The Visual Art Community in Northern Michigan Doesn’t Slow Down for Winter

January 18th, 2012

I’ve been talking with a good friend who lives in Interlochen, MI, near Traverse City, MI, which is finally seeing seasonal Michigan weather – cold and snow. They have been having some unseasonably warm weather – highs in the 50′s – burr!

Because we’ve been talking on a regular basis I bookmarked the local newspaper the Traverse City Record-Eagle to check the weather and keep up with what’s going on in her area. The other day I came across an article about a big art show which opened on Jan. 14, 2012 – Northwest Michigan Regional: A Juried Exhibition of Michigan Fine Art. The exhibit will be on view at the Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City through Apr. 1, 2012.

I know – Carolina Arts. I turn down e-mail everyday about shows in New York City, FL, GA, and CA – telling the folks we only cover exhibits taking place in the Carolinas. But this show does have a connection of sorts. Plus this is sort of my personal blog.

Here this Museum is showing a big regional show from Jan.-Apr. – the heart of the Michigan Winter. During the Summer, the Traverse City area’s population probably expands 4 to 5 times it’s Winter population. Some may say the Museum is using a show of local artists as a filler for the Winter – I say they’re not closing down – which some people do in the Carolinas – not just in the mountains where they might see a few flakes of snow, but in the coastal areas too. Why?

If Northern Michigan’s visual art communities can still keep working during the Winter, what are we doing taking time off in the Carolinas?

I’m from Michigan – I know what Winter is or was. And, yes, now after 38 years of living in the South, I get cold when it drops into the 50′s and is cloudy. If the sun is shinning I might be reminded of Michigan Springs.

Anyway – just wondering why things slow down during the Winter here in the Carolinas. Back to that exhibit.

The Northwest Michigan Regional: A Juried Exhibition of Michigan Fine Art features 100 + works selected from 457 entries by nearly 250 regional artists.

This juried exhibition of fine art by regional artists celebrates the 20th anniversary for the Museum. Visit this exhibition to witness the creativity and talent of Northwestern Michigan artists. Susan Bandes of Michigan State University juried the exhibition.


Work by Janelle Dahlberg, Traverse City, MI

Artists living in the area bordered by and including Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta and Isabella counties on the south and Clare, Roscommon, Crawford, Otsego and Cheboygan counties on the east, and all of the Upper Peninsula are featured.

Juror’s Statement

“From grandly scaled paintings to intimate objects, art is very much alive and well in Northern Michigan as this regional exhibition attests. Given this most beautiful of locations, it is hardly surprising that landscapes, weather, and the seasons are prevalent subjects.  Even when a painting verges on the abstract, it may still be based on viewing and experiencing these surroundings.”

“While unintentional, the exhibition reflects the proportions submitted in each medium with a predominance of painting compared to three-dimensional art or photography.  This is a large show but it could have been even larger since less than one-quarter of the 457 pieces could be included. Jurying was a daunting but enlightening task as I was pleased to become acquainted with so many highly talented artists, each of whom has a unique and distinctive vision.”

“Whether small or large, the art on view engaged me for a myriad of reasons including mastery of a technique or a new twist on it, a sense of energy and/or urgency, an emotional impact or a personal message. Obviously, a juror brings her own prejudices and preferences to the process, but quality and resonance guided my choices.  I found that my repeated viewing was well rewarded as I hope yours will be too. I thank all of the participating artists for sharing their formidable talents with us.”

Susan Bandes – Juror


Janus Faces/Animal Head, Kakee,
1980, Whalebone

The Dennos Museum Center’s Power Family Inuit Gallery present a survey of Inuit stonecut, stencil, lithograph, etching, aquatint and chine-collé prints, tapestries, sculptures and artifacts from the late 1950s to the present. Selected from more than 1000 objects in the Museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition features artists from numerous communities within Nunavut, a Canadian territory in the Canadian Arctic.

For further info about the Museum and this exhibit visit (http://www.dennosmuseum.org).

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The Potter’s Palette………..A Different Spin on Creativity and Fundraiser for the NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC – Feb. 4, 2012

January 16th, 2012

Seagrove, NC……And someone said that making a tile is as close to a painting as a potter can get – how wrong they were!  The NC Pottery Center presents “The Potter’s Palette”, featuring over 80 12” x 12” canvases done by prominent NC clay artists. Clay artists from around the state were invited to produce a canvas using any medium they desired to present a different expression of themselves and their talent, to be sold in a fundraiser to benefit the North Carolina Pottery Center. The results are impressive and are currently on display at the Center in Seagrove.


Painting by Daphnie Cruz Zug

This rare and unique fundraiser is the first of its kind at the NC Pottery Center. On Feb. 4, 2012, the public will have the opportunity to bid on these palettes and the opportunity to own a canvas created in a medium not used everyday by these outstanding artists. Truly a one-of-a-kind piece to complement any pottery collection! Many of the artists will be featured guests, and there will be several clay creations to complement the canvases available to purchase as well, making it really a one of a kind purchase.


