WALTER Magazine - March 2024

WALTER

The Art & Soul of Raleigh

T H E A RT & S OU L O F R A L E IG H

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CONTENTS

MARCH 2024

41

28 OUR TOWN 25 MUSIC: While You Were Sleeping 27 GARDEN: Ease Into Spring 28 FOOD: A Taste of Laos 30 DRINK: Raleigh’s Living Room 33 EXPLORE: 5 New Hikes 36 NATURE: Pretty in Pink 38 SPORTS: He Talks a Good Game 41 Q&A: Frame by Frame 44 MAKERS: Pattern Play 46 CREATORS: Chapel Hill Magic 49 ALBUM: Revelations 50 SIMPLE LIFE: Coffee with God

FEATURES 53 The last time my mother

by Debra Kaufman illustration by Chelsea Ragan

54 Stewards of the Land

The story behind the Joslin Garden

by Helen Yoest photography by Liz Condo

64 Memory Keeper

Oami Powers sculpts her experience

by Colony Little photography by Joshua Steadman

IN EVERY ISSUE 10 EDITOR’S LETTER 14 CONTRIBUTORS 15 YOUR FEEDBACK 17 OUR TOWN 19 DATEBOOK 89 THE WHIRL 96 END NOTE: Find Your Way

70 Treasured Style

Old meets new in Budleigh

by Ayn-Monique Klahre photography by Catherine Nguyen

80 Antiques & Appraisals

Behind the scenes of a popular show

by Colony Little photography by Bryan Regan

On the cover: Artist Oami Powers. Photograph by Joshua Steadman.

8 | WALTER

Forrest Mason (SAAP); David Tesh (CHESSA RICH); Terrence Jones (KENNY BATCH)

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Left: My daughter’s Pieces of Gold Dance Team. Right: Laura laughs when Antiques Roadshow appraiser Ken Farmer teases her about her 16th-century throne.

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spent this evening watching fifth graders perform an abridged version of Romeo & Juliet and third graders sing an a cappella version of “Mary Had a Little Blues,” a jazzy twist on, you guessed it, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” It was a showcase night at my girls’ elementary school, and in addition to these two performances we saw drumming, some gymnastics and a nice collection of drawings and sculpture. It was all pretty impressive, and made me proud of our little school!

It had me reflecting on how important the arts are to our kids. This year, my older one tried out for her school’s Pieces of Gold dance team. This is an initiative from the United Arts Council to put together a performance featuring dancers from Wake County Public Schools (there is also a visual arts component, called Gifts of Gold). So twice a week for the last several months, my daughter has been getting up early for dance practice an hour before school starts. She’s been choosing her outfit the night before, setting her alarm, eating breakfast and hopping on her bike with zero reminders from her parents. After school, she’s been practicing her routines in her room, and every slip of paper we’ve had to sign has both found its way onto our kitchen table and back into her backpack.

This is truly unprecedented from a girl who’s often dragging in the morning, and who usually needs to be reminded to practice her violin or clear her plate from the table.

But it’s been amazing to me how dance has ignited this passion and caused her to level up. While we regularly cover artists and performers who are well into their careers, it’s so fun for me to see the little seeds of it germinating in my daughters and their classmates. When I see the kids who have their lines down pat, or sing confidently without fidgeting, or whose pinch-pots show some real promise, I wonder if they might, one day, end up in the pages of our magazine. I hope so!

After months of practice and another round of auditions, my daughter’s team, along with dozens of others, will perform in the Pieces of Gold showcase at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts this month. And I can’t wait to see it!

Ayn-Monique Klahre Editor

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MARCH 2024 EDITORIAL

PUBLISHING

Editor AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE ayn-monique@waltermagazine.com

Publisher DAVID WORONOFF

Creative Director LAURA PETRIDES WALL laura@waltermagazine.com Associate Editor ADDIE LADNER addie@waltermagazine.com Contributing Writers A.J. Carr, Wiley Cash, Catherine Currin, Jim Dodson, Mike Dunn, Debra Kaufman, Josh Klahre, David Menconi, Joe Miller, Colony Little, Liza Roberts, Lori D.R. Wiggins, Helen Yoest Contributing Poetry Editor Jaki Shelton Green Contributing Copy Editor Finn Cohen Contributing Photographers Will Bryant, Mallory Cash, Liz Condo, Terrence Jones, Ben McKeown, Forrest Mason, Catherine Nguyen, Eamon Queeney, Bryan Regan, Joshua Steadman, David Tesh

Advertising Sales Manager JULIE NICKENS julie@waltermagazine.com Senior Account Executive & Operations CRISTINA HURLEY cristina@waltermagazine.com Finance STEVE ANDERSON 910-693-2497 Distribution JAMES KAY Inquiries WALTER OFFICE 984-286-0928 info@waltermagazine.com Address all correspondence to: WALTER magazine, 421 Fayetteville Street, Suite 104 Raleigh, N.C. 27601

Contributing Illustrators Gerry O’Neill, Chelsea Ragan, Lyudmila Tomova

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CONTRIBUTORS

One Hop Shoppin.’ nofo @ the pig | 2014 fairview road | 919.821.1240 | www.nofo.com

Colony Little is an arts writer and critic based in Raleigh. Her work is featured in ARTnews, Hyperallergic, The Art Newspaper and W Magazine. “I’ve always been intrigued by the objects that people hold dear, and this is the thread that ties together the three stories I had the pleasure to write this month. Oami Powers recreates objects in clay that remind her of the cherished people and places in her life. Davis Choun teaches us about how everyday household items can be transformed into something beautiful and new. And Antiques Roadshow is the living embodiment of the old adage, ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ In the case of the Roadshow, the treasure lies in the special stories behind the objects that people have stowed away in their basements and attics.”

LIZ CONDO / PH OTOGR A PH ER

Liz Condo is an editorial and commercial photographer based in Raleigh. She has documented a wide variety of subjects in her career, from natural disasters to political demonstrations to athletic championships. But she remains most drawn to nature, exploring the ways an image can open our eyes to beauty all around us.

“Photographing the Joslin Garden felt like a meditation. I walked the winding paths and discovered hidden treasures at every turn: a mass of daffodils, an unhurried stream, delicate spring ephemerals emerging through a blanket of leaves. The Joslin family has given us a beautiful gift.”

JOSHUA STEADMAN /

HELEN YOEST / W R I TE R

Helen Yoest is a gardening expert and conservationist in Raleigh.

“It’s an honor to work to conserve the Joslin Garden. While the garden is clearly William and Mary Joslin’s legacy, I also think of it as my legacy as I wind down my 50 years working toward a better environment and gardening. (I’m not done yet!) Our progress is only possible with the dedication of our volunteers. Special thanks to Nell Joslin, who is also a volunteer, for helping me share their story.”

14 | WALTER

P HOTO G R A PH ER North Carolina-based photographer and director Joshua Steadman is a storyteller who captures the unspoken energy and connections between people. His humanistic approach has won him numerous awards, most recently the American Photographic Association Award in the Sports/ Adventure category for his photograph Kenny in the Keys. “Oami was working when I came to her studio, and I could tell right away she was up for making something memorable. She showed me a few inspirational tear sheets, and I asked her to wear some of her own art for the photos. I was a little concerned about breaking the pieces as we positioned them!”

Catherine Nguyen (LITTLE); Juli Leonard (YOEST); others courtesy contributors

COLONY LITTLE / W R I TE R

FEEDBACK YOUR CAREER, YOUR CALLING.

We love to hear from you!

“I love the WALTER magazine, it just brightens my day to get it each month!!”

— Kathleen Alman “My wife and I really enjoy your magazine and have in fact shared it with friends and family in upstate New York, where we live most of the year. Who knows —it may generate some additional folks relocating to this wonderful city!”

— David Kruczlnicki

Our February cover star, Dusky, was popular with readers — and their pets!

“Does that dog find truffles?

Then I want one!”

— Alley Buscemi “My favorite cover I’ve ever seen!”

— Martha Heath “Oh that sweet baby! Adorbs!”

— Calhoun Branch Farms “Is he a Lagotta Romagnolo? I have a truffle hunter too!!”

— Maximus Alexander “Love the new cover! Dusky is really cute, love the colors of the landscape, too!”

— Cathy Klahre

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OUR TOWN March welcomes the onset of spring with supper clubs, community fundraisers, tons of live music and, of course, St. Patrick’s Day! photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN

CELEBRATE ST. PADDY’S There is no shortage of ways to celebrate Irish heritage — here are a few picks. Kick off the holiday with the Raleigh St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which will feature Celtic-inspired outfits, bagpipes and many marching bands — Gorta Mór Memorial Pipes & Drums, Triangle Pride Band and the Cardinal Gibbons Band and Drum Line among them (March 16; 10 a.m.; downtown; raleighstpats.org). The kids might also enjoy Lafayette Village’s family-friendly Paddy on the Green celebration with themed games (March 16; 12 - 4 p.m.; 8450 Honeycutt Road; lafayettevillageraleigh.com). For grownups, TráLi Irish Pub & Restaurant will have a tent set up with live music and pub fare like corn beef and cabbage and fish and chips (March 17; 10370 Moncreiffe Road, #109; traliirishpub.com). Just don’t forget to wear your green!

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 17

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DATEBOOK WALTER’s list of things to see, do and experience this month.

by ADDIE LADNER

BIG NIGHT IN FOR THE ARTS

courtesy Big Night In

March 7 | 7 p.m.

Clockwise from top left: Pierce Freelon, Tray Wellington, Tift Merritt

Tune into WRAL-TV for an evening celebrating the North Carolina arts community. In this fundraiser for the Wake, Durham, Chatham and Orange County Arts Councils, creatives of all stripes will be sharing their talent on the screen. This year’s lineup includes Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Tift Merritt, award-winning bluegrass musician Tray Wellington, singer Pierce Freelon and mural artist Gabriel EngGoetz. Now in its fourth year, Big Night In has raised nearly $800,000 to ensure that arts and culture will continue to thrive. “We are thrilled to be highlighting incredible local artists, in partnership with WRAL, and traveling our Triangle-wide watch party to Durham. The arts are an integral part of what makes the Triangle such a great place to live and I love how Big Night In tells the story of our local creative sector,” says Jennifer McEwen, United Arts Council president. Free to watch; broadcast and live-streaming, WRALTV; bignightin.org

BALSAM RANGE

March 1 | 7:30 p.m.

North Carolina mountain folk group Balsam Range, a two-time International Bluegrass Music Association Entertainer of the Year, will take the stage this month at Martin Marietta Center

for the Performing Arts, hosted by North Carolina roots music organization PineCone. “Balsam Range is a North Carolina treasure and they put on an incredibly entertaining show.

Their songs tell rich stories that make me melt every time,” says PineCone

executive director David Brower. From $18; 2 E. South Street; pinecone.org

SODA WATER SEA LIVE

March 2 & April 6 | 6:30 p.m.

Enjoy a mysterious evening of intimate music and food in the heart of down-

All information is accurate as of press time, but please check waltermagazine.com and the event websites for the latest updates.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 19

DATEBOOK

March 6, 7 & 14 | 5:30 p.m.

Catch the culmination of Rocky Top Catering’s annual fundraiser, Cooking For the Kids, as chefs battle it out to raise money for A Place at the Table, Raleigh’s first pay-what-you-can restaurant, and Overflowing Hands, a volunteer-led organization serving vulnerable neighborhoods. In February, chefs including Blake Gotliffe of Under the Oak, Bobby McFarland of Wye Hill, David Mitchell of Plates Kitchen and Kevin Ruiz of Oro participated in a cook-off. For the final round this month, each of the remaining chefs will prepare an appetizer, main course and dessert using surprise ingredients, then each of their dishes will be rated on taste, creativity, presentation and execution. The judges include chefs, food enthusiasts and guests who get to taste the creations. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the benefiting organizations. Also enjoy a silent auction, fine wine, cocktails and most importantly, says Dean Ogan, Rocky Top Catering owner, conviviality: “It’s heartwarming to see our community come together to fight food insecurity and to provide much needed support and services to children, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Overflowing Hands and A Place at the Table this year.” From $125; 1705 E. Millbrook Road; rockytopcatering.com town Durham with Soda Water Sea. Dubbed the Bull City’s “psychedelic orchestra,” this 22-member band will play songs from its inaugural record, The Freedom Ring. Start the evening with a vegetarian meal by Andy Magowan, the lead band member and a chef in Durham, along with beer, wine and nonalcoholic libations. The menu itself will remain a surprise until the night of the show, but it will feature locally grown produce and be served buffet-style, allowing guests to feast at communal tables with the performers before the show. “The group is truly a slice of our Durham community, ranging in age from 16 to 70. It’s a mix of experienced music-scene folks and people who have never performed with a rock group before,” says Magowan, who wrote The Freedom Ring.

“The album was written and recorded 20 | WALTER

as the pandemic unfolded, which led to some interesting recording set-ups, like a lot of the choral parts had to be recorded outdoors,” he says. The circumstances helped inspire the music to touch on themes of climate change, transformation and spiritual growth. Music starts at 8 p.m. and guests receive a copy of The Freedom Ring on vinyl with ticket purchase. $70; location only given to ticket holders; sodawatersea.bandcamp.com

SUPPER CLUB

March 4 & 5 | 6 p.m.

You don’t have to go far to experience Sardinia, the idyllic Italian island known for its citizens’ longevity.

Hospitality owner Liz Grandchamp and the Heights House Hotel team are continuing their Italian-themed Supper Club, and this month they’re

taking us to the region that produces Cannonau wine. “Italy is full of so many different regions and subregions that have their own culture and food.

