Eye Candy

One of the great things about having out-of-town company is that you take them to see things that you wouldn't see done otherwise.  My sister was here this week and we did all kinds of things that I wouldn't have taken the time to do.  We went to the Joseph Manigault House in downtown Charleston.  And what a wonderful gem that is--from the general shape of the house itself to the exquisite detail of the beautiful sweeping staircase  in the central hall.  Unfortunately, my camera wasn't behaving so you'll just have to take my word for it when I say that it is well worth the trip. 

I did, however, get my camera working when we visited the South Carolina Artisan Center in Walterboro, SC.  This is a gallery filled with work of artists from throughout the state.  As we pulled into the driveway, the first thing we saw was this incredible metallic tree sculpture and then, just a few step further along, was another tree--this time a palmetto.  The Artisan Center is located in an old house that is composed of small rooms that seem to meander from a large central showroom.  It was fun to wander around at a leisurely pace and let the surprises hidden in each room unfold of their own accord.

In my former life, I was a potter for fifteen years, so I went to a LOT of craft shows and it was always wonderful to walk through the show and experience all of the unique creativity that seem to be saturating the very air around me.  And I believe it to be true that when you are surrounded by the creative force, you, too, become more creative.  It doesn't have to be in your particular medium--the energy is there.   You can see from my photos that there were many different mediums represented and it's always a

mazing to me to see how an artist can take a very simple material and end up with something truly extraordinary.  I was particularly entranced by some of the baskets as I used to make them myself.  The ones in this picture were transformed into another purpose by adding the turned wooden necks--baskets becoming vases.  And each one of them had a different weaving pattern.  There were other baskets, also--some of the traditional sweet grass baskets and others that started off as fired clay pieces with basket weaving added to complete them.

 Everywhere I looked, there was something that caught my eye--angels painted on wood, fish made from cut tree branches, dyed and painted fabric, trinket collages, fabric embellishment, paintings--and on and on.  Fine craft art is alive and well in South Carolina.  We need to seek it out and relish in its power to renew our spirits and to connect our hearts to the bubbling well of creativity that lies within each of us.  It's more than just eye candy.