Painting by Levi Mahan

The canvases are posted on the NC Pottery Center’s website (www.ncpotterycenter.org) and absentee bidding will soon be offered until Feb. 1, 2012, at 4pm, for those who can not attend this special event. The fun and festive event begins at 4pm on Feb. 4, 2012, with live musical entertainment and a delectable buffet featuring an array of delicious hors d’oeuvres from gourmet bites to seafood and cheeses to desserts and much more. Join us for this wonderful spread and a selection of beverages while you preview the collection and register to bid. The exciting auction starts at 5pm.

Participating clay artists include: Rita Abee, Colleen Black Semelka, John Britt, Tammy Leigh Brooks, Jeff Brown, Michele Hastings, Bonnie Burns, Kim Ellington, Mary Farrell, Alexa Modderno, Michelle Flowers, Becca Floyd, Mary Paul and John Garland, Terry Gess, Vicki Gill, Tom Gray, Mark Hewitt, Meredith Heywood, Helene Icard, Tonda Jeffcoat, Fred Johnston, Carol  Genthithes, Matt Jones, Jennie Lorette Keatts, Crystal King, Bruce and Janice Latham, Andrew Linton, Nancy Lovejoy, Dan Lovejoy, Mary Holmes, Michael Mahan, Eck McCanless, Milly McCanless, Fiva McCanless, Beth Gore, Karen Mickler, Lyn Morrow, Vernon Owens, Pam Owens, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Phillip Pollet, Hal and Eleanor Pugh, Joseph Sand, Caroleen Sanders, Barbara Strassberg, Tom Suomalainen, Bobbie Thomas, Doc Welty, Charlotte Wooten, Daphne Cruz Zug, Kyle Carpenter, Seo Eo, Roy Strassberg, Abe Fenberg, Susan McGehee, Levi Mahan, Ben Owen III, LoriAnn Owen, Samantha Henneke, Bruce Gholson, Daniel  Johnston, Kate Waltman, John Viegland, Alex Matisse, Donna Craven, Susan Greene, Anne Raven Jorgensen, Stephanie Martin, Michael Kline, Cynthia Bringle, and Keith Lambert.


Painting by Alexa Modderno


Painting by Pam Owens

Tickets are $15 per person, or $25 for a pair, and must be purchased in advance.

The North Carolina Pottery Center offers educational opportunities to statewide schools and individuals, changing historical and contemporary exhibitions, demonstrations, and information about statewide potters. The NCPC is a private nonprofit entity, funded primarily through memberships, grants, admissions, and appropriations. The Center is open Tuesdays – Saturdays 10am to 4pm, admission (excluding free special events): $2 – adults, $1 – students 9th through 12th grades, Free – children through 8th grade, free – NCPC members.  Handicap accessible. Groups and tours welcomed.


Painting by Dan Lovejoy


Painting by Fiva McCanless

For further information and details call 336/873-8430, e-mail to (info@ncpotterycenter.org) or visit (www.NCPotteryCenter.org).

Editor’s Note: The NC Potter Center is a great place to visit if only to learn about pottery, the history of pottery in North Carolina, what kind of pottery is being made in North Carolina today as well as the Seagrove area, but beyond that, it presents important and education exhibitions of pottery – historical and contemporary. It is also a great educational facility for the region’s school students. And because offering all that takes money – lots of money – they need the public’s help to supplement the funding they receive from local, regional, state and national sources. Whether you take part in one of the fundraisers offered, you can always make a donation – on a visit, by mail or on their website. Anything you can do will make a difference.

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The Wells Gallery in Charleston, SC, Features Exhibit of Works by John Michiels

January 12th, 2012

Editor’s Note: Sorry, we have to correct the dates of this show.

The Wells Gallery in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Quiet Space, featuring over 15 photographs by John Michiels, on view from Jan. 3 – 31, 2012. A reception will be held on Jan. 26, from 5:30-7:30pm.

Michiels’ creative spirit was evident from the beginning, but it took years of study, practice and experimentation before he developed his signature style that some have described as southern gothic. He absorbed and applied the principles of photography as espoused by Adams, Weston, Sexton and other photographers he admired, first emulating their techniques, then incorporating what he learned into his own artistic vision. In his smooth and detailed photographs, you will be able to see why Michiels loves to “play” the gray scale. “I chose monochrome photography because it simplifies and emphasizes my subject matter. I love the mood and feeling it conveys.”

Michiels’ photographs began winning awards in high school, encouraging him to pursue photography as the medium for his creative expression. He continues to gain recognition at the annual Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibit in Charleston, receiving 6 ribbons, including two for first place and a best of show/Mayor’s Purchase Award.