We want to spend each dinner exploring a different province and allowing our guests — and ourselves — something different to eat and cook,” says Grandchamp. The four-course pre-fixe meal complemented by Italian wines and amaros will boast flavors of the Mediterranean like fresh herbs, lemon and saffron. Grandcamp says the dishes will be authentically Sardinian and likely new to guests: “Almost everything that we are cooking, we’ve never made before. We love to honor the traditional flavors of a dish, even if we put a slight twist on it. We’re excited to discover new flavors!” $165; 308 S. Boylan Avenue; heightshousenc.com

THE LITTLE MERMAID

March 7 - 24 | Various times A favorite Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale is being interpreted on stage in the Fletcher Opera Theatre by Carolina Ballet. The company’s world premiere of The Little Mermaid will offer never-before-seen choreography, costumes and sets, as well as a new score composed by renowned New York ballet composer Aaron Severini.

“Working on the sets for The Little Mermaid has been so great, such a dream come true. I’m using the natural world as a metaphor for the human experience. The ocean itself is a metaphor for the experience of the little mermaid. She comes out of the depths of the ocean into the terrestrial world.

She gains legs. She gains awareness of good and evil — this is the human experience, coming from darkness to light,” says Rebecca Rebouché, the artist who designed the brand-new sets. A live orchestra will provide the soundtrack as the titular mermaid embarks on her physical and emotional journey of self-discovery and love.

From $25; 2 E. South Street; carolinaballet.com

Magdalena Stefanek Photography

COOKING FOR THE KIDS

ANNIVERSARY PARTY

courtesy Sleeping Booty

March 9 | 1 - 8 p.m.

Raleigh Brewing is celebrating 11 years with a big block party. Guests can enjoy bites from food trucks, live entertainment and, of course, the company’s popular brews, like the Belgian pale ale Rye’d Or Die or coffee porter Hidden Pipe. Free entry; 3707 Neil Street; raleighbrewing.com

SLEEPING BOOTY

March 9 | 8 p.m.

Longtime Wake County cover band Sleeping Booty is celebrating 25 years with a fun show at Lincoln Theatre.

The 12-piece band, which originated as a 1970s tribute group, features percussion, several vocalists and a horn section. Over the years, it has evolved its style and sound to offer a unique spin on a range of sounds, from Otis Redding to Van Morrison to Old Crow Medicine Show. On stage, Sleeping Booty is known for its lively choreography, on-theme wardrobes and ability to get everyone moving on the dance floor. And even though they’ve opened for the big-time acts (see: KC and the Sunshine Band, Earth Wind & Fire), they’re pumped for a hometown show.

“We are going to tear the roof off the sucker in downtown Raleigh, come down and celebrate with us!” says band member Damon Underwood. From $10; 126 E. Cabarrus Street; lincolntheatre.com

WOMEN 2015 Ca me ro n St. | 919. 365. 7074 womensinfo@kannonsclothing.com ka n n o n s c l o thi ng . c o m

REPTILE AND AMPHIBIAN DAY

March 9 | 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Spend the day at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences celebrating creatures in the reptile and am-

MEN

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THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 21

phibian category, from turtles to snakes to tadpoles to this year’s featured animal, the crocodile! The museum will offer a variety of themed crafts, presentations and other fun set up around the facility, including some opportunities for close encounters with the critters.

Its veterinary services team will be conducting turtle exams in the Window on Animal Health throughout the event, and if you’re inspired to attract more reptiles and amphibians into your own backyard, there’ll be a program to learn how to make your backyard more friendly to lizards, small snakes and tree frogs. Free admission; 11 W. Jones Street; naturalsciences.org

March’s picks are the 1996 film Matilda, based on Roald Dahl’s book about a bright girl with special powers who’s born to a disastrous family, and live-action blockbuster Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

On-theme outfits welcome! Kids can look forward to some interactive themed activities and popcorn. Free; 1930 Clark Avenue; wake.gov

MOVIES @ THE LIBRARY

March 15 | 6 - 10 p.m.

Now entering its second year, The American Cancer Society’s North Carolina Discovery Ball raised $250,000 in its inaugural year to support cancer research, patient support and advocacy.

March 10 & 24 | 2 - 4 p.m.

Enjoy some of your favorite childhood films with this movie series, which takes place every first and third Saturday at Oberlin Regional Library.

NORTH CAROLINA DISCOVERY BALL

Held at Angus Barn, the evening kicks off with a cocktail reception and silent auction followed by an elegant dinner, entertainment and testimony from Elizabeth Alexander, a cancer survivor who has undergone 26 rounds of chemotherapy and surgeries since being diagnosed with the disease in 2022. “Her inspiring fight emphasizes the importance of continued funding for cancer research,” says Bonnie Sargent, development coordinator for the American Cancer Society. $500 per ticket; 9401 Glenwood Avenue; ncdiscoveryball.org

WOMEN’S DAY

March 16 | 12 - 3 p.m.

“It is evident that our community is experiencing crises. Women’s Day is an opportunity to meet the needs of the citizens of Raleigh,” says Shirnetta Harrell, executive director of the nonprofit No Woman, No Girl. “Whether an

NC MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES offers versatile spaces that transform any gathering into an extraordinary event. Immerse your guests in the awe-inspiring atmosphere of our iconic downtown Raleigh venue. Enhance engagements with exclusive access to worldclass exhibits, enjoy gourmet dining amongst dinosaurs or embark on a behind-the-museum adventure tailored by our expert team.

Host an elegant reception or a high-powered board meeting at the Museum — the possibilities are endless!

Book your unforgettable experience today: naturalsciences.org/rentals | 919.707.9891

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courtesy TriStar Pictures

DATEBOOK

courtesy Blue Cactus

You deserve a 5-star imaging experience.

individual needs clothes, mental health support, diapers or other resources, this is a day where they can glean hope, despite their circumstances.”

This month, No Woman, No Girl is hosting an event to provide on-site health and wellness services. Attendees will receive free supplies of everyday hygiene essentials as well as clothing, basic medical supplies and guidance on housing, mental health and more from local agencies such as Step Up Ministry, Note in the Pocket, Three Oaks Behavioral Health & Wellness, Triple C Counseling Services and Dress for Success. Presenting sponsor Coastal Credit Union will be providing on-site financial check-ups at the event like free credit checks and credit recovery insight. The event is open to the general public and will include food from Longleaf Swine, live music and vendors such as Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Raleigh Pop Balloons. Tickets are not required and all are welcome. Free; 605 Raleigh Boulevard; nowomannogirl.org

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March 23 | 7 - 8:30 p.m.

See country duo Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez of Blue Cactus perform at the North Carolina Museum of History for an installment of Tar Heel Troubadours, a showcase of established and emerging musicians from our state. Beer and wine are available for purchase throughout the show and the museum’s gift shop will be open prior. Museum creative director Kara Leinfelder, who produced the concert series, says they curated a range of musicians that represent North Carolina’s musical history. “Blue Cactus offers

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THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 23

DATEBOOK

March 13 - 17 | Various times

The North Carolina Museum of Art’s celebration of art through flowers is back! Art in Bloom will take over the museum for five days as works in the People’s Collection are interpreted into jaw-dropping flower installments. In honor of the event’s 10th year and the 100th anniversary of the founding of the North Carolina State Art Society, 10 of the floral works will be themed by decade, from the 1920s to the 2020s. In addition to viewing the main installation, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the flower-focused event. Keynote speaker Ace Berry, the owner of Ace in Full Bloom in Houston, Texas, who’s been featured on HBO’s Full Bloom, will lead two live floral programs. Local horticulturist Brie Arthur will host a workshop on creating a native garden with ease. From $40; 2110 Blue Ridge Road; ncartmuseum.org

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24 | WALTER

a fresh perspective on the traditional with beautifully orchestrated variety,” says Leinfelder. “They can oscillate between a folky vibe to a full bluegrass sound complete with pedal steel guitar without missing, well, a beat!” $15; 5 E. Edenton Street; ncmuseumofhistory.org

HOW VERY: A HEATHERS PARTY

March 23 | 4 - 10 p.m.

Head to Longleaf Hotel’s lounge for croquet on the lawn (aka the patio) to celebrate the 35-year anniversary of the cult classic 1989 film Heathers, starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.

Play a game of croquet and indulge in snacks and cocktails inspired by the film like Twizzlers, Corn Nuts and more. The film will be playing throughout the night but go ahead and watch it beforehand for some wardrobe inspo.

Free admission; 300 N. Dawson Street; thelongleafhotel.com

courtesy NCMA

ART IN BLOOM

MUSIC

while you were sleeping Singer-songwriter Chessa Rich’s first album draws atmospheric pop from her dreams

by DAVID MENCONI photography by DAVID TESH

I

t’s common enough for artists to take a while to realize the underlying inspirations behind their own records, often years after the fact. Still, Durham musician Chessa Rich’s odyssey with her first album makes for an unusual story.

Thanks to the input of supportive musical friends from Mipso, Hiss Golden Messenger, and other local acts, making her full-length debut was “super exciting, almost like summer camp,” Rich says. The album is a very fine nine-song collection of atmospheric pop songs, keyed around Rich’s piano and agreeably smoky voice.

But it wasn’t until later, when Rich took a class at Durham’s Night School Bar, that she figured out her album’s throughline.

“The class was about dreams, art and interpretation, and it made me realize that all my songs had come from this place of dreams,” Rich says. “I’m kind of still processing that. I’ve always been a very vivid dreamer, which I don’t think will ever end. I feel very tied to sleep and resting and dreaming. Even when I write

about something else, that still informs how I go about my day and my life, with energy and drive and motive and inspiration.”

But Rich has never been the best sleeper. After this realization about her album, she was diagnosed with sleep apnea, a disorder in which a sleeper’s breathing can stop. So she decided to call the album Deeper Sleeper, and it has a faraway ambience like the morning haze of half-remembered dreams that leave you with more feeling than narrative.

“If you die in your dreams,” Rich declares in the song “Wanderer,” “you don’t die in real life.”

“I’ve known Chessa for a while and I feel like her record manifests all her strengths,” says Gabe Anderson, a co-founder/co-owner of Sleepy Cat Records, which released the album, and who also plays in Rich’s live band. “One song, it feels like a pop record. Another, it’s really tugging the heartstrings. I think she’s deserving of the biggest stages

on the planet. She can deliver the biggest pop ear-candy experience, and also the smallest personal experience.”

Now 35 years old, Rich was born and raised in Burlington. One of her earliest musical memories was her father showing her how to pick out the intro to Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” on the piano when she was a kindergartener.

Rich played flute and piccolo in the high school marching band, rising to the rank of drum major by her senior year (a role her father had at the same high school decades earlier). Piano eventually became Rich’s primary instrument, but she still plays in a flute quartet called SCRS (pronounced “Scars”) with her fellow local flutists Skylar Gudasz, Rachel Kiel and Steph Stewart.

After college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and two years teaching English in Spain, Rich moved back to the Triangle about a decade ago. Working as musical director in local churches introduced her to other THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 25

MUSIC

players on the scene, and she became a familiar sight onstage in support roles for local peers like Kate Rhudy. She still plays the church circuit while teaching piano to kids as her primary job.

“A lot of cartoon themes and Taylor Swift songs,” she says with a laugh.

Rich hopes to release a few more songs this year, followed by another full-length album whenever time and finances allow.

She hasn’t yet been able to tour widely, but her local reputation is growing with sold-out shows and a Hopscotch Music Festival main-stage booking last year.

“My album-release show at Cat’s Cradle Back Room sold out, and packing my favorite local venue was a dream come true,” she says. “The music industry’s in a weird place right now, because it’s very expensive to do anything like tour with a band. Someday, I hope. But I am super 26 | WALTER

“The music industry’s in a weird place right now, because it’s very expensive to do anything like tour with a band.

Someday, I hope. But I am super thrilled with the local response.”

— CHESSA RICH thrilled with the local response.”

In reviews of Deeper Sleeper, Fiona Apple’s name frequently comes up as a point of comparison. The album’s overall feel is also reminiscent of Joni Mitchell — although Rich feels that influence is more about attitude and motivation than musical sounds.

“Joni Mitchell is awesome, but I would not consider myself a Joni follower in the same way as a lot of my friends and

collaborators,” Rich says. “I am mostly interested in her as an artist, being so fully honest in her writing. I saw a recent interview where she said she doesn’t understand people who claim to have nothing to say: ‘They’re just afraid.’ She was adamant that every single person has something to say and if they don’t, they’re just shying away from it.”

Meanwhile, looking ahead to where the next batch of songs might take her, Rich reports that her relationship with sleep is much improved nowadays.

“Better than ever, I am happy to report,” she says with a laugh. “The CPAP machine helps, although not as dramatically as I hoped. I’ve just realized I really need 10 hours of sleep a night, which can be frustrating. My day has two or three hours less than most people. But we do what we can.”

GARDEN

EASE INTO SPRING “The March garden helps you wake up,” says gardening expert Hannah Ross.

“It puts you in touch with the energy of the spring.” Relish in your yard this month with these tips from Ross.

Getty Images

SET THE STAGE Warmer temperatures inspire us to go full throttle on gardening — but take some time to assess first, says Ross: “I like to organize my tools, order compost and do a thoughtful walk around the garden to check things like irrigation, trellises and my infrastructures to set the stage for later spring planting.”

PLANT EASY SEEDS “Radishes are the closest thing to instant gratification in gardening,” says Ross. Dill, she says, is resilient, fills out a space nicely and comes back quickly after cutting. For those same reasons she likes lettuces, especially little gems and speckled bibb lettuce, which are easy to grow and have a lovely texture and great flavor. Calendula, a flower in the marigold family, is beautiful to look at and wards off pests, too. “I love to use it along a border for a bright, cheerful edge,” says Ross.

