall back to sleep while our favorite downloads play. In the office, the crepitation

We have come, with a very few rare exceptions, to ignore the noise. Wait just a minute—I can’t think because a tricked-out motorcycle just drove up the street, drowning out the background music that I listen to while writing. If not for all that has followed the invention of the noisy steam engine,

we wouldn’t have global warming. I almost forgot to mention the effect of modern warfare and the automobile on life span. There is little that the bard can derive from gunpowder warfare except for unparalleled devastation. Although, one can’t deny the effect of fatal car accidents on rock music.

But I promised not to go negative. Yes, and I’d better keep that promise. The fact is, we cannot stand the silence and we can barely abide the quiet. Why? Because both signify our being alone with ourselves.

And why is that bad? I’m not getting trapped into that discussion, at least not in this essay. Anyway, I’m going to my downloads now for one of my favorite sounds—the sound of the Beastie Boys.

Nick Racheotes is a product of Boston public schools, Brandeis University, and Boston College, from which he holds a PhD in history. Since he retired from teaching at Framingham State University, Nick and his wife, Pat, divide their time between Boston, Cape Cod, and the rest of the Western world.

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DG X VIE 2019 – CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’!

The 2019 Digital Graffiti artists with curator Brett Phares

Laurie and Taylor Hood

Copy

VIE once again teamed up with the Digital Graffiti festival in Alys Beach, Florida, for a Saturday-night kickoff party of epic proportions! The theme was California Dreamin’, with Coachella vibes, signature cocktails, flowers and balloons everywhere, and much more happening on the beautiful Gulf Green in Alys Beach. The VIE pink carpet was rolled out as we welcomed guests and visiting artists from around the world, and the party culminated in the announcement of this year’s winners! Proceeds from the bar benefited the VIE Foundation for Hurricane Michael relief. Thank you to everyone who made this party so spectacular: Mingle 30A, Flowers by Milk & Honey, Emerald Coast Wine & Spirits, Grayton Beer, Roux 30a, Decadent Coffee and Dessert Bar, isidro dunbar Modern Interiors, Bella the DJ, 30A Photo Bus, Epic Photo Co., 850 Events, Alys Beach, and more!

Photography by Micki Glenn

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Jonah Allen and Mary Ellen DiMauro

Ryleigh Shannon, Michael Tounge, and Reed McGuire

Rebecca Cross

Bella the DJ

Abigail Ryan, Jordan Staggs, Meghn Hill, Lisa Burwell, Brittney Kelley, Tracey Thomas, Olivia Pierce, Marta Rata, and Copy Vermillion Hannah Julia Kate Mace

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La scène

Vita, the 30A Photo Bus

Heather Forrester

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Renee and Jim Ryan

Mara Clark

Jordan Staggs, Candice Morgan, and Amelia Cain

Epic Photo Co.

Romona Robbins, Gloria Mancini, Tracey Thomas, Lisa Burwell, Anya Jackson, and Jenny Roberts

Beau Vermillion

Marta Rata

Olivia and Paula Manthey

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BEAUTIFYING THE WORLD WITH ART ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION FOR $29.95 V IE M A G A ZINE .C OM / S UB S CR IBE

The Last Word

Solution on next page

ART & ARTISTS

BY MYLES MELLOR

ACROSS

DOWN

1 7 8 10 11 12 13 15 18 21 22 24 25 27 28 30 32 33 34

1 2 3 4 5 6 9 14 15 16 17 19 20 22 23 26 29 31

Painter of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Canadian landscape painter Tom Nature photographer Ansel Blue Flowers Monet loved to paint French for gold Alien flier (abbr.)

American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris, ___ Ray World-renowned art gallery Starting fresh Tiered tower Surrealist painter Max Rd. or hwy. ___ -relief Feature of Norway’s coast Horton heard one One of the woodwinds Small land mass Color shade

Vase of Sunflowers painter They covered many of Turner’s skies Canvas support American visual artist ___ Mesches Pottery coating Metal in old stained-glass windows Internationally acclaimed English portrait artist Spanish for aunt He was famously painted by Warhol One of America’s best-known 20th-century painters, ____ Wyeth Clutter-free Painter of Southwestern scenes Artist who painted The Potato Eaters First name of one the most famous artists of all time Artist’s plaster of paris mix Greek love god Henna, for one 50th state (abbr.)

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The Last Word Puzzle on previous page

“

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

—Pablo Picasso

”

Community CLASSES REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Children’s Division:

Pre-Ballet, Ballet & Pointe Contemporary & Modern Jazz & Hip Hop Yogs & Dance Conditioning

Adult Division:

Ballet Barre Conditioning Contemporary Styles

Please see our website for current studio schedules.

Au revoir!

Au revoir!

BEFORE YOU GO . . .

Artwork by Charles Bentley

Designer Charles Bentley takes inspiration from the worlds of high fashion, travel, and nature to create his surreal mix of photography and digital art. In Bentley’s world, models’ bodies are filled with scenes of the sky and mountains or taken over by explosions of flowers. Exotic animals burst forth from symbols of luxury such as a Lamborghini, a designer sneaker, or a Chanel No.5 perfume bottle. Even Santa Claus dresses in Gucci and drinks Veuve Clicquot in this colorful, artistic dimension that Bentley has created.

When he’s not sharing his art through his Instagram account (@charlesbentley) or blogging inspiration on his Tumblr account, Bentley is working as a digital designer for home decor retailer West Elm.

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