After working in a traditional darkroom for 25 years, Michiels gave it up in 2006 for digital printmaking after studying with John Cone and his staff at Cone Editions in Vermont. “Mr. Cone is widely recognized as a pioneer in digital printing. He’s the go-to printer for some of the most highly regarded artists in the world.”

“While at Cone Editions, I had the opportunity to use their printers and John’s Piezography ink-sets. This was the first time I’d seen digital pigment prints of my work and even though they had a different feel, the quality completely rivaled my darkroom prints,” say Michiels. Piezography inks are a monochrome set of pure carbon pigment inks and are unparalleled for tonal-range, sharpness and stability.

“I’m glad I spent so many years making gelatin-silver prints,” adds Michiels. “That irreplaceable knowledge gained in the darkroom, gave me an solid foundation for digital print making. I’m able to hold my carbon pigment prints to the highest standards.”

Michiels works with medium and large format and digital cameras, He personally completes every step of the printmaking process including framing. His photographs are produced, mounted and framed using archival processes and the finest materials. Current prints are offered in editions of 45 or less.

National and international art lovers, business owners and interior designers collect his South Carolina Lowcountry photographs.

For further information call the gallery at 843/853-3233 or visit (www.wellsgallery.com).

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Taking a Look at Marketing Techniques in the Carolinas

January 12th, 2012

This year we’re going to take a look at how the visual art community in the Carolinas is marketing itself. We’ll start with this posting which expresses some of the problems I have to deal with on a daily basis in collecting info about the visual art community. After this we’ll go into many of these points in more detail.

I’m going to borrow a technique from comedian Jeff Foxworthy in pointing out some problems about marketing in the visual art community in the Carolinas.

This posting is not meant to embarrass anyone, but to be instructive in a humorous way. Luckily for me and others in the media these examples represent the minority not the majority, but, can often be a daily occurrence. Some of this is directed at organizations and some is for individuals.

So here we go…

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you don’t have a website, blog or Facebook page. An e-mail address that you don’t check very often isn’t going to cut it either. When you send an e-mail out, be available to respond to someone’s question about what you sent. Don’t hit send and then disappear for a week. And, don’t change your e-mail address every other year. You have to have venues where you can communicate with the public and other members of the visual art community.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your website lists a year’s worth of exhibits for the year 2008 and it’s 2012. If you can’t keep current info on your website why have one? Once someone sees you are that far out of date – they won’t be returning to your site anytime soon. How could they trust any info they find there?

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your website list a year’s worth of exhibits – without any year given and they are from 2010. Without a year’s date no one will really know for sure when these events will take place or if they already have taken place. The year is as important as the day and month when it comes to dates.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your website only lists the exhibit you are currently showing. If you don’t know what your next exhibit is – just a few weeks away, how can someone plan to come see your exhibits. Some people make it a big deal to tell you about past exhibits – two or three year’s worth, but don’t bother to put anything about future exhibits even the next month’s exhibit. Some people like to make plans ahead of time – not at the last minute.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your website only lists the reception date and its hours for the exhibit you are currently showing or in the future. This says that if you can’t come to our party – we don’t want you to bother us during the run of the exhibit. Don’t worry, most people will not travel anywhere these days without knowing that what they want to see will be there – open for viewing when they arrive.

You might be pretty bad at marketing if you have to pay someone to make changes or additions to your website. Instead of learning a few key strokes you’d rather pay someone who is laughing at you all the way to the bank. The fancier a website is the more complicated it will be and the more money it will cost you – month after month, year after year. A good website gives information – not a show. If websites are too complicated – use a blog format instead – they’re mostly free and simple to operate. I’m not trying to take money away from website designers, but part of their fee should include showing you how to make updates. And it should be simple.