TRIM BACK PERENNIALS Prune back summer and fall blooming perennials like echinacea, rudbeckia and oregano to help tender leaves sprout, says Ross: “I let them stay wild over the winter for insects and birds, but now is the time for —Addie Ladner renewal pruning.”

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THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 27 2/12/24 2:58 PM

FOOD

a taste of LAOS SAAP brings Lon Bounsanga’s talents to Cary

by CATHERINE CURRIN photography by FORREST MASON

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“I

n every language, we have a word for when something tastes good,” says Lon Bounsanga, owner and chef of SAAP in downtown Cary. “SAAP means delicious or yummy in Laotian — which is, I hope, what people say about the food here!”

Bounsanga moved to Raleigh in 2007 from Philadelphia and helped open Bida Manda in 2012. “Having that start at Bida Manda was such a learning experience in understanding the Triangle,” he says. Bounsanga also worked to help open the critically acclaimed Brewery Bhavana in 2017 serving as the executive chef of both places — but all the while, he was itching to open his own space. He left to open SAAP in May 2023 and still serves as a consultant for Bida Manda.

SAAP opened in mid-November of last year — serendipitously, in tandem with the adjacent Downtown Cary Park.

“We found the space and it was meant to be. Cary has been so welcoming,” he says. “It was the perfect timing that we opened at the same time as the park.”

SAAP’s menu pays homage to Bounsanga’s time at Bida Manda but also incorporates more casual fare to satisfy guests who might be coming straight from the park. Fans of his previous restaurant will find crispy coconut rice lettuce wraps with peanuts, herbs, coconut meat and a chili sauce for dipping, plus

a comforting pork belly soup in a spicy Panang curry broth.

Ninety-five percent of the menu is offered to go, and street food-style menu items include an array of skewers — shrimp, chicken satay and BBQ pork — along with Lao beef jerky and spring rolls that can easily be enjoyed parkside. “I wanted to create the concept of street food, so this is what you would find in the streets of Laos,” he says.

The interiors for SAAP were designed in collaboration with Bounsanga’s wife, Annmarie, and Shannon Laska with New City Design Group. The space is airy and modern, done in pale woods and shades of green, bursting with natural light from floor-to-ceiling windows along the entire dining area.

“We were able to come up with the design that would bring the greenery from the park into the restaurant — and it feels like Laos,” says Bounsanga. The space’s vision was a family affair down to small details: Bounsanga has four — LON BOUNSANGA daughters that all

“I wanted to create the concept of street food, so this is what you would find in the streets of Laos.”

work at the restaurant: Hera, 24, the general manager; Noël, 21, a server; Grace, 25, a bartender; and Miranda, 33, a part-time server. He says they helped with the vision of the space, even picking out the chairs to ensure maximum comfort for guests.

“We want the space to feel homey and for people to enjoy themselves when they come here,” he says.

Bounsanga is proud of how his own traditional cuisine has become widely accepted and beloved in the Triangle community. “In the years since we opened Bida Manda, the public is more familiar with Laotian cuisine,” he says. “Lao Lao Food Truck has gained great popularity, among others. The more the better, I love to see the energy around it.”

“SAAP is the perfect embodiment of Lon’s many years in the hospitality industry,” says Patrick Woodson, Bounsanga’s former colleague and owner of Brewery Bhavana. “Walking in and being greeted by his daughters and seeing him walk around the dining room, talking with all the guests, makes me feel like I am being invited into his home for a personal meal. I’m so happy that he has a place to call his own and show the world his amazing gift.”

Left to right: Chef Lon Bounsanga; inside SAAP; chicken satay; coffee cream caramel; crispy spring rolls; kabocha squash.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 29

DRINK

Raleigh’s LIVING ROOM The Parlor is a glamorous getaway, right in town

by CATHERINE CURRIN photography by WILL BRYANT

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W

hen Heights House Hotel opened in 2021, owners Sarah and Jeff Shepherd envisioned it as a gathering place for guests and non-guests alike. The hotel’s bar, The Parlor, opened soon after in 2022. Located in the front room of the renovated mansion, it invites guests to grab a craft cocktail and spend time around the boutique hotel, whether it’s in the elegant drawing room, on the ample porch or on the lawn overlooking Boylan Avenue. There’s also a lounge on the lower level for a more cozy feel.

Bar manager Will Bryant enjoys dreaming up festive cocktails for each season. Before leading the team at The Parlor, Bryant lived in Charlotte and worked in the hospitality industry for over a decade. “My theme for the spring menu is floral, herbaceous and breezy, but still boozy,” Bryant says. The cocktail syrups are all made in-house, incorporate inventive ingredients and are served with vintage tableware thrifted by Heights House co-owner Sarah Shepherd. “What I love about Will is that he can create something unique,” says Shepherd.

In addition to cocktails, the wine and beer menu rotates with seasonally appropriate picks, like lighter-bodied reds and bright white wines as it gets warmer outside. There’s a curated charcuterie menu including homemade, seasonal dips with Boulted Bread and a s’mores kit to enjoy by the fire pits outside.

Catherine Nguyen (EXTERIOR)

Heightened Prosecco

The Parlor also offers a tea service most Thursdays, Fridays and weekend afternoons, a unique midday getaway with eight Rishi tea options, tea sandwiches and pastries incorporating goods from lucettegrace and Boulted Bread. “It’s calming, relaxing and intimate,” says Shepherd. The tea service can be enjoyed anywhere on the main floor of the hotel, and Shepherd encourages folks to come to tea with a friend or solo to read a book or catch up on work. “Take a breath of fresh air in the middle of the day,” — SARAH SHEPHERD she says. “It’s an opportunity to take time for yourself, which we don’t do very often.”

The hotel and bar host a slew of other events throughout the warmer months, including an intimate Italian Supper Club with Grandchamp Hospitality twice a month, picnic lunches and live music on the lawn. Even though Heights House is a hotel, Shepherd says, “you don’t have to stay here to do any of these things — we’re available and accessible. We want to be here for the community.”

“Take a breath of fresh air in the middle of the day.

It’s an opportunity to take time for yourself, which we don’t do very often.”

“The Heightened Prosecco is a crowdpleaser, and the best part is sharing it with friends.” says Shepherd. “Line up your glasses and pour the beautiful elixir together; it’s so unique and such a fun experience with a group!”

INGREDIENTS 4 ounces lemon juice 2 ounces Strawberry-Rose Petal Syrup One Bottle of Venturini Baldini Sparkling Brut Rose Optional: Add 8 ounces of gin or vodka DIRECTIONS Add all ingredients and stir gently.

Garnish with edible glitter, dried rose petals and dehydrated blood orange.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 31

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EXPLORE

5 NEW HIKES Explore these recently opened trails around the Triangle

Getty Images/Mark Howard

by JOE MILLER

O

ver the decades, the appearance of a new hiking trail has long been a rare event. Maybe a short connector here, a brief reroute there. But a truly substantial, destination-worthy trail? Not so much.

But when the pandemic hit, interest in hiking surged — as did the money to invest in new places to do it. Since then, North Carolina trail projects have popped up like mushrooms after a spring rain. The G5 Trail Collective, a nonprofit based in Old Fort, has opened the first 9 miles of a planned 42-mile network in the Pisgah National Forest; the Fonta Flora State Trail (which will one day link Morganton with Asheville) now has 30 of an estimated 100 miles complete; and Conserving Carolina continues to expand the Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail near Lake Lure, with 38 of 100 planned miles now open. In 2021, the North Carolina General Assembly proclaimed 2023 the Year of the Trail, legislation that included $29.25 million for the Complete the Trail Fund. This past fall, legislators followed that up with nearly $55 million in funding as part of the Great Trails State Program.

This wave of trail construction has benefited the Triangle substantially. Since the pandemic, we’ve seen everything from a long-awaited addition to the Raleigh Greenway system to the launch of a 16-mile trail network in a little-known mountain range in Alamance County.

Whether you’ve kept up the hiking habit since 2020 or you need a reason to start again, the cusp of spring is a great time to explore. Here are five trails to try.

PANTHER BRANCH NATURAL AREA 2+ MILES OF TRAIL Devoid of boot-grabbing roots, rocks and other obstacles, the Eno River Association’s Panther Branch Natural Area, which opened in April 2023, is the perfect Piedmont hike. A few minutes down the trail and your mind begins to wander, opening the way for thoughts suppressed by the day-to-day grind. As the preserve’s two well-marked trails make their way through this 56-acre tract of young hardwoods in Orange County, the subtle beauty calms rather than distracts.

Which isn’t to say there’s nothing to look at. A short way in the tract follows a ridge above the Eno River; at the turn-

around point the trail traces an oxbow on a particularly rocky stretch of the Eno. Here, a picnic table invites a rest to savor the setting. There are two intersecting trails: to see most of the preserve, take the Red Trail to the right; when it meets the Yellow Trail at Panther Branch, cross the creek and hike the trail counterclockwise. Possible weed-out: there’s a rock-hop crossing of Panther Branch, which could be tricky after (or during!) a good rain. When you return to Panther Branch, go right on the Red Trail to complete the double loop.

2437 Lebanon Road, Efland; visit enoriver. org for more info CRABTREE CREEK WEST 1 MILE One of the few bright spots to emerge from the 2008 financial collapse was the $800 billion federal stimulus package, which included construction funding for “shovel-ready” projects. That money made possible the near-completion of the bulk of the Raleigh Greenway system. “Near,” because the exact path of the Crabtree Creek Greenway linking the Neuse River Trail with William B. Umstead State Park THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 33

EXPLORE

34 | WALTER

Crabtree Creek West

Joe Miller

still hadn’t been determined. And while that entire remaining 2-mile stretch, from Lindsay Drive to Umstead State Park, won’t be finished until summer, the 1-mile trek from Umstead to Duraleigh Road opened this past October.

The wait was well worth it. Starting from the ample parking lot off Ebenezer Church Road at Crabtree Creek and hiking downstream, the trail begins in a flood plain along Crabtree. Shortly, it diverts along Richland Creek before ascending a steep hill via an impressive switchback that includes an elevated boardwalk. The woods here are surprisingly mature, and the terrain is similar to what you find in Umstead, only on a paved surface that’s more accommodating to mobility-challenged walkers. This mile-long stroll offers perhaps the most rewarding experience on the Raleigh Greenway system.

Ebenezer Church Road between Clyden Cove and Poyner Road; visit raleighnc.gov for more info

Joe Miller

CANE CREEK MOUNTAIN NATURAL AREA 10.4 MILES OF TRAIL For years, the Cane Creek Mountains of Alamance County were privately owned and shrouded in mystery. With peaks reaching nearly 1,000 feet, the relict chain promised a mountain-like experience tantalizingly close to the Triangle. Its shroud of mystery was lifted at the best possible time, at the start of the pandemic, when Alamance Parks opened the first 4.5 miles of trail, including a challenging climb up 987-foot Cane Creek Mountain (though hiking initially was by appointment only).

Last fall, another 5.9 miles of trail opened. This addition includes two trails — the Longleaf and Heartleaf Loops — that quickly take you into a hardwood forest with long climbs reminiscent of the Southern Appalachians. The trail here is both rustic and expertly engineered, with local materials used for rock steps and erosion control. And plans call for a remote observation tower, possibly by year’s end, and another 15 miles of trail, for an expected buildout of 25 miles on 1,000 acres.

5545 Bass Mountain Road, Snow Camp; visit alamance-nc.com for more info MOUNTAINS-TO-SEA TRAIL AT FALLS LAKE, DAY-HIKE SECTION P 4.9 MILES (2.1 MILES OF WHICH IS NEW) A new trail on the MST along Falls Lake may come as a head-scratcher to longtime followers of the statewide initiative, since this stretch includes some of the oldest trails in the system, dating back to the early 1990s. But several years ago, the stretch between Cheek Road and the Hickory Hill Boat Ramp in Durham County suffered a disruption when a bridge on a brief road section on Redwood Road washed out. The Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, which oversees the trail, saw the disruption as an opportunity to eliminate the road stretch with a 2.5-mile ramble down and back up Panther Creek, which opened in 2022.

The first mile along the creek follows an old railroad grade, crossing a low trestle or two; the return mile climbs a mel-

Panther Branch Natural Area

low hill and encounters signs of the preFalls Lake past. The new and improved Day-Hike Section P, from Hickory Hill to Cheek Road, now runs 5.9 miles.

Hickory Hill Boat Ramp off Redwood Road, Durham; visit mountainstoseatrail. org for a map and more info LILY LOOP, BAILEY AND SARAH WILLIAMSON NATURE PRESERVE 2.2 MILES OF NEW TRAIL Somehow, the Triangle Land Conservancy keeps squeaking out additional trails at its Williamson Nature Preserve in southeast Raleigh. The latest addition is the 2.2-mile Lily Loop, which brought to 16 the total miles of trail at the preserve in August 2022.

The Lily Loop, like most of the trail at Williamson, is open to mountain biking; thus, the trail tends to have lots of turns and doubles back on itself. Don’t be surprised to see other hikers (and cyclists) nearby. One advantage to this stretch is that it’s at the far end of the preserve, well away from the main trailhead. Thus, distance hikers will be rewarded with fewer trail companions when they reach the Lily Loop. The hiking is relatively flat, and includes access to the Neuse River Trail/Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the Neuse River.

4409 Mial Plantation Road, Raleigh; visit triangleland.org for more info THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 35

NATURE

PRETTY in PINK

Eastern Redbud trees provide a first blush of color to welcome the spring words and photography by MIKE DUNN

36 | WALTER

L

ate this month, the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis), will provide a pink blush to the end-of-winter browns and grays in our woods. Sprouting countless flowers in colors that would qualify it as the official tree of Barbie Land, our native redbud is a widespread deciduous understory tree.

