CAG President's Meeting 1 '13

Charleston Artists Guild Exhibitors packed the CAG Gallery this evening to hear our President, Ron Gibbs, present the latest details of our gallery' operation.

  After examining the analysis that Ron gave us on monthly sale and foot traffic pattern and the effects of advertising, the members engaged in a lively brainstorming session on how we could continue to build on the momentum we have going.

 It's so motivating to be part of a group that takes sincere interest in promoting success.

Baby, it's cold outside 1 '13

Yep! It's cold outside ... icicles in my neighbors tree this morning.

CAG Wall update 1 '13

It's  been too cold for out of door activities , so I decided to  drive to refresh my wall  at the Charleston Artist Guild Gallery with some bird paintings before the Wildlife convention opens next month.  Just being in the gallery gives me a morale boost.  It is so nice to hang out with people who like art.

It's party time 1 '13

It's party time!  

Most of our snow birding neighbors are back in town and we've already had our first get together of the season.

Irish Soda Bread, Anyone? 1 '13

One of the best things about the winter months  is that I can cook and bake without overheating the house.  I’ve been taking full advantage of the cool weather to make everything from Appelskivers to Ziti   My most recent accomplishment is Irish Soda Bread.   Mmmmmm so good!!

I used the recipe from
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazingly-Easy-Irish-Soda-Bread/
This does not contain raisins. Everything I read on the web said that Irish soda bread with raisins is not authentic.

State of Wonder, Ann Pachett 1 "13

Ann Patchett, in State of Wonder, revisits the contemporary adventure story genre, with a provocative tale of pharmacological research doctor - Marina Singh - who embarks on an journey through the Amazon after learning that her pharmacology colleague Anders died there. Anders wife doesn't believe it...and her boss and love interest, Mr. Fox, entreats her to go there to find out what is going on.  He is, after all, invested in the outcome of the research that is going on there. Dr. Annick Swenson, Marinas former instructor and mentor, has been there for years, reportedly working on a new drug that will have a massive effect on extending female fertility, with the prospect of making his company very rich.

Early reviews of the publication say to "expect miracles". In many ways, State of Wonder does meet its hype. Its vivid sense of place, for example, is truly magnificent. One can almost feel hear the buzzing and ravenous mosquitoes, feel the oppressive heat, recoil from the floating snake heads, and feel the power of the storms. But in the end I felt a little disappointed in both the plot and the character development. 

One of the premise of the book is that a drug that would  extend female human fertility indefinitely was  highly saleable commodity .   When the 50 + years old members of my Pawleys Plantation book club met today to discuss this book, they thought the idea ridiculous..  And the older their age the more they l scoffed at the idea.  There was universal agreement that they would all rather be a grandparent than bear another child themselves. .

Then there was the credibility of character development … Marina in particular seemed to step out of character. While portrayed as emotional crippled and submissive to authority, she was also highly moral and held herself to a very high ethical standard.  Sometimes she held to that character, and sometimes she slipped from it very badly to suit the plot. 

 There was enough action and exotic setting that  it would probably make a good movie,  but don’t expect a lot from the plot.

Golfing the Witch 1 "13

Today we played golf at "The Witch"  

  It is an interesting  and somewhat appropriate name for this golf course.  Other than the club house, which looks a bit haunted, there are no man made dwellings visible from the course giving it a somewhat isolated and mysterious feeling.

 All of the fairways are built on man made mounds in the middle of a Cypress swamp. To get from one fairway to another  you take long wooden cart path which run throught the heart of the swamp.

You definitely don't want to drive off the path.  Trust me there is more than wood ducks in these woods

Aren't they cute?  These little guys still have their multicolored tails.  But I'll bet their  7 foot mama is still nearby watching out for them, so don't get too close.

The tee off areas make use of cypress knees to mark their distance .

A lot of the fairways either have you tee off over a bog, or drive the ball across one  ( or two) bogs which separate the fairway from the green.  Again  not a good place to go looking for a lost ball..

There are a lot of long drives  around or across water hazards, and 

a lot of ups and down slopes Making the course both visually interesting and technically challenging. 

I'd love to see this place in the spring or the fall.  I'll bet it is beautiful. And it is definitely one of the more fun course to play.

Sterling Phillips speaks at SAG 1 ' 13

Sterling Phillips was guest speaker at  the Sea Coast Artist Guild meeting on Sunday January 6th.  Mr Phillips gave us a very interesting and information  presentation on the methodology and tools he uses to appraise antique art objects.  To help explain the art and science of appraising rare works of art,  he also brought along several very rare pictures to which he passed around the audience.  I felt privileged to even get close to them, especially after  learning about how  much work went into even the framing of the art work..  It's a little scary holding something that old, fragile and valuable.

Golf Game of the week at Litchfield Plantation 1 ' 13

Golf game of the week is at Litchfield Plantation. It's a pretty course, but the grass was very wet. My new golf shoes really did help my driving. I felt a lot more stable on the wet greens with the cleats..

CAG First Friday Reception 1 "13

We had the pleasure of attending the Charleston Artists Gallery Opening Reception for  Skip Runge .   Skip's photography exhibit "Mixed Images"  will continue through the  entire the Month of January  at the CAG Gallery at 160 East Bay Street.  It was well worth the trip to take a look at Skip's work  along with that of the  70 + other artists in gallery.

 Bruce admiring the art work of Brenda Orcutt  in the Charleston Artist Guild gallery.

CC's New Golf Shoes 1 ' 13

CC's  new golf shoes

Tradition Upheld 1_1_13

Tradition Upheld

 We started the New Year with a walk on the Beach

 

Aside from a lone fisherman and a flock of 'Peeps' waiting for the tide to recede we had the Pawleys Island shore to ourselves

Even the newly set patterns in the sand were beautiful.  I felt as if they were there to remind us not to be afraid of change.  Life is always being disassembled, rearranged, and evolving into something new and beautiful.

SAG's new Applewoods Gallery 1 '13

Had the pleasure of helping to set up the Seacoast Artist Guild new Applewood Gallery featuring the artwork of fourteen our Guilds finest painters, photographers and fine art craftsmen :
Ron and Cindy Blanchard
Liz Crosby
Maria Delaney
Millie Doud
Maureen Hegerich
Yvonne Knight
Bill McEvoy
Betty Morell
Judy O’Brien
Lisa Schneider
Barnie Slice
Robert Schwelnus
Denny Stevenson
Pat and Cathy Walsh

You can see their artwork any day between 6 am and 2pm , from now until Jnue 30 2013, at the:
Applewood House of Pancakes
14361 Ocean Hwy .
Litchfield, SC 29585

Shown below is Lisa Schneider in front of her wall