You might be pretty bad at marketing if you send out a press release just days before an event begins. You’re really bad when you send it out after the event has begun.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you send your press release in all caps – hoping the person you sent it to will retype it for use. Or you decided to use several different styles of type and every other paragraph is in a different color – just so it would be noticed. Don’t worry – you got their attention. You’ll most likely go in their special file.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you send your press release as a picture or PDF that can’t be copied easily. Did you just want them to see it or did you want them to be able to re-use it? And no media outlet is going to use that special invitation you created or poster – that would be giving you a free display ad.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you don’t have any photos of the work you’re about to show when the media request photos. If your artists can’t provide media ready images – you need to find more organized artists to offer exhibit opportunities. And how about sending one with the press release and letting them know they can request more.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when all you can send the media is the dates, title, and a short description of the exhibit. You have no press release to offer, and you wonder why no one comes to see your exhibits. And, don’t send one publication an article written in another publication as a press release. It happens more than you would think.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your organization changes the person in charge of doing marketing every year. It usually takes six months for someone to catch on to what it takes and how to do it right – meaning they only have six months to do what they learned before they have to learn how to be the organization’s treasurer – for a year. If you get someone who is good at PR – keep them any way you can.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you are still sending your press releases by snail mail in 2012. And, with non-profit postage the mail person doesn’t even have to deliver them. First class postage is the only way to learn that the people you are sending mail to are still there at that address. Using first class postage is the only way to clean up your mailing list.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when your mailing list has more people on it that have died, moved away, or didn’t even want to get mail from you – than people who would actually come to your exhibits if they only knew about them. Again, use First Class stamps and take people off your list when that mail is returned.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you say you don’t have time for marketing exhibits you are presenting. There’s no reason to have exhibits if you’re not going to market them – especially with the free opportunities you have available to you, as well as the paid opportunities.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you don’t understand what marketing is. You’re the person who calls the local newspaper and tells them you want to change your ad – when what they give you is a free exhibit listing. The word “ad” means paid advertising.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you contact the media and ask them – “if I bother to write a press release will they use it?” I’m sure the media is just hoping you’ll go that extra mile – make the effort – so they’ll have something to do to fill the time they have to spend at work.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you spell the name of your featured artist three different ways in one press release. For individual artists, make sure you have the correct names of the institutions you say you have had exhibits with when you give the presenter your resume. I often wonder if people are not just making things up when they get those names wrong.

You might be pretty bad at marketing when you send an e-mail to the media and don’t put your name in the e-mail. Identify who you’re with or give a clue to the person you sent it to as to who they would get back with if they had a question. Give your name on all e-mails and for whom you are sending it. It’s also a good idea to make sure you include a telephone number – sometimes people may be working on deadlines and decide to call for clarification of some of your information.

I could go on, if I devoted more time to this or just waited for tomorrow’s mail and e-mail to arrive, but I think you get the point or at least I hope you do. But there is one more:

You might be pretty bad at marketing if you’ve gotten angry reading this instead of learning from it. You might not be the person who should be doing marketing. Remember, the media doesn’t have to include what you’ve sent them – they’re getting press releases from a lot of sources other than you. And they have limited space these days.

So where do you fit in?

Look, I’m not saying we’re perfect at marketing ourselves – we’re not. I’m just trying to help people get better at what they send out as PR.

I myself often send reply e-mails looking for further info that was in the e-mail I received, but just missed it as I scanned through it. We’re getting a lot of them all the time so there is not a lot of time to read through each one as we receive them. I’d spend all day reading e-mails and getting nothing else done. I’ve also helped a few folks correct some big mistakes they have made in their PR. After 25 years I’ve read a lot of press releases – the good the bad and the ugly.

I’m always happy and ready to talk to anyone who wants to know what info we need, how we would like to get it and when we would like to receive it. That time spent will just make my life better down the road. I’m all for making my life better, but these suggestions will make everyone’s life better – the media, the sender, and the reader.

We have a whole section on our website (www.carolinaarts.com) called “How the Paper Works” that explains how to get yourself included in Carolina Arts. We even give an example of how to write a press release.

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Tracking the Numbers for the December 2011 Issue of Carolina Arts

January 3rd, 2012

This will be my last report on the download numbers each month other than a mention in my commentary in the paper. It’s taken time to keep up with the stats and it’s a bit of a distraction from other things. The last year has been a roller coaster from the 8,929 downloads we got with our first electronic issue in Jan. 2011 to the 83,826 downloads we received from the Dec. 2011 issue – another record month.

We had 569,581 downloads of each monthly issue during the month it was launched. That’s not the total number of downloads during the year as people kept downloading copies of various month’s issues – long after that month had passed. Like in December, 199 people downloaded that Jan. 2011 issue to take a look. That’s one of the great things about being an electronic paper. Old issues are available on our website so that anyone who discovers our paper can look at back issues – in total, the same way everyone saw them when they were first launched. Since 1999 we’ve made the articles form old issues available for viewing, but it wasn’t until Aug. of 2004 that the entire issue could be seen – articles, photos and ads. If you check it out you’ll see our website has a ton of stuff archived there.

Last year we had one outstanding issue that seemed to attract a lot of viewers or at least a few who were willing to promote it month after month. This would be our “cult” issue – March 2011. During the month of March it attracted 45,298 downloads – more than the months of April, July, and September, but each month after March it still kept attracting a lot of downloads for an issue which had been long over. The Mar. 2011 issue received 5,151 downloads in December 2011. The March issue received more downloads than our Jan. 2011 issue did during the months of May, June, Sept., Oct. and Nov. By the Summer, I was suspecting that some one or a group of folks were doing something to boast the March numbers. They were so out of wack with the other numbers for previous issues. Something unusual had to be going on.

For the first time I’m admitting that I started under-reporting the March download numbers to see what would happen, hoping someone would contact us and complain, but they just kept coming. In total the March 2011 issue of Carolina Arts has attracted 129,727 downloads – that’s 84,429 after the month of March. It’s amazing and a mystery as to what’s going on. Whatever is going on, it’s good for everyone who was in that March 2011 issue as they are getting a lot of exposure – over and over again.