Every March, I love to watch as the clusters of reddish-pink buds begin to swell and finally burst forth with flowers that can bloom for two to three weeks. Even though we may experience some cold weather (and maybe even snow) during their bloom, they are a sure sign that spring is not far behind.

Redbud flowers are rich in both nectar

and pollen. They provide an important food source for early pollinators when other foods are scarce. Insects that visit these food factories include honey bees and a host of native bees such as bumblebees, carpenter bees, mason bees and mining bees. If you stand under a tree in full bloom, it sounds like the tree is humming because of the abundance of bees. I often see the first Eastern Tiger Swallowtails of the season fluttering at the dense pink clusters as they gather nectar. Redbuds are also host plants for the caterpillars of several butterflies and moths.

Several of our redbud trees are close to the suet cage mounted on my deck

and serve as a staging ground for birds approaching the feeder. One day last March, I sat on the deck and watched the parade of species as they waited their turn. Most managed to land behind a tangle of branches without a clear chance for a photo, but a couple of notable species shared something I did not know about birds and this tree.

I watched as a few juncos and a pair of cardinals nibbled on several flowers.

A few times, it almost looked as if the birds were just squeezing the flower, but I also saw them pull one off and eat the whole thing. After watching the birds squeeze the flowers, I tried a couple to see if there was any easily accessible sweet nectar. I could not really tell anything definitive, other than the flower itself is tasty — it makes an excellent addition to a salad! Last year, I cut back a redbud limb that was rubbing the screen porch and we had a couple of delicious and colorful salads. The young green seed pods can also be eaten raw or stir-fried.

The distinctive heart-shaped leaves usually don’t appear until the flowers begin to fade. As they enlarge to their full size, I frequently notice two other signs of creatures utilizing this tree: folded leaves and leaves with holes along the edges. If you gently pull back a folded leaf you will see a small black-and-white ringed caterpillar, the aptly named Redbud Leaffolder. They are quite active when disturbed and usually drop to the ground. Redbud leaves are their only food and they fold them by using silk to stitch the leaves together. The larva then lives in this shelter and feeds on the leaf surfaces inside. The adults are a small black moth with white spots.

Small native bees, called leafcutter bees, use their mandibles to cut circular holes along the edges of redbud leaves (and sometimes leaves of other plant species). It looks like someone has taken a hole punch and punched out a series of holes on the edge of a leaf. But these native bees are not eating the leaves: They use the incised leaf dots as nesting material inside hollow sticks, natural

Clockwise from top left: Earrings made from redbud wood; a pine warbler on branch; redbuds can produce flowers on the trunk and limbs, called caulifory; redbud flowers in a salad.

Every March, I love to watch as the clusters of reddish-pink buds begin to swell and finally burst forth with flowers that can bloom for two to three weeks. cavities in wood or tubing that I have accidentally left outside In the 25 years I have lived in this home, several of the larger Eastern Redbud trees on our property have died, as they tend to live only 20 to 40 years.

But in our yard, which is protected by a deer fence, they sprout almost like weeds. It’s a different story outside the fence, where there are no redbud saplings anywhere due to heavy browsing pressure by deer. But I see these trees all along rural roadsides in the Triangle and in many suburban areas as they have become a valued landscape tree.

Their small size, beauty, tastiness in salads and hardiness make them an ideal native plant addition to any yard. The timing of their cheery blooms is another key to why this tree has gained such acceptance. As Michael Dirr, Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia Horticulture Department so eloquently puts it: “Redbuds are a breath of fresh air after a long winter.”

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 37

SPORTS

He Talks a Good Game

Catching up with Wake Forest basketball star — now sports commentator — Randolph Childress

by A.J. CARR photograph by BEN MCKEOWN

38 | WALTER

A

s an expert basketball analyst on the ACC Network, Randolph Childress talks a lot about a plethora of elite players.

Years ago basketball analysts were talking a lot, often raving, about Childress, especially when he produced perhaps the most scintillating show in Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament history.

A 6-foot 2-inch guard with nifty moves and sharpshooter accuracy, Childress scored a tourney record 107 points in three games while leading Wake Forest University to the 1995 championship.

If anybody exceeds his heroics at this month’s tournament in Washington,

D.C., it’ll take a gallant effort, lights-out shooting — and maybe more.

Rewind back to that 1995 classic in the Greensboro Coliseum.

In the opening-round game the top-seeded Deacons started slowly, shot poorly and fell behind No. 10 seed Duke University by 18 points.

During a time-out, Coach Dave Odom launched into his own March madness — some animated talk — when he was suddenly interrupted.

“Coach! Coach! That’s enough! Enough!

Give it to me. We’ll be OK,” were the words Odom remembers hearing from Childress, a senior leader.

courtesy The News & Observer

After that, as Odom aptly puts it, Childress took over the game and the tournament.

The dazzling Deacon scored 40 points, made 10 straight shots in one stretch and led Wake to an 87-70 comeback win over the Blue Devils.

“That was the best game I ever played,” says Childress, who seemed impervious to the pressure and teeming tournament atmosphere.

The Deacons went on to claim the championship by beating University of Virginia in the semifinals and highly ranked University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in a dramatic overtime title game.

Childress’ star never flickered. He tallied 30 points against UVA and 37 points versus UNC — including all nine Wake points and the game-winning shot with four seconds remaining in Duke and Wake Forest in the opening round of the 1995 ACC Tournament. overtime. His 107 total points broke the tournament record of 106 set by North the game was close. I circled that on my While remembered most for his Carolina legend Lennie Rosenbluth in calendar,” says Childress. spectacular tournament performance, the 1950s.

How did Childress respond? He drove, Childress wasn’t just a three-day wonder.

While getting some help from teamswished a floater and Wake had an 82-80 After missing one season with an injury, mates, notably All-American Tim Dunvictory and the championship trophy. “I he became the productive player Wake can, it was the undaunted, determined don’t think I choked then,” quips Chilwas expecting.

Childress who rose above the crowd in dress, a take-charge guard with gimmeHe recorded double-figure scoring the moments that mattered most, saved me-the-ball confidence. “I might miss a for four seasons, finishing with an Wake, and earned MVP honors. shot, but I never choked.”

18.4 career average and 2,208 points, He did all that after having struggled “He has never been afraid of anysecond most all-time at Wake behind with an injured left shoulder that kept thing,’’ Odom says. famous Deacon Dickie Hemric (2,587). popping in and out “He’s never faced He dished out assists. He played gritty of joint, preventing an obstacle too big. defense, often guarding the opponents’ him from practicHe was clearly the best players. ing the entire week leader from that Childress’ resume resonates loudleading into the standpoint. He was ly: two-time All-America, three-time tournament. Chilalways the one perAll-Conference, ACC Legend, jersey No. dress wrestled for son, the catalyst, to 22 retired, Deacons’ career three-point days with a “feeling put us in the right field goal leader, Wake Hall of Fame, of desperation.” But direction. It was like North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. once in Greensboro, ‘Lean On Me,’ the More than the individual accolades, he says: “My adrensong — we’ll find Childress treasures winning the ACC alin pumped up, I a way.” championship. It was Wake Forest’s first just played, and the — COACH DAVE ODOM “I’ve always been conference tournament crown since rest is history.” confident and not 1962 and first of two straight titles under Childress carried afraid to fail. I live by that,” says ChilOdom’s strong leadership. Winning was extra incentive into that game with rival dress, confessing that he has experienced what Childress had in mind when he UNC after reading a quote attributed failures including painful basketball committed to Wake after considering to one of the Tar Heels’ players. “I saw defeats.

Maryland, Georgetown, North Carolina a clipping that said we would choke if

“He’s never faced an obstacle too big. He was clearly the leader from that standpoint. He was always the one person, the catalyst, to put us in the right direction.”

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 39

SPORTS and Seton Hall.

To get there, he traveled a circuitous route from his home in the D.C. area, playing at three different high schools, the last at Flint Hill in Oakton, Virginia.

“I struggled academically in school for two years,” Childress says. “When I went to Flint Hill it was a big thing for me. I got individual attention.”

Why did he choose Wake?

“I had met [future NBA player] Rodney Rogers at a Nike Camp. He was a heck of a player and had committed to Wake,” says Childress, who wanted to join players who could not only win, but win championships.

When Childress signed, Odom, who coached Wake to some of its best basketball days, knew he had landed another prize recruit with a champion’s mentality and the talent to match. Childress says he chose the “right school” and played for the “right coach.”

“Coach Odom saw something in me,”

Childress says. “He saw how I was and never tried to change that. He didn’t put me in a box, gave me full autonomy. He encouraged me. I give credit to him. He was the right coach for me.”

As the old saying goes, “if you have a great player, let him play great.”

After graduating from Wake Forest with a degree in communication, Childress, a first-round draft choice, embarked on a 16-year pro career that included three seasons in the NBA and 13 overseas.

Later, he spent nine years as an assistant at Wake, where he coached his son Brandon, who scored 1,415 career points.

Like some other former coaches and players, Childress moved from the bench to the broadcast booth in 2021, working with the ACC Network. He was an admitted “trash talker” on the court during an era where chatter was permitted.

Now he talks a good game, a smart game, providing insightful commentary for the television audience.

...to Taste and Tranquility

EXPLOREELKIN.COM 40 | WALTER

The TV work is a seasonal job and Childress, a man of faith and love for family, likes his flexible schedule. For one big thing, it gives him more time to connect with his four children — Brandon, Deven, Temeka and Kayla — and wife Tabetha. They’re based in Kernersville.

“I’m fortunate to call ACC games…

I enjoy the high-level games,” he says, cognizant that the game has changed in some ways since he played. “Schematically teams are more three-point oriented, floor spacing is better, and it’s playing outside-in. But not everybody has changed so much. It’s still shooting, rebounding, who controls the paint, defending, not turning the ball over.”

Childress continued: “Basketball is so great. It has taken me around the world.

The aches and pains have been worth every bit of it. I’m indebted to what the game gave me and I gave it all I had. I’m forever grateful.”

Q&A

Frame by Frame

Kenny Batch uses his craft to help artists tell their stories

by LORI D. R. WIGGINS photography by ROB HAMMER

T

he stark white walls of one large studio at Anchorlight are only occasionally interrupted by spates of color, some of it art, some of it tools. And on any given day, the space is activated with the energy of some of the area’s most well-known creatives — visual artists who have made names for themselves — along with collectors of their art from, in some cases, the world over.

They’re all there for one reason: to see Kenny Batch, a custom framer who lives in Apex, and who’s our local equivalent of a framer to the stars.

Batch is the Carolina Hurricanes’ go-to framer for everything from hockey pucks and jerseys. His footprint paces The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, which has an art gallery that changes seasonally. “My team and I have hung and placed every piece of art you see in that hotel,” Batch says, proudly. And he’s a friend to the Wake County Public Schools, sharing his expertise with students and teachers.

Batch, a native of Chapel Hill, returned to the area after graduating from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia and earned an undergraduate degree in audio and video production from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001.

While he had his sights set on film school, he now tells stories through the art he frames. “I have a frame shop in the middle of a building with 28 art studios,” Batch says. “I get to see the behind the scenes of all these beautiful things as they get created. These are some seriously talented people and I get to be part of their world.”

Batch and his wife, Kaleah, met as students at Carolina. They have been married 13 years and have three children, Kenny Allen, 12, Kellen, 10, and Kai, 6. We sat down with him to learn about his career.

HOW DID YOU BECOME A FRAMER? After I finished Carolina, I got a job with a financial management company that had been recently acquired. I was waiting THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 41

Q&A I will prioritize their needs over someone needing a frame for a piece of art they bought for personal use, to hang on a wall.

for that transition to start, but my mom said, “You’ve got to get a job.” Someone told me SAS needed help in its art department, procuring artwork and getting it hung around the SAS campus. I went to work for the department led

by Ann Goodnight. The SAS framers taught me how to frame. I was 23. Now, I’ve been a framer and curator for SAS for 23 years. I research and find artwork, then I procure it, frame it and get it hung based on how I want to design the space. My ultimate goal is to maintain the culture of the institute through artwork, pottery and sculpture.

HOW DID YOU END UP AT ANCHORLIGHT? I was always going there to pick up or deliver artwork.

I would meet a lot of the artists there and I really liked the environment. I had been trying to get a spot there for a while when I found out one of the artists left a studio available. Now, I’m right down the hall from a couple of my top clients. It makes me accessible to the art community. The coolest thing about it is the community here is so welcoming; I’m glad to be a part of it. They push me to be the best and excel. There need to be more spaces like Anchorlight and Artspace. What is cultivated in these spaces goes a really long way and helps out a lot of people.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR MATERIALS? I order from all the molding companies and picture frame supply companies, the distributors. But, sometimes, I have to go outside the box and make it myself, or get it made, so I also source materials from local people, too, craftsmen who can create and supply certain things; say, floater frames. I have people I work with and can depend on all over North Carolina; high-end craftsmen like 42 | WALTER

WHAT ROLE DOES ART PLAY IN SOCIETY? It’s invaluable. It’s so necessary. It solves so many different problems. It starts conversations that are both comfortable and uncomfortable. It gives people an outlet to be expressive, to release their pain, to release their joy.

The emotions that people put into their work, I think, are very important to our world and the people in it. We have to have it.