Of course nothing is as puzzling as the case of the “other” category in our stats. The good folks at our server tell us that this number could represent more downloads of the paper, but they can’t tell for sure because they are coming to our site from un-trackable sources. I’m like – what? For many months last year we had more “other” counts than downloads of the main issue. It’s very frustrating not knowing what these numbers represent but in the last two months our downloads of the main issues have been out pacing the “other” numbers. It’s very strange. But then, isn’t everything about the Internet strange.

The Numbers

It’s worth repeating that the Dec. 2011 issue of Carolina Arts received 83,826 downloads. Coming in at the number two spot was the “other” with 59,005 and of course in third place was the March 2011 with 5,151 downloads.

In fourth place this month was our Aug. 2011 issue with 1,844 downloads. Then it was Nov. 2011 with 633, July 2011 with 298, Jan. 2011 with 199, June 2011 with 170, and Feb. 2011 with 97 downloads. The April, May, Sept. and Oct. issues were somewhere below the top 200 categories on our stats list – which includes 10,001 categories on our website. The stats only track 10,001 items. We have well over 30,000 items on our website.

The website set another record for visits with 99,268 sessions in Dec., giving us an average of 3,202 visits a day and one of those days our server had to reboot their system and we got no stats for that day. If they hadn’t done that we would have gone over the 100,000 mark.

Way back in college I was studying to be an accountant. My mother was a bookkeeper and she wanted her son to be an accountant – the big bean counter, but by my fourth year I got the idea that I wanted to be a photographer. Those years counting numbers have paid off over the years but I still find number counting to be more boring than interesting. Numbers can tell you things, but at some point I always find something else more interesting. And, there were many times during this last year that I had wished I had never started tracking these numbers. And, a year is enough for me.

When it comes down to the bottom line – we’ve got a lot more viewers of Carolina Arts than we did when we were printing only 10,000 copies of the paper which in its last years was just 24 – 36 pages, covering parts of the Carolinas and back to black and white copy. The paper now is in full color with 50 – 70 pages, covering all areas of the Carolinas we hear from by deadline, and is available at the click of your return key on your computer, tablet or smart phone. What’s not great about that?

If for some reason you haven’t downloaded a copy of our Jan. 2012 issue of Carolina Arts or any of the other issues from 2011, you can do that at (www.carolinaarts.com) or just hit (http://www.carolinaarts.com/112/112carolinaarts.pdf) to download the Jan. 2012 issue.

And, many thanks to those good folks who are sending the link to download Carolina Arts each month out to their e-mail lists after we launch it each month. It’s these people who are helping bring new viewers to our paper. The numbers we are seeing wouldn’t be anywhere close to what they have been without them. It takes a village to deliver a paper and we thank our village members.

Let’s all have a prosperous and happy new year.

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The January 2012 Issue of Carolina Arts is Now Ready to Download

January 1st, 2012

The January 2012 issue of Carolina Arts is up on our website at (www.carolinaarts.com) – all 61 pages of it. We had over 82,000 downloads of the December 2011 issue – a new record.

We ask that you help us bring the news about the Carolina visual art community to others by spreading the link for the download around to your e-mail lists and posting it on your Facebook page. Once people see all that is going on in the visual art community they will spread it around to their lists and on their Facebook pages.

The link is: (http://www.carolinaarts.com/112/112carolinaarts.pdf).
If you are receiving this because you are on someone’s list, you can send us an e-mail to (info@carolinaarts.com) to be placed on our list, so you will get a notice of every new issue.
So download that PDF and dig in – it’s going to take a while to get through this issue. And, don’t forget to find a way to thank our advertisers – they make the paper possible.
Thanks – Tom and Linda Starland
Carolina Arts
843-825-3408
info@carolinaarts.com

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On the First Day of Winter My Christmas Fruitcake Arrived in the Mail – Oh the Joy!

December 22nd, 2011

So, it’s 6:30am and I wake up. Linda has already gone to her 911 dispatch job and there’s no covers on me and it’s a little cool. It only got down in the 50′s overnight so it was a little warm for covers. It’s the first day of Winter, Dec. 21, 2011, and the Amazon weather gal on The Weather Channel – Stephanie Abrams says it’s going to be around 77 degrees in our area today and 80 tomorrow. That’s Winter?

This weather reminds me of my first year in Charleston or more exact, North Charleston, SC. It was 75 degrees on Christmas and on New Years day I went to Folly Beach and got a sunburn. I called my parents back in Michigan and it was 20 below with blowing snow. That was my first Winter in the South in 1974. The next year at the same time we had some of the coldest, damp weather I’ve experienced. That’s Winter in the South. It’s all relative. When you have months of 95 degrees + in the Summer, 30 degrees can seem very cold. And, it’s always the humidity that makes the difference.

So when I first went on Facebook to check things out, I posted a picture of an 8 inch snowfall we had a couple years back and asked Mama Nature – what’s up? Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving it, if not just for the fact that the heater isn’t running all day and I don’t need air conditioning.

About noon, it’s time to make the mail run and if there are some checks in the mail – a run into town to the bank. I also wanted to make a run to the trash site to take some garbage and some papers and plastic to recycle. When I opened our drawer at the local post office there’s one of those slips to let you know you have a package inside. My first thought is – what did Linda or our son Andrew order online now, and then I think it’s almost Christmas – who sent us something in the mail.

When I exchange the slip for a box with the Postmaster I see that it’s from Whynot Pottery in Seagrove, NC. My mind is racing between the notion that it’s a piece of potter or fruitcake that Meredith Heywood made. Either one would be great, but I’ve been jonesin’ for fruitcake lately.

I can’t explain why all of a sudden in the last two years that when Christmas time has come around I’ve had fruitcake on my mind. It had been almost 20 years since I’ve had real good fruitcake. For awhile everyone was making fun of fruitcake – so much so that people stopped giving them as gifts or if they still did – kept it on the down low. Too bad, a good fruitcake is heaven in your mouth and in your teeth for days.

The kind of fruitcakes I grew up on were heavy on the candied fruit and highlighted with a little booze. Linda’s mother made an 80 proof fruitcake that fermented for six months. There was a two slice limit on those cakes and no driving after three. We had a friend back in our photography days who’s wife made a killer fruitcake, but when the shipyard in North Charleston closed they moved away.

So with that box in hand I jumped in the car and drove home. Once I pulled into the yard I realized that I forgot to go to the trash site. So I put the box in the house and went back to finish my duties. When I finally got home I went straight to the box and opened it and there was a little pottery Christmas ornament and a shiny gold box. The box said it was from Southern Supreme – Old Fashioned Nutty Fruitcake. This was the company Meredith and a few other potters from Seagrove had told me about the first time I mentioned my desire for fruitcake a few weeks ago on Facebook.

The box said it was 8 oz. but it felt like 2 or 3 pounds. This was going to be good fruitcake – far from the mistake I made in thinking I might get something acceptable at Wal-Mart. What was I thinking? It was the fruitcake fever that made me do it.

In a note in the box Meredith said that this was probably more nuts than fruit and the box says that this was “More Nuts than Fruit….Fruitcake”. Opening the box it looked real good too as you can see from the picture. Also in the note Meredith said her husband Mark called this a single serving, which was kind of funny.

Around here, when it comes to slicing pie or cake or dishing out ice cream, Linda always ask if someone wants a “Starland” size portion or a normal portion. I guess my family has a habit of making big portions when it comes to desert. Our family was big so you took a big portion knowing there might not be any left over for seconds.

It took a lot of will power and a public posting on Facebook announcing that I had received a fruitcake in the mail to keep me from opening that packaging and putting a little bit of heaven in my mouth before Linda got home. A lot of will power.

Linda finally got home around 8pm and we had dinner and then I brought out the box. We took a picture first and then had at it.

Linda was reading the back label which said that it was a 100 calories per serving, not bad if you overlooked the fact that this 8oz. cake has 11 servings. That’s 1,100 calories total. Fairly soon Linda remarks that she can’t believe I’m still eating it – almost half-way through. I reply – I can’t seem to stop, but I do. And, before long I felt like I had a brick or two in my stomach. It was sooooo good, but oh my! I think I’ll try and save the other half for Christmas day. At least that’s the plan.

Southern Supreme Fruitcakes are homemade by the Scott family in Bear Creek, NC, which is on NC Hwy. 902 which runs between Seagrove and Pittsboro, NC. They have a website at (www.southernsupreme.com) where you can make an order. Their photo number is 336/581-3141.

This fruitcake is not Yankee fruitcake, but it’s damn Yankee good. And, you’all know what a damn Yankee is – one that comes South and stays. I know something about that.

I can’t say enough about how appreciative I am to Mark and Meredith Heywood for thinking of me and Linda and my recent craving for fruitcake during the holidays. They’re a couple of the great friends we have made in Seagrove – the center of pottery in North Carolina. They didn’t do this to generate this kind of response, but no good deed and fruitcake in the mail goes unrewarded.

Mark and Meredith Heywood operate Whynot Pottery, located at 1013 Fork Creek Mill Road in Seagrove. You can check out their pottery on their website at (www.whynotpottery.com); follow Meredith on her blog at (http://whynotpotteryblog.blogspot.com/); and you can check out the items they have for sale on Etsy at (http://www.etsy.com/shop/whynotpottery?ref=badge). But the best thing is to make a trip to Seagrove and visit their pottery, but call first to make sure they are there this time of year. Of course they are also on Facebook at Whynot Pottery.