Brandon Watkins, a master welder, and Mike Weiss, a master carpenter. They do excellent work. That allows me to be more custom.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A FRAME? A lot of it has to do with where it’s going and what the customer actually wants. They come and pick out whatever they want and I can source it and get it. Sometimes, they haven’t decided what they want and I will provide them options. There’s a smorgasbord of whatever you want. You can get any color you want, any texture, any luster. I work with 30 different vendors. If they make it, I can get it — I use my designer’s eye and make it all work.

HOW DO YOU PRIORITIZE PROJECTS? I start with art shows because that puts money back into an artist’s pockets, so

HOW DO YOU GIVE BACK? Once a year, I sponsor a show for up-and-coming artists who can’t yet afford to pay for their own framing. I also donate a lot of materials, supplies and expertise to art classes at Wake County schools. Once a year, I donate all the supplies for a school classroom project to increase the presentation value of students’ art as gifts to parents; something students can physically take home.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE ART FOR SAS? I look online a lot. I look at a lot of galleries. Instagram is good for finding art.

Social media in general has opened the doors for anybody to put their stuff out there and there’s some powerful artists out there sharing their talents.

WHAT HAS FRAMING TAUGHT YOU ABOUT ART? I’ve always loved visual art. One of the coolest things about art is you can see something and it will evoke some kind of emotion, or maybe it won’t. But once you hear the artist talk about it, it opens up a whole new world of amazing. You’ve got to hear the artist’s statement and the artist’s talk. It’s so much more fascinating than just looking at the art in its physical sense alone.

MAKERS

Pattern Play

Davis Choun challenges artistic conventions

by COLONY LITTLE photography by EAMON QUEENEY

44 | WALTER

A

ssemblage is a medium that is hard to define. Some describe it as recycled or junk art, while others refer to it as yard or folk art. As a medium that abandons rules and foregoes convention, assemblage art privileges found materials both symbolically and economically. The simple gesture of taking something that exists and transforming it into something new opens new worlds of accessibility in art, a profession that is often perceived as an ivory tower of exclusivity and inaccessibility.

As a child, Raleigh-based artist Davis

Choun discovered his love for assembling using a modest, non-conventional material in an unusual setting: blocks in math class. “We were given this plastic container of shapes, and there were yellow hexagons and green triangles,” he explains. “I was grabbing these pieces, and I put a little hexagon in the middle, then I'd get the triangles and put a triangle on every side. I slowly made this large mosaic.” Fortunately, his improvisational design drew the attention — not the ire — of his teacher, who praised him, saying he had the eye of an artist. “It was

this weirdly specific thing that I often think about, because I’m essentially still doing this,” Choun says.

Choun “paints” with objects, often creating colorful patterns from one particularly unconventional item: a clothespin. He composes them by the hundreds, sometimes thousands, using color, shadow, texture and depth to create patterns that shape-shift depending on your perspective. Some pieces evoke familiar motifs like herringbone or chevron; one piece composed of yellow and pink clothespins appears as a series of hearts or arrows, depending on your gaze.

For Choun, the clothespin was a rather spontaneous inspiration for his artistic journey. Growing up in Rutherford County in western North Carolina, he gravitated toward computer-aided design and drafting classes, but found himself drawing designs and patterns in his spare time, so he started taking art classes. During his senior year of high school, he came across a photograph of a dress made entirely from clothespins that sparked an interest in unconventional materials. “We had a ‘name your own project’ in my art class, and I got this idea; I peeled some clothespins apart,” Choun says. He then painted the flat surface of the pins in multiple colors and let them dry, then glued them in a random arrangement onto a wooden board. (To make it truly organic, he first mixed them together in a container, then covered it with a towel so he couldn’t see what he was pulling out.)

“I didn’t know what order to put them in, or what colors I wanted to use, and I didn’t want to be responsible for which ones came next,” says Choun. How he was creating was more important than what he was making, and in a sense, he was responding to the freedom of the assignment. “I think I was reacting to the idea of no judgment,” he says.

“There’s something about having the freedom to not care if you mess up.”

After enrolling at North Carolina State University in 2010 to study education, Choun transferred into the Design Studies program, ultimately focusing on

studio arts. In 2012 he made his first sale: the piece he made in his high school art class, the symbol of his creative freedom, was purchased by NC State as part of its student art sale program. The work was displayed in the student union the following year and again in 2018 after the completion of the new Talley Student Union.

Choun graduated in 2015 from the Art + Design school, and he’s been working with clothespins ever since, evolving his method of painting and manipulating material in a process that remains largely improvised. He originally started out using acrylic paints to create his pigmented pins, but has evolved his process. “I feel like I’ve always been reacting to what I want to achieve and what I can create more efficiently with better methods.

Now I use dye, or to get this sense of age or patina, I’ll burn them to make different little markings and grooves to add a bit of roughness,” Choun says. He actually uses a wok in his kitchen to burn the clothespins. “I have a butane torch and I flip the pieces in the wok. That’s kind of the fun part for me,” he says. “I’m a bit more obsessed with the process, rather than the actual thing.”

Over the years he’s dabbled in other art forms, from ceramics and textile printing

to 3D portraiture and photography, but he has always returned to assemblage.

While many assemblage artists make cultural, environmental or political statements with their work, Choun’s practice is more procedurally rooted. He harkens back to his NC State days, where he was looking for ways to differentiate himself. “We’re in studio classes with 20 other students and you’re bouncing ideas back and forth; they provide little pieces of information for you to explore that you might not know about because their expertise is in a different area with a different perspective about how to solve problems. That environment provided me freedom to do what I wanted with people that challenged me to differentiate myself. I was never concerned with trying to be the best at anything, I was more interested in doing something different.”

Last fall, Choun created nine pieces measuring 12 square inches each for a group show called Small Work, Big Impact at Momentum Gallery in downtown Asheville. The show was a success; all of his works sold. He’s currently working on another series of works for the gallery.

The demands of customers now create a new variable in his artistic approach, but it’s a challenge that he takes in stride. “The process is the real art to me,” he says.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 45

CREATORS

Chapel Hill Magic

Daniel Wallace and a community of writers

by WILEY CASH photography by MALLORY CASH

46 | WALTER

I

t’s January, and I’m at the bar inside The Crunkleton on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, where the winner of the 2023 Crook’s Corner Book Prize is about to be announced. I’m excited to be hanging out with my friend Daniel Wallace, who I met exactly 10 years before. How do I know it’s been 10 years? Because this is the 10th year of the Crook’s Corner prize, and I was the inaugural winner, and I met Wallace for the first time at the awards ceremony back in 2013. He’s been one of my favorite writers and people ever since.

In 2013 my wife and I had just moved back to North Carolina after my debut novel was published, and to win this Southern book prize meant the world to me, as did the kindness of the writers I met the night of the award ceremony, including Wallace, Lee Smith, Allan Gurganus, Elizabeth Spencer and Jill McCorkle. They made me feel like I belonged among them, and they set the tone for how I would treat and support the writers who came after me.

In the moments before this year’s prize winner is announced, Wallace and I stand around the bar and catch up. I ask him about the upcoming March release of the paperback of his latest book, This Isn’t Going to End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew, a nonfiction portrait of his brother-in-law William Nealy, who was well known as an impossibly cool outdoorsman who made a name as a cartoonist who drew paddling guides to countless white water rivers throughout the South. Wallace first met William when he was 12 and William was the cool, mysterious guy dating Wallace’s older sister Holly. To say that Wallace looked up to William is an understatement.

William died in 2001, and after Holly passed 10 years later Wallace discovered William’s journals while cleaning out their house. What he read inside changed his perception of William forever. Wal-

lace’s book is the result of his attempts to make sense of William’s life and the effect it had on so many people, including Wallace.

I ask him what it was like to write a book of nonfiction after forging a career as a novelist. The crowd is growing in the bar, and we are talking over the noise of other conversations.

“I never wanted to do nonfiction,” Wallace says. “The joy for me in writing fiction is putting the characters in motion and seeing what one of them does, and how it affects the rest of the characters in the story. There’s this joy that I get from making discoveries while following my characters.”

“In writing about William, were you also discovering something?” I ask.

Wallace sips his drink and thinks for a moment. “The process was similar to writing a novel, even though I had all this material. The character I was writing about — and I have to say that when I talk about William as a character I’m also talking about a person who was my brother-in-law and someone I grew up with — but when that person is part of your narrative, they do become a character. And even I became a character in this book.” He smiles. “Although I like to think of myself as being real. I don’t know what your impression of me is.”

My impression of Wallace has always been that he is not only real, but that he is also very kind and funny. Every time he sees my two daughters he has some type of trinket to give each of them, and he’s always gone out of his way to offer opportunities to other writers, including in 2015 when he invited me to serve as the Kenan Visiting Writer at UNC-Chapel Hill. As to his sense of humor, when I asked him for a sample syllabus, he sent me what he referred to as the “required syllabus for all creative writing students.”

His novels were the only books on it.

My niece Laela, who’s a junior at the nearby North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, is interested in publishing, so I’ve brought her along for the evening. When I introduce her to Wallace I tell her that I met him 10 years

“The joy for me in writing fiction is putting the characters in motion and seeing what one of them does, and how it affects the rest of the characters in the story.”

— DANIEL WALLACE ago at the first Crook’s prize party and how that evening felt like the beginning of my career.

“It was a special night,” Wallace says wistfully. “Of course Wiley’s novel was the only submission that year, but we were all still really happy for him.”

We all laugh, but the conversation takes a serious turn when we reflect on what seems like the constant changes in Chapel Hill’s cultural landscape. Crook’s Corner is a great example. The restaurant opened just down Franklin Street in

Carrboro in 1982 and quickly became a staple of the Southern food movement, garnering praise and culinary awards.

But, like many restaurants, Crook’s closed its doors during the pandemic, and for now they’re still closed, although there are rumors that it might reopen.

Wallace followed William and Holly to Chapel Hill and moved there permanently around the time Crook’s opened. He’s seen so many changes over the decades in a place that he chose because of its creative vibes and how welcoming it was to writers and artists.

“There was a simplicity to it then,” Wallace says. “Part of it I’m sure has to do with youth, but when you live in a place that doesn’t have a building over one-and-a-half stories tall, you feel bigger in that town, and you feel more real in a way that you might not feel now.”

Wallace had begun his undergraduate studies at Emory University, and when he transferred to Chapel Hill to be closer to William and Holly he found himself in a creative writing class led by Lee Smith.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 47

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“It was at 8 o’clock in the morning,” he says, “and of course Lee brought her trademark power, personality and joie de vivre to it, which made writing fun.

And she was fun. I loved how she taught.

It was an adventure with language and story and character.”

Wallace left UNC before receiving his degree and went to work for his father for two years in the import industry. But he couldn’t shake his desire to write —or his love for Chapel Hill.

“I moved back here because of the community,” Wallace says, “and because, of course, Holly and William were here.

But a major part of that decision was that it’s hard to exaggerate the importance of going to Harris Teeter and seeing Lee Smith shopping. The life of a young writer looking out from this hole that they’re in is made so much brighter when you can see that real people have this real job, just like you want to do. You’re not intimidated as much by the possibility of entering that world when you have these roving mentors, these mentors that you haven’t even necessarily met yet, but you see them walking around. You see Doris Betts on the street corner, waiting for the light to change. It’s human, it makes writing a human act.”

The evening is almost over. The announcement has been made, and winner Bobby Finger has said a few words to the audience. I speak about the power of recognizing debut writers and how important it is to be a member of a community like the one Crook’s Corner and Chapel Hill’s writers have built over the years.

Wallace is gone by the time I step back into the audience. My niece and I find our coats and walk out onto Franklin Street, the cold winter air hitting our cheeks. I can see wonder in her face as we walk back to the car, something I’ve heard people refer to as the “Chapel Hill Magic,” the same thing Wallace felt in the early ’80s after riding his bike to The Cave to play pool with William.

The buildings are taller now, some of the old places have closed, and some of those old people are gone. But this little town, and people like Wallace, can still make you feel big.

ALBUM

Jillian Clark

REVELATIONS Sarah Shook and the Disarmers have a new album. And, in the nicest way possible, they couldn’t give a damn what you think of it.

Revelations, out March 29, is the fourth release from the band, and offers the authentically raw and rollicking sound that has delighted fans of their live performances. Most of the songs were written on the road, says River Shook, the band’s leader, “in the van and in hotel rooms and on curbs and parking lots late at night.” It’s an intimate album, an about-face from the more polished sound on the band’s last album, Nightroamer, and there’s a more self-assured and uninhibited voice from Shook. As chief songwriter, Shook packs the album with lyrics that chart their journey through self-discovery, finding sobriety, battles with depression and the complexities of being an “extreme introvert.”

“I am a writer who goes through life collecting experiences and then at some point my subconscious lines everything up and it’s all there,” they say. “Despite my best efforts, I’m very much an I must be moved to write a song kind of songwriter.”

The lyrics are packaged in Shook’s irreverent snarl, over a chugging rockabilly beat and a glorious melodic tangle of pedal steel and six-string guitars. “You can hear the confidence,” says Shook. “The message is twofold: be yourself, but also work to — Josh Klahre be better.”

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SIMPLE LIFE

Coffee with God Faith beneath the stars

by JIM DODSON illustration by GERRY O’NEILL

E

very day between 3:30 and 4 a.m., I take a cup of coffee outside to an old wooden chair beneath the sky where I sit, look, listen, think and pray.

If you’ll pardon the expression, it’s something I’ve done religiously for at least two decades, regardless of season and weather, bitter cold or bright summer night. Fog, rain, snow or sleet — almost nothing keeps me from my early morning rendezvous with the universe.

I call it coffee with God. Between you and me, it’s probably

50 | WALTER

the only time in my day when I can be assured, with the faith of a mustard seed, that I and the world around me are reasonably OK. Between God and me, you see, it’s something very personal.