Mark and Meredith are going to celebrate their 30th anniversary of operating Whynot Pottery in October of 2012. Marking our own 25th anniversary this year, we know what that means – a lot of blood, sweat and tears down the road and good times too.

Today is also Meredith’s birthday. Happy birthday my friend. We’re a better world with folks like you.

P.S. I want you to know that I’m still holding you to the promise of pineapple upsidedown cake. I know – give you a few days warning before I visit. You can count on that.

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Tracking the Numbers for the First Ten Days of the Dec. 2011 Issue of Carolina Arts

December 12th, 2011

Well, it seems we are still riding the top of a pretty good wave this month. The total downloads of the Dec. 2011 issue of Carolina Arts for the first ten days in December is 78,221 – that’s about 7,000 more than last month at this time. I continue to be amazed.

Although it has been a year since the last time I had to hit the road to deliver papers around the Carolinas, I think I could still do it, but I think I’d be in the hospital or still on the road if I had to deliver 78,000 papers. That’s like delivering seven months worth of papers in ten days compared to the old days. Of course this new paper would also be at least three time bigger. Oh my achin’ back!

I can only assume we will be setting new records this month, although it is possible it could be all down hill from now on as most of the monthly downloads come in those first ten days – with a few exceptions. I would expect that by the Friday before Christmas all activity on our website will come to a standstill. And, between Christmas and the New Year – not much will go on either.

As far as the other numbers go, the (other) is in second place with a total of 20,087 – also a little more than in Nov. at this time. In third place is our August 2011 issue with 1,829 and in fourth is – you got it – our March 2011 issue with 1,781. But when I looked at the numbers for Dec. 11th – they had traded places. That March issue is a wonder.

The standings really drop after that. In fifth place was our July 2011 issue with 211 downloads. Following behind was January 2011 with 143; June 2011 with 98; and February 2011 with 27. All other months were below the 200 item number on our stats counter.

Just remember, family and friends come first during the holidays, and we hope you have good ones, but once the excitement is all over – it’s OK to get back to your internet searches.

And, Santa if you’re reading this – all I want for Christmas is more advertisers, more downloads, more “likes” on Facebook, and more customers for the arts. That’s all I want. But, if you like, you can throw in Peace on Earth, good health and happiness for all, and a Democratic landslide in the next election. And, one final thing, let the Carolina Panthers beat the New Orleans Saints on New Years Day – big time. That’s absolutely all I’m asking for this year. Wait, if you could see it to bring gas prices back down to 99 cents a gallon that would be good too. That’s it. I can wait till next year for you to take care of all my debt if you’re in a hurry to get to someone else.

P.S. Santa, Linda and I are trying to cut back on all the goodies this year so there won’t be any cookies this year and without cookies I’m not sure if the milk will be worth leaving out. Besides last year you forgot to clean up the crumbs and there were ants in the morning. We’re not complaining, it’s just if you leave crumbs out – how can you blame the ants. They’ve got to eat too I guess. And, FYI, you do remember Bonneau Beach has a pooper scooper law in place, that was a heck of a surprise you left on the roof last year. I’m just saying.

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December 17, 2011, is Another Active Pottery Day in Seagrove, NC

December 11th, 2011

On Dec. 17, 2011, the Seagrove, NC area – the center of NC pottery – will be very active with special holiday kiln openings and open house events. We have some info on a few of these events, but remember – it’s just before Christmas – any of the Seagrove area potteries would be happy to see you at their door with the intention of draining your bank account trying to finish your holiday shopping list. Remember these key words – buy American – buy handmade – buy local – buy art – buy for yourself. Be your own job creator.

We’ll provide all the street addresses involved so you can let Google pull up a map you can print out or stop at the NC Pottery Center and pick up one of the handy maps of the Seagroce area potteries. And, just to be polite, check out the exhibits on view at the Pottery Center.

We’ll start on the fringe with Donna Craven Pottery which will be hosting a Holiday Open House from 8:30am-5pm. The pottery is located at 2616 Old Cox Road in Asheboro, NC – more like between Asheboro and Seagrove.

Join them as they celebrate the holiday season with new pots from the upcoming firing, refreshments and more!

For further details call 336/629-8173 or e-mail to (donnacraven@embarqmail.com).

Bulldog Pottery will be hosting their Holiday Kiln Opening from 9am-5pm. The pottery is located at 3306 Alt. 220, going south from Seagrove. Look for the big blue water tower.

Bruce Gholson and Samantha Henneke will have new moka glaze pottery ready. Come see the latest and hottest Bulldog pots of 2011, fresh from the kiln.

Ask them why they are not named – Max the Wonder Bulldog Pottery.

For further details call 336/302-3469, e-mail to (bulldog@bulldogpottery.com) or visit (www.bulldogpottery.com).