After sipping coffee and eyeballing the night sky for a bit (I’ve seen several shooting stars over the years, probably a few UFOs, too), I listen to an app on my smartphone called “Pray As You Go,” a daily scriptural meditation produced by the Jesuits In Britain.

That puts me in the mood to chat with God about whatever is on my heart or mind.

Sometimes it’s worries about the state of the world, which always seems to be coming apart at the seams and can clearly use as many healing prayers as it can get. Sometimes it’s thoughts and worries about our far-flung children that occupy my coffee time with God. One of them is always up to something that tends to keep the old man up at night. The good news is, they’re all smart kids with very

good hearts. I have faith they’ll figure it out in time. They may even learn that praying is good for the soul and usually works wonders. Some atheists even pray — just in case.

Most of my morning prayers, however, are focused on simple gratitude.

I give thanks for my amazing wife, our good-hearted kids and the possibly undeserved good fortune I’ve enjoyed in this life. I often give thanks for other things great and small, including, but not limited to, unexpected blessings, birds at the feeder, good Samaritans, golf buddies, wise book editors, phone calls from old friends, rain for my garden, our crazy young dogs, our cranky old cat, afternoon naps and people who say thank you.

Meister Eckhart, the 13th-century German mystic and priest, said that if your only prayer is “thank you,” that will be enough.

I rarely ask God for stuff, except maybe a little help finishing a book or finding patience with idiots who run red lights or drive too fast through the neighborhood. The world is moving much too fast. The truth is, I probably need to slow down, too.

Critics of faith like to say there’s no such thing as a personal relationship with God. They argue that we human beings are simply a collection of random molecules floating aimlessly through a cold and empty universe. I’ve lived long enough to know that’s simply not the case. I can’t, frankly, think of anything more personal than a relationship with a divine source whose name is different in every language but the same in loving spirit.

This probably explains why I’ve naturally felt God’s presence since I was a little kid growing up across the rural South.

In the absence of playmates, I spent most of my time alone outside immersed in nature, looking at birds and bugs, taking hikes through the woods, building forts, watching clouds pass overhead, listening to the love songs of the bullfrogs and the crickets, reading adventure stories on hot summer days beneath shady trees.

I never felt alone for an instant. In fact,

I can’t, frankly, think of anything more personal than a relationship with a divine source whose name is different in every language but the same in loving spirit.

I felt accompanied by a large and loving presence that clearly cared for me and probably kept a sharp eye on whatever funny business I was up to.

Maybe this is why Jesus was so keen to have little children come near him. As we age, we lose that sense of natural wonder.

It also may explain why, as an adult, I’ve never been terribly keen on public praying, even the lovely prayers and familiar creeds we recite at church every week. They’re written by other well-meaning people and meant, I suppose, to help us catch God’s ear.

Between us, I don’t think God has a hearing problem.

Besides, as Jesus advises in Matthew 6, when you pray, go into a dark closet, shut the door and pray in secret, for God sees you and knows your heart and will openly reward you.

With coffee in hand, I like to think of my early mornings outside beneath the

stars — which are always there, even if you can’t see them (kind of like God) — as my own great, big private prayer closet.

No need to even shut the door. The world at that hour is normally so dark and quiet that I can whisper to God about anything on my mind. And the strangely wonderful thing is, God whispers back.

One of the worst things that’s happened to faith and prayer across the ages is the unholy marriage of religion and politics. Both are man-made institutions that thrive on telling people what is the correct thing to believe, and what isn’t.

Often, when the two get together, all hell can break loose for anyone who dares to believe differently. Near as I can tell from many years of whispering to and being whispered to by some large and loving divine source, God is probably not a member of any particular denomination, sect, tribe, religion, political party or NFL booster club.

I happen to be a follower of Jesus, but find deep inspiration and comfort from the prayers of every faith tradition, a reminder that we’re all just ordinary folks down here on an ailing planet trying to help each other find the way home.

One of my favorite books is called Heaven on Earth: Timeless Prayers of Wisdom and Love by Stephanie Dowrick. I found it a decade ago in a London bookshop and have probably purchased half a dozen copies since to give to friends who regularly pray — or ought to.

It’s a marvelous collection of prayers from every spiritual tradition.

One of my favorite prayers comes from the ancient Bhagavad Gita: “Whichever God you worship, I will answer your prayer. Whatever path you take, I will welcome you.”

Funny how similar that sounds to Isaiah 41: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. From wherever you come, I will lead you home.”

Easter arrives on the last day of March this year, a month named by the Romans for the God of War. Easter’s message is one of rebirth and forgiveness.

I pray it’s time we forget war and find peace at last.

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 51

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The last time my mother

by DEBRA KAUFMAN illustration by CHELSEA RAGAN The last time my mother spoke words I heard, I saw her see me in a flash: You’re my daughter!

We walked the hall, a circumference around the single rooms. Round and round.

Each time we passed the common room she’d point to the Christmas lights.

On her bed lay a book of her wedding photos.

I named the names, some small comfort.

When I sang “Jacob’s Ladder” she smiled in that puzzled way.

I meant to rub lotion on her legs — her skin dry, tissue-paper thin — but they were calling her for supper.

Time to leave. I kissed her cheek.

She kissed my hand, did not want to let it go.

I hoped we’d see a few sparrows out her window, but dark coming early, I saw only our ghostly selves reflected there.

Debra Kaufman is the author of the poetry collections Outwalking the Shadow, God Shattered, Delicate Thefts, The Next Moment and A Certain Light, as well as three chapbooks, many monologues and short plays and five full-length plays.

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A tale of two conservationists and the legacy they left for Raleigh to enjoy

Stewards of the LAND

by HELEN YOEST

photography by LIZ CONDO

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Left to right: Mary Joslin with two of her children on driveway area, with what is now the wildflower circle in the background (1953); William Joslin in his vegetable garden (1980s); Mary on the path leading up to Jeu de Paume (2005); the Joslins in the entryway area with Charlotte Hilton Green, middle, for whom a nearby park is named (1987).

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he freshness of spring brings awareness of new life; sleeping flora and fauna awaken our senses. Indeed, in the Joslin Garden, newness abounds. Visitors first notice the colorful camellias in bloom, then the garden’s quietness — you can hear the birds chirping, singing and preening as mating season begins again. The ferns emerge, forming fiddleheads that will soon unroll into leafy blades, and the moss is forever a verdant green. If you look closely, spring ephemerals abound: blooming trillium, galanthus and cyclamen.

Between Anderson Drive and St. Marys Street, this city park offers more than 4 acres to explore, a refuge for personal renewal. As a young couple in the 1950s, William and Mary Joslin wanted to do their part to steward the land. Together, they built this garden to conserve its beauty for the future.

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WILLIAM JOSLIN Born in 1920 in the neighborhood formerly known as Cameron Park, William Joslin played in the surrounding creeks and woods.

The impact was deep and lasting.

William became a birder and hiker and loved everything about nature.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, William had just turned 21 and was finishing his first semester at Columbia University Law School in New York when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. He enlisted in the Navy, where he served as a lieutenant on the U.S.S. Massey, a destroyer in the Pacific.

By the time the war was over and William finished law school, the 158-acre forest in the Raleigh of his youth was being developed as the Southeast’s first shopping center.

Cameron Village, now known as The Village District, opened in 1949. These were new times. Along

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with single-family residential areas and apartments, the shopping center reflected postwar economic and demographic changes, serving car-oriented residents building their postwar lives. At the time, land conservation was not widely practiced in Raleigh and Wake County.

As a young man, William saw the many advantages of growth, but also saw that it would be necessary to plan in order to save special places.

MARY COKER JOSLIN Mary Coker was born in Hartsville, South Carolina, in 1922, and came from a scientific, agricultural family that valued education. Mary’s grandfather, James Lide Coker, founded Sonoco Products Company, now an international corporation, as well as Coker College in Hartsville. Mary’s father, David R. Coker, was a plant breeder who founded Coker’s Pedigreed Seed Company. In the early 20th century, the company developed and marketed varieties of cotton with fiber of exceptional quality, later expanding to include corn, oats and sorghum.

Mary’s mother, May Roper Coker, was an avid gardener. In the early 1930s, her brother-in-law, William C. Coker, a professor of botany at UNC, gave her 35 acres of land just outside of Hartsville.

There, along the bluffs of Black Creek, there were large stands of Kalmia Latifolia, the native mountain laurel. Over the next four decades, she developed the garden now known as Kalmia Gardens.

At her death, this garden became part of Coker College (now Coker University).

Mary attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where she studied botany. During her summers she returned to Hartsville to work at the Coker’s Pedigreed Seed Company, and her work eventually led to the development of a soybean variety named for her (the Majos), which is the ancestor of a bean that is widely planted and marketed today.

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during their undergraduate years at Chapel Hill. On a visit to New York, Tom introduced William, then a naval officer, to Mary, who had come down from Vassar into the city. During the war they corresponded, and in 1946, they married in Hartsville. Their wedding reception was held at Kalmia Gardens.

After William finished law school, he clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black in the 1947-1948 term.

Then the couple moved to Raleigh, where William opened his law practice.

In 1950, when Mary was 27 and William 29, they set about finding some land where they could put their heart and soul into developing a garden, and where they could raise their family.

The Joslins found a little over 4 acres for sale off of White Oak Road — then on the northern outskirts of Raleigh — along a tributary of Crabtree Creek. The land had once been part of Arrowhead Farm, owned in a previous generation by J. Bryan Grimes, who had been the N.C. Secretary of State during the first two decades of the 20th Century. (The farm’s name came from the many Native American arrowheads that have been found on the property over the years.)

They both loved the rolling terrain of the land and the little stream that ran through it; they loved large hardwood trees and the pine forest that had grown during the years after farming operations ceased. The soil was the good old red clay of the North Carolina Piedmont region.

WORKING THE LAND Over their 60 years as stewards of their land, Mary and William built bridges over the stream, planted many rare and native plants, grew all types of vegetables and fruits, and created perennial beds, a formal garden, a scuppernong arbor and several areas devoted to North Carolina native wildflowers. In the 1960s, they maintained a clay tennis court. And for about 10 years William kept bees and harvested the honey. From his scuppernongs he made wine.

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vancy with its inception in 1977, and in the 1980s he also became involved with the Triangle Land Conservancy. As they grew older, William and Mary began thinking about the best way to preserve their land for the enjoyment of future generations, and in 1997 they granted a conservation easement on the property to the Triangle Land Conservancy.

In 2010, the Joslins approached the City of Raleigh about a donation of their home and garden for a park. They worked with then-mayor Charles Meeker to create the

The Joslins hoped to make the garden accessible to all, and now it is — open from sunrise to sunset.

City of Oaks Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to support the Raleigh parks system. After William’s death in 2011, Mary continued to live in the home and maintain the garden. At her death in 2016, the foundation maintained the property until the infrastructure was in place for the city to accept it. On Earth Day, April 22, 2021, the Joslin Garden became a City of Raleigh Park.

The Joslins hoped to make the garden accessible to all, and now it is — open from sunrise to sunset. Today, visitors are charmed by the escape from the hustle of city life, walking their dogs, sitting to reflect, or walking the trails. The hilly terrain holds echoes of its previous lives, like gentle terracing from its highest points down to the creek from its days as farmland and a garden area called the Jeu de Paume, which used to be the old clay tennis court.

Wildflowers, pollinator plants and nectar- and pollen-rich plants — many descendents of the diverse plantings of the Joslins — provide food for bees, birds and butterflies. “The Joslin Garden brings nature and peace closer to us all in our busy city,” says Meeker. “It’s always a great joy to visit.”

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memory KEEPER Artist Oami Powers discusses the experiences that shaped her career

by COLONY LITTLE photography by JOSHUA STEADMAN

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left page: Sally Van Gorder (ADRIFT EXHIBITION)

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or as long as she can remember, the mixed-media artist and sculptor Oami Powers dreamed of a life in the arts — but it proved an elusive pursuit. “I struggled with what a lot of working-class kids struggle with, in thinking that being an artist is not a real job,” she says. After an early interest in art, she was forced to fall back on practicality, building a successful career in fashion and textile design over 20 years in the Bay Area, even creating a clothing label with a friend in the early 2000s.

But after relocating to Raleigh a decade ago, she reacquainted herself with the practice. And her work in a January solo show at Artspace, Adrift, signaled a movement toward more abstract works that can be manipulated within different environments.

Growing up, Powers was inspired by the creative energy of her native North Berkeley. She learned to sew and made porcelain dolls with her mother, who was a hospice nurse with a creative bent. “She was always making things, and was one of those people that was always moving, always busy,” says Powers. “She taught me to sew when I was 6 or 7 years old.”

Her parents separated when she was 13, and Powers, along with her twin sister, moved to New Zealand with her mother.

There, she honed her painting and sculpture skills, and after high school she applied to art school — a rigorous process that includes exams, building a portfolio and being ranked against other hopefuls. She didn’t make the cut the first time, so she enrolled in the University of Canterbury. “I got my art history degree, went back to community college and resat the art exam,” she says. Her second attempt was much more successful: “I got third in the country for painting, and top 10 for sculpture.”

While this validated Powers, she ended up moving back to the United States, living with her father in the Bay Area instead of going to art school in New Zealand. There, she enrolled in the California College of the Arts. Expenses ultimately forced Powers to leave school behind and with it, she thought, her

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This and opposite page: Oami Powers in her Artspace studio.

career as a full-time artist. She started working in the fashion industry, working for a boutique dying and printing fabric.

“Clothing design was a way of having a creative career that was practical,” she says. In 2010, Powers and her husband relocated to Raleigh, where she continued in clothing design, then shifted to product development and project management for the product marketing firm Designbox.

But still, the artist’s life called her.

In 2015, she took a class led by Brandon Cordrey at the Pullen Arts Center called Anatomy for the Artist. “It felt like I was starting over again, but Brandon simply encouraged me to do more,” she says. Powers started drawing regularly and soon realized she needed a goal to work toward, so she applied to the NC Emerging Artist in Residence at Artspace. “I didn’t get it, but Annah Lee saw something in my work,” says Powers. The downtown arts center occasionally partners with local businesses to showcase local artists, so Lee, the creative director at Artspace, looked for a fit for Powers. Lee connected her with coworking provider HQ (now Raleigh Founded) to create an exhibit for their space. “It’s an opportunity for

emerging artists to build up a body of work to show in a more relaxed space than a formal gallery,” says Lee. Powers created 11 works for HQ in 2017. Called A Distant Heart, the mixed-media series included portraits, heart-shaped sculptures made from woven strips of paper and mask-like portraits of women in turbans, each featuring colorful prints. They were an homage to her mother, who passed away in 2007. One piece is titled Pīwakawaka, the Māori name for a New Zealand fantail, a bird that is considered a messenger of death in Māori culture. In it, the bird is perched on the shoulder of a woman wearing a printed dress in shades of azure and coral. The pīwakawaka is a powerful symbol for Powers; shortly before her mother passed away, her sister found her mother sitting with one of the birds. In the portrait, Powers transmutes the symbolism of the bird into an emblem of healing. She describes this series as a “posthumous collaboration” between herself and her mother.

This process of delving into memory catalyzed Powers’ artistic career.

“For someone like Oami, who at the

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“I love that it’s just dirt and water and fire. It’s both complex and humble.”

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left page and this page top left: Sally Van Gorder (ADRIFT EXHIBITION)

This page: Oami Powers.

Opposite: Images from Adrift, her exhibition at Artspace.

time was just starting to come into her identity as an artist, creating and showing a concise body of work like A Distant Heart felt like an important step in her professional growth,” says Lee. “It allowed her the freedom to experiment, explore and to push her ideas without the pressures of a formal exhibition.”

In 2018, Powers was chosen as one of two Emerging Artists in Residence at Artspace. “This made an incredible impact on my practice,” she says. “I became part of the community of artists at Artspace and developed the discipline of being in the studio 20-plus hours a week, the residency requirement. Plus, I got feedback and learned how to talk about my work with anyone, from a tour group of grade schoolers to a visiting artist or curator.”

After her residency, she pursued a new medium. “I really wanted to experiment with sculpting in clay. I had this intuitive desire to do it, but I was intimidated and had so many questions,” she says. In 2020, she signed up for classes at Penland School for Craft, but the pandemic shut everything down. Classes were canceled, leaving her artistically stranded.

Then, a few months into the pandemic, she went into her studio at Artspace and found a block of clay. “My studio

mate [jewelry designer Liz Esser] left it for me, along with her ceramics tools — it was this gentle hint to just get started,” she says. She took classes that Penland sculptor Cristina Córdova offered to the public via Zoom. “I never looked back, I was obsessed. It just felt like it opened a door in my brain, and it shifted everything for me,” she says. For Powers, clay is a medium of memory: “I love that it’s just dirt and water and fire. It’s both complex and humble. There’s this transformation from movement to stasis that happens in the kiln, turning this malleable, wonderful substance into an object. I think for me it’s become a way of drawing in three dimensions.”

While her sculptures have been largely figurative, focusing on emotive clay portraits of women, for Adrift, Powers hand-sculpted over 350 individual pieces from red and black clay, paper clay, and porcelain, and arranged them on a bed of sand. “I’d been making these sculptures that were either designed to hang on the wall or sit in space on the table, and I started to feel this need to engage with space in a bigger, deeper way,” she says.

Clay deer antlers mingled with replicas of raven feathers, abstracted coral and unicorn horns. Profiles from broken

porcelain busts were partially submerged in the sand, alongside long serpents placed throughout the work. “By focusing on creating objects whose form, scale and surface coalesce in a jumbled wave, she revealed the strength and fragility of her own experience in a language that we can all connect to, and presents the human figure in a powerful new way,” says Lee. The sandbar motif represents the detritus that washes ashore from the ebb and flow of memory, says Powers: “I was already thinking about memory as a residue of our lives, as something that’s left over, and I got really entranced with the idea that we tend to think of memories as being absolute, but it turns they’re very malleable and unreliable.”

For Powers, these fragments are the remains of an artistic journey whose path meandered, allowing her to pick up experiences and memories that inform her work.

While Adrift closed in January, Powers is looking to show the work again in a new space that will conjure new associations and meaning. Until then, the objects she created are now neatly organized in her brightly lit studio, where the portrait of her mother watches over the space, awaiting the next wave of creative inspiration that will come to the surface.

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The living room of this Budleigh home reflects its owners’ tastes. Here, reupholstered antiques, like a sofa, side chair and ottomans, are paired with more modern furnishings, like a linen-and-marble coffee table. An original fireplace, which they painted black, is flanked by antique-reproduction chests.

“It’s a very traditional living area,” says interior designer Antoine Pontón.

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A renovated Budleigh home incorporates antique finds with a modern twist

TREASURED

STYLE

I

by AYN-MONIQUE KLAHRE photography by CATHERINE NGUYEN

If the essence of this couple’s home could be distilled into just one piece, it might be a Victorian chair in the living room.

A hand-me-down from the husband’s grandmother, its gently rolled arms still show the wear from her palms, the color changed after decades of use. But it’s been fully reupholstered in a peppy, huntinginspired print — on a robin’s-egg blue background, pointers search for ducks — with velvet detailing and brass nails for added pop. “We had lots of beautiful antique furniture, but we wanted to modernize it to make it our own,” says the wife, who describes their style as “classic but with a twist.”

The couple, who are in their 40s and both originally from North Carolina, recently moved to this 1919 home in the Budleigh area, excited by the idea of being able to walk to nearby Five Points and easily socialize with friends. They went under contract in February of 2020 and closed in April, launching them into pandemic construction delays. “That was a really unsure time; we were kind of like, oh no, what are we doing?!” laughs the wife. They enlisted architect Meg McLaurin and builder Rob Worthington to help them increase the function of the space while keeping the character of the nearly 100-year-old home. “It’s really important for us to be good stewards of the home. We wanted to renovate it in a

way that was classic and representative of that time,” says the wife.

To do so, they gutted the house, updated the kitchen and bathrooms, and added a primary suite with a walk-in closet, a new bathroom and outdoor spaces, as well as a detached garage with an apartment. They combined what was previously the formal dining room and a galley kitchen into one large open space with a giant island, reflecting their love of casual entertaining. (The island is so large that they couldn’t find a single piece of marble to cover the whole thing, so they added a piece of black walnut butcher block from Raleigh Reclaimed to one end.) But they were able to restore the original newel post on the banister and kept as much of the original flooring, doors and hardware as they could. With all of the supply-chain delays, it turned into a long renovation; they finally moved in January 2022.

As construction neared completion, they enlisted interior designer Antoine Pontón to help make lighting, hardware and paint selections, and to work with their existing furniture and acquire new pieces to give the house its personality and functionality. They’d known him for ages (since Pontón and the husband’s Camp Sea Gull days), and he had a good sense of their style. “They’re old souls — they like to collect antique furniture, THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 71

This page: The front door of the home is painted black, as are many interior doors, to contrast with the white walls throughout. Opposite page: The front room is formal, but not unapproachable, says Pontón: “They didn’t want it to feel like visiting grandma’s house, where there’s a room where you shouldn’t touch anything.” An antique secretary displays the wife’s collection of Imari and Canton porcelain, and the fabric nods to the husband’s love of hunting.

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Opposite page: The couple combined a dining room and kitchen to create one larger space for entertaining, working with Kitchen & Bath Galleries on the cabinetry. The bottom cabinets are painted black, the upper cabinets are white. “It’s dramatic and anchors the space,” says Pontón. The island comfortably seats six people, and a seating area on the other end of the kitchen is a place for a coffee in the morning or a glass of wine in the evening. For this space, Pontón reupholstered chairs they already had and found a new shade for the lamp. This page: Pontón found this antique map at an estate sale.

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china and crystal,” he says. “My job was to make sure it didn’t look too old-fashioned, but to lighten it up through fun colors, fabrics, wallpaper and art.”

The foundational color scheme for the home is blue and white. The walls are almost all white, save for the ceiling in the living room (a dreamy sky-blue) and in the den, where Pontón steered them towards a deep green. “The rest of the house was so white and bright that they wanted this room to envelop and enclose them,” says Pontón. “We wanted it to feel intimate and dark.” All of the doors in the home were painted black for contrast. “The black-and-white felt very appropriate for the 1920s,” says the wife.

The husband’s grandmother was an antiques dealer, so they had many vintage pieces to work with. “We wanted to be able to incorporate a lot of family heirlooms,” says the wife. Pontón filled in with textiles, art and accent pieces that would complement the traditional shapes and silhouettes they already had.

A favorite piece is an old map of the United States in the kitchen that Pontón found at an estate sale. “We love art that’s interesting, or starts a conversation, or that we’ve pick up on our travels,” says the wife. “We love pieces that reflect us and our story.”

As for furniture, Pontón reupholstered existing antiques in performance fabrics (to safeguard against their dogs — and frequent dinner guests). He found vintage pieces at places like Pigfish Lane and Union Camp Collective to fill out the spaces. Some of the new pieces are made to look like antiques, like a pair of chests flanking the fireplace in the living room, which came from High Point retailer Modern History. “I knew they would complement and blend with what they already have,” says Pontón.

“We use every inch of our space, and it really does suit our lifestyle,” the wife says. “It’s very reflective of our likes and our personality.” And while the home is “done” for now, they’re not finished decorating. “We left some empty walls and empty spaces — we’re not afraid of white space! They’re not done traveling and acquiring,” says Pontón.

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Opposite page: Upstairs on the landing, a framed scarf brings in natural motifs.

This page: Pontón added the paneling to the walls and ceiling of the den and painted it a deep green. Now, says the wife, “it’s a cozy spot that we all enjoy.”

Most of the furnishings in here are new to the couple, including a vintage Ralph Lauren writer’s chair. The Scot Meacham Wood wallpaper inside the built-ins matches back to the pillows on the sofa. (“He got his start at Ralph Lauren and you can tell,” says Pontón.) The shelves display treasures like figurines, vases and books collected over the years.

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Opposite page: The primary bath is “simple but classy,” says Pontón. The new primary closet has space for all of their clothes, plus a washer/dryer and folding area. Pontón added the mirrored panels to existing French doors. The wallpaper on the ceiling “totally refreshed the space and made it fun,” says the wife.

(It’s actually the same pattern as the downstairs powder room.) As for the mirror in the powder room, Pontón happened to have it in storage — “I realized it had white hydrangeas, it was perfect!”

This page: The bedroom is still in progress. “Over time we might add wallpaper or swap in a different rug or bedside tables,” says the wife. The framed flowers on the wall are by North Carolina artist Tommy Mitchell. The mantel for the outdoor space was salvaged from a ship that sank off the North Carolina coast.

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Behind the scenes of the Antiques Roadshow visit to Raleigh

& APPRAISALS

ANTIQUES

by COLONY LITTLE photography by BRYAN REGAN

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Clockwise from top left: A trunk sits by the entrance of the NCMA; a couple with a portrait of a Spanish woman; a vintage King Kong poster.

T

he items we own and surround ourselves with tell a story about who we are and what’s important to us — and sometimes they’re worth some money, too.

The longtime PBS television series Antiques Roadshow offers viewers a little bit of both, appraising cherished possessions while uncovering the compelling, heartfelt stories behind them. “People from all walks of life come to the show, and every person owns something really interesting, maybe valuable too,” says executive producer Marsha Bemko. “That is a Roadshow fantasy for all of us.”

Last May, the Antiques Roadshow crew came to the North Carolina Museum of Art to film for its 28th season. In the

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wee hours of the morning, the crowd gathered, proudly carting framed artworks, antique furniture, vintage maps, jewelry, sculptures, vases and way more, all holding onto a glimmer of hope that one of their cherished items could fund an early retirement, a college education or a nice vacation. (Instead, quite a few had to settle for a free cup of coffee.)

Along with WALTER magazine creative director Laura Wall and photographer Bryan Regan, I got to attend filming to get a behind-the scenes look at the show. This was a full circle moment for me: When Antiques Roadshow originally debuted in the United States, I worked for the lead corporate sponsor, and from the moment the first episode aired, I was absolutely hooked by the stories, energy and excitement of the

guests. I always wanted to be a volunteer for filming, a coveted spot among my work colleagues at the time, but never had the chance. So needless to say, I was thrilled to walk the grounds with Laura and Bryan to watch the day unfold in Raleigh.

The Roadshow production team runs a tight ship, with a process that begins well before filming begins. A few months beforehand, PBS holds a lottery to distribute up to 2,000 free tickets to the event. Each ticket accommodates up to two guests and two items to review. If wannabe guests don’t get a ticket through the lottery, they are given an opportunity to volunteer — though when we showed up to the filming, there were even 400 people on the volunteer waitlist.

The day of, preparations began bright

After going through “triage,” guests are directed to specialist appraisers.

and early at 6:00 a.m., and the first appraisals started at 7:30. When guests arrived at the NCMA, they were escorted through a “triage” process in a large tented area near the museum entrance, where a general appraiser made a preliminary survey of their item and directed them to one of the 65 specialist appraisers on site representing 23 subject areas. Some items were appraised inside the West Galleries, while most of the appraisals took place in tented areas around the museum.

Laura had brought a large wooden seat believed to be a Jacobean throne chair from the 1700s. It was too large to carry around, so Laura was instructed by volunteers to drive the chair to an area to stage the item.

While Bryan and I waited, a woman standing next to a large portrait of a

Spanish woman caught our eye. She explained that her husband had gotten it as a gift from his godfather a few years ago, but “it has always been a bit of a mystery.” According to her husband, his godfather had bought it at an estate sale in the 1970s for $85, then hired a conservator to refurbish it. The conservator had estimated that the painting dated to the 1700s. They never had the piece officially appraised, and he had been trying to secure tickets to previous Roadshow tours in Richmond, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina, so this was his lucky shot. We wished them well as we parted ways to walk the grounds, stopping into various tents to observe appraisals.

To our excitement, we ran into the couple again as they were escorted from triage to the next step: a booth manned

by appraisers Aaron Bastian from Bonhams in San Francisco and Eric Hanks from the M. Hanks Gallery in Fullerton, California. Hanks asked the couple questions about the portrait, teasing out its provenance, then conferred with his partner. Bastian believed the piece was actually from the 19th century; he couldn’t detect any signs that would indicate that it was older. The appraisers weighed the pros and cons of pursuing additional conservation efforts, but suggested it could be cost prohibitive. It wasn’t news the couple hoped for, but that was OK with them.

“I’ll still love the piece forever,” said the husband.

If an item has a unique story or is deemed of value, an appraiser will flag one of four producers to pitch a prospect for filming, though the items’ THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 83

Items with interesting stories or of particular value are selected for a filmed appraisal.

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Clockwise from top left: Appraiser Billye Harris looks at an antique doll; a collection of miniature paintings; an antique pie safe is selected for filming.

owners don’t get much more information — they want to keep the air of mystery in place for filming. Producers then further narrow down the objects that will be filmed, and if selected, the guests bring their item to one of two multicamera filming tents. One was set up near the Roxy Paine stainless steel tree sculpture, and while we were allowed to observe, we had to be super quiet. The crew films up to 150 appraisals throughout the day, and this episode will air on April 1.

While the filming is fascinating, the magic of the day comes from outside the tents, in the excitement of the guests.

“Even if you watch the show you can say, ooh, I have one like that…, that common humanity we all have, which is so rare in today’s world, happens here,” says Bemko. “The secret sauce is that we’re all 86 | WALTER

“The secret sauce is that we’re all interested in the same things when we watch this show; we all want to understand more about what we own.”

— Marsha Bemko interested in the same things; we all want to understand more about what we own.” As we walked the grounds, spirits were high as people eagerly shared and listened to each other’s stories about their cherished items.

We wrapped our time with the Roadshow team with a visit from Ken Farmer, a specialist in folk art, furniture and musical instruments in Charlottesville, Virginia, who has appeared on the since its inception in 1996. He took the time to check out Laura’s throne chair.

Farmer inspected the piece, bypassing its distinctive carvings, shape and flat seat, all common characteristics of the Jacobean style. He noticed three features: a pair of initials carved into the chair, its size and an oddly placed hinge.

“It may be from a rural region because period chairs from the big castles were made to be much larger, and this is a smaller version,” he said.

The hinge was a bit more mysterious, so Farmer deferred to the group of guests that had formed around the piece to solicit our guesses about its function.

Clockwise from top left: A painting selected for filming; a couple with an Asian ceremonial bell; appraiser Nicholas D. Lowry.

“Now what piece of furniture shaped like this would need to have a hinge or a lid on the seat?” Farmer asked the group. He pointed to the underside of the seat of the chair, where the hinge was placed, and directed his gaze toward all of us, who were looking at one another. Finally someone sheepishly guessed, “A toilet?” The crowd erupted in laughter. A commode certainly wasn’t the kind of throne Laura was hoping for!

Turns out he was playfully leading us all into a trap — Farmer quickly admitted he was just pulling her leg. The hinge more likely had come from a previous repair. “I think some of the pieces did not start out together, but it is a nice chair in the Jacobean style,” he told her.

He noted that a dealer in English antiques would likely sell the piece for $1,000 to $1,500, but at an auction in

the United States the piece would likely fetch between $400 and $800.

In addition to having poker faces and a sense of humor, appraisers must have excellent detective skills. “The first thing I always say is, ‘what’s been done to this, and what is this telling me?’” said Farmer. “The key is to never be overwhelmed by the details. You have to look at it, make it explain itself to you.”

Guests having their items appraised are given the option to stop by a feedback booth where visitors can film their thoughts with the appraisal process. The area turned into an impromptu roundtable discussion among guests regaling one another on their experience. One couple had bought a silk scarf from the 1980s for $5 that is now worth $300.

Another couple held a piece they thought was a Toulouse-Lautrec; alas, it THe Art & Soul of

was not. But like the first couple we met, this duo was undeterred: “We got it just before we got married 25 years ago and we love it.” It’s the stories and the connections these pieces engender between guests and viewers — not their monetary value — that’s at the heart of the show’s enduring success.

RALEIGH

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 87

Y BU

W! O N S T KE C I T

BOOK CLUB & LAUNCH PARTY

Kristy Woodson Harvey Harvey’s new book, A Happier Life, will be out on June 25.

PRESENTING SPONSOR

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PARTNERS

Wednesday, April 24 6-9 p.m.

City Club Raleigh Your $75 ticket includes cocktail hour, dinner, a book talk and signing opportunity with Kristy Woodson Harvey, plus a pre-ordered copy of A Happier Life.

Join WALTER at City Club Raleigh as we host Kristy Woodson Harvey, a New York Times bestselling author of 11 novels, including The Summer of Songbirds, Under the Southern Sky and The Peachtree Bluff Series. Over summer supper and drinks, she’ll share a preview of A Happier Life, which explores the power of family, the bonds of friendship, and the boundless nature of love.

Tickets are limited. Buy them today at WALTERMAGAZINE.COM/BOOKCLUB

THE WHIRL WALTER’s roundup of gatherings, celebrations, fundraisers and more around Raleigh.

OPERATION: COMING HOME

On Saturday, Jan. 20, US Veterans Corps, Home Builders Association of RaleighWake County and Garman Homes held a Key Ceremony for Operation: Coming Home. Hero Home #27 was in honor of SSG Juantrea Bradley for his sacrifice and heroism. Operation: Coming Home builds and gives away homes with the help of our local home builders and subcontractors.

Davies Imaging Group

Juantrea Bradley

Bandit Flight Team

Bradley family and friends

Sandra Marante, Nicolette Templier, Lisa-Marie Legg

Kevin Lombardo, Ava Bradley

Ava Bradley with two of her children, Alaina Money-Garman

To have your event considered for The Whirl, submit images and information at waltermagazine.com/submit-photos

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 89

THE WHIRL

Anish Raj, Heather Williams, Anne Sena, Beth Voltz, James Voltz

Brenda Gibson, Ron Gibson, Jennie Hayman, Mary Brent Wright, Annette Anderson, Cristin DeRonja, Fred Anderson

Bill Blanton, Jennie Hayman, Holly Blanton

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SAFECHILD RIBBON CUTTING SAFEchild, Wake County’s leading voice for child abuse prevention, intervention, evaluation and treatment, recently held a ribbon cutting celebration for 200 supporters to mark the completion of its new 20,000-square-foot building at 2841 Kidd Road in Raleigh. Notable guests included Wake County Commissioner Susan Evans, Apex mayor Jacques Gilbert and Dr. Karen Chilton, senior vice president at WakeMed.

FIRE AND WATER OPENING RECEPTION On Jan. 7, Gallery C held an opening reception for “Fire and Water: Sculpture

by Holly Fischer and Paintings by Bassmi.” The evening included around 50 guests and celebrated the work of sculptor Holly Fischer and the late painter Bassmi Ibrahim, who passed in 2019.

PROVIDING PREMIER DENTISTRY IN RALEIGH PROVIDING PREMIER FOR GENERATIONS DENTISTRY IN RALEIGH FOR GENERATIONS

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Leslie Foster, Deborah Herbst

Ryan Donley, Ashe McClain

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 91

THE WHIRL HIGHTIDE OPENING On Jan. 27, Hightide Salon held a ribbon cutting event to celebrate its eco-friendly, all-inclusive space in downtown Raleigh. With the expansion, Hightide is expanding into other arenas of aesthetics. Owner Maggie Leonhardt, co-owner Kelly Leonhardt Phoenix and councilwoman Mary Black were on hand to welcome guests into the space, which was designed by Antoine Pontón.

Sharon Thomas, Katherine Lane

Maggie Leonhardt, Kelly Leonhardt Phoenix, Mary Black

Amy Crawley, Kelly Leonhardt Phoenix

Katherine Lane, Alexandra Hitchon, Antoine Pontón, Gabriela Fittipaldi, Leonhardt family, Jack Bonney, David Ross

THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 93

THE ART INSIDE THE BOTTLE On Jan. 29, the North Carolina Museum of Art, Vitis House and Catering Works presented The Art Inside the Bottle. Ángel González, research curator of the Ancient American collection, together with Vitis House owner and wine educator Doreen Colondres, examined themes of identity, place and power through creative, culture-specific disciplines of art and wine.

TAMASHA FRIENDS & FAMILY NIGHT On Feb. 6, Mike Kathrani and Tina Vora invited friends and family to try out their new restaurant in North Hills, Tamasha Modern Indian. Chef Bhavin Chhatwani delighted guests with dishes like Crispy Okra & Tuk Aloo Chaat, Nadru Malai Kofta and Dum Ki Nalli Gosht. Guests included Scott Crawford, Ashley Christensen, Preeti Waas, Scott Howell, Garret Fleming, Cheetie Kumar and Ricky Moore.

Addie Ladner, Doreen Colondres, Laura Wall, Jennifer Coon

Mike Kathrani, Bhavin Chhatwani, Preeti Waas, Tina Vora

“It’s brilliant.”

- Sir Walter Raleigh FIRST PLACE Magazine/Niche Publication The North Carolina Press Association Awards

GOLD OZZIE AWARD Design, Single Magazine Issue City & Regional Magazine The Folio Awards

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“You are judged by the company you keep.”

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THE WHIRL

DREAM BIG Dream Big was held Jan. 20 at the Raleigh Convention Center and raised $460,000 to benefit Methodist Home for Children. The speaker was Jim St. Germain, author of A Stone of Hope, and they celebrated the newest members of theor Guardian Angel Society: Apex United Methodist Church, represented by Julia Beam and Rev. Laura Stern; Rachel and Albert Blackmon of Cary; Molly and John Chiles of Raleigh, and Newcomb and Company, represented by Paul Thomas.

For over 30 years, the Finch Forest Farm has supplied floral arrangements and hand-crafted wreaths in homes across North Carolina and beyond.

Homes • Weddings • Special Events

Chris Mann, Sara Mann, Lainey Bass, Bill Bass

Marc Ridel Creative

Barbara Benton, Dempsey Benton, Katherine Edmiston

Aaron Delp, Kim Delp, Alyson Connor, Amy Gracely, Marnie Cohen, Jerod Cohen, Julia Beam, Martin Beam, Jennifer Reynolds, Brian Reynolds

For orders, please contact Heather Louise Finch at: finchforestfarm@gmail.com We deliver or ship all orders; there is no physical store.

www.finchforest.com Jim St. Germain

Julia Beam, Laura Stern, Rachel Blackmon, Albert Blackmon, Molly Chiles, Paul Thomas

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THe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 95

END NOTE

Find Your Way

New digital kiosks make it easier to navigate downtown

I

f it’s been a while since you’ve been downtown, you may notice something tech-y among the new restaurants and shops: giant touchscreen wayfinders.

An initiative from the Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA), these digital kiosks offer interactive maps to navigate downtown, along with restaurant and retail store recommendations, public service announcements, social services and real-time transit information. They offer a way for visitors and locals alike to quickly find what they need, says Bill King, the president and CEO of DRA. “What we’d found is that the static maps near parking decks or parks immediately went out of date — they could point you toward the big stuff, but not much else,” King says. “This makes it easier to find businesses and destinations.”

As of press time, seven digital kiosks had been installed at locations like West and Peace Streets, along Glenwood Avenue and Martin Street.

Fifteen will be installed over the next year or so, located strategically near areas like the North Carolina Museums of History or Natural Sciences, Marbles, the convention center, Warehouse District and Glenwood South.

The DRA has been working on this project since 2016; it took years to figure out what they’d look like and get the funding. The kiosks are ADA accessible, easy to clean and super durable. “They have to be able to withstand all the elements, but also to withstand people,” King says.

96 | WALTER

Walking by, expect to see a slideshow of art by Triangle artists, messages from the DRA, City of Raleigh and other community partners, and advertisements (which keep the kiosks free to taxpayers). Interact with the touchscreen — if you’re familiar with a smartphone, it’ll be easy to navigate — and you can search for, say, restaurant recommendations by cuisine. You can also take a selfie or play a game. The DRA has already noticed that people tend to interact with them differently based on where they’re located. “The one on Glenwood Avenue South is near senior housing, so there we’ve seen a lot of use to find bus times,” he says,

“Versus the one near Marbles, people are looking up restaurants or kidfriendly activities after they leave the museum.” King expects there to be other opportunities for informationsharing, too, to advertise upcoming events or promotions and to celebrate. “If the Canes win the Stanley Cup, we’ll be turning all those kiosks red!” he says.

“This helps solve a confidence problem we see when people come downtown,” says King. “This is for both true visitors to the region, but also Raleigh locals! Downtown is just one square mile in 144 square miles — if you don’t live or work here, you’ll still function as a visitor.”

courtesy Downtown Raleigh Alliance

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