Chris Luther Pottery will be having a Kiln Opening from 10am-5pm. The pottery is located at 4823 Busbee Road, just outside of Seagrove.

The pottery will introduce new glazes and shapes for 2012.

For further details call 336/301-3254, e-mail to (info@chrislutherpottery.com) or visit (www.chrislutherpottery.com).

Ben Owen Pottery will be presenting its Holiday Chinese Red Kiln Opening with a preview and refreshments from 9-9:50am and the opening from 10am-5pm. The pottery is located at 2199 S. Hwy. 705, (the Pottery Highway) South of Seagrove.

There will be an abundance of Chinese Red and other glazes will be available as well. They hope to see you there!

For further details call 336/879-2262, e-mail to (info@benowenpottery.com) or visit (www.benowenpottery.com).

Seagrove Stoneware Inn & Pottery will be hosting its Annual Kiln Opening & Gallery Sale (no hours were given, but lets say 10am-5pm). The pottery is located at 136 West Main Street in “downtown” Seagrove.

Join them for their annual kiln opening and gallery sale featuring new work, one of a kind pieces, and special discounts in the gallery. The sale is both Saturday and Sunday.

For further details call 336/873-8283, e-mail to (artists@seagrovestoneware.com) or visit (seagrovestoneware.com).

Dean and Martin Pottery will be having its Holiday Kiln Opening from 9am to 5pm. The pottery is located at 7739 Nathan Lane, outside of Seagrove.

Come out to their shop for a visit and see their new work.

For further details call 336-879-0683, e-mail to (jeff@deanandmartinpottery.com) or visit (www.deanandmartinpottery.com).

We’ve also heard that Johnston & Gentithes Art Pottery will also be having a holiday event on Dec. 17th, but we have no details. They are located at 249 East Main Street in “downtown” Seagrove. Let’s say it would be safe to give them hours of 10am-5pm.

For details call 336/873-9176 or visit (www.johnstonandgentithes.com).


Work from JLK Jewelry

Of course while you’re in the Seagrove area you could also check out other potteries who happen to be supporters of Carolina Arts including: Eck McCanless Pottery, at 6077 Old US Hwy. 220, Seagrove; From The Ground Up Pottery, at 172 Crestwood Road, Robbins; JLK Jewelry at Jugtown, at 330 Jugtown Road, Seagrove; Whynot Pottery, at 1013 Fork Creek Mill Road, Seagrove; and Wyndham & Brooke Haven Pottery Gallery, at 209 East Main Street in “downtown” Seagrove.

Hey, you could even stop by Phil Morgan Pottery, at 966 Hwy. 705, (the Pottery Highway) just outside of “downtown” Seagrove. Ask him if he’s ready to give Christmas back? Just joking – I hear he’s a pretty good potter.

To find out information about other potteries in the Seagrove area, visit (www.DiscoverSeagrove.com) or (www.SeagrovePotteryMuseum.org). And, once you get your hands on a map, you’ll see you can map out a more convenient route from pottery to pottery than the order mentioned here.

Good shopping!

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America’s College Museums Handbook and Directory, Second Edition – My 2 Cents Worth

December 8th, 2011

The other day I got kind of a wrong number call, or more exact a call thinking that we were someone else – which came from someone who found something on the Carolina Arts website. It happens all the time. Someone does a Google search and finds an article about whom or what they were searching, and they call the number at the bottom of the page – not the number at the end of the article.

On this day it was a woman from Grey House Publishing looking for someone at one of the university or college art galleries in the Carolinas. I can’t remember which one, but it was someone we cover in the paper. Our conversation soon led to the fact that her publishing company had produced the second edition of the America’s College Museums Handbook & Directory. I told her I just included some info about art books in our December 2011 issue of Carolina Arts. Before I know it she’s getting my mailing address to send me a 30 day trial of a book which costs $185. I assured her I did not want to buy the book, but would take a look at it and maybe give my two cents on it in one of my blogs. So, here we are.

Here’s the description of the book found on the website of Grey House Publishing:

America’s College Museums Handbook & Directory, Second Edition

Published August 2011
Grey House Publishing
Dr. Victor J. Danilov
Softcover: 600 pages
ISBN: 1-59237-674-6/978-1-59237-674-2
Price: $185.00

The only resource of its kind, this work presents a comprehensive picture of over 1,700 museums and galleries in American colleges and universities.

This updated second edition includes data on 400 new facilities, more photos, new museum director contact information and four new indices to offer complete coverage of these important cultural facilities. It is an essential in-house reference tool for all campus museums and galleries and will be an important resource for academic and public libraries as well.

Students and their visitors may be surprised at the wealth and variety of culture readily available on their own campuses, and this guide makes the investigatory task easy.

Detailed introductory chapters offer an overview of the field, dealing with such aspects as history, mission, types, governance, staffing, collections, research, funding, exhibits, public programming, attendance, marketing and much more.

The Updated Directory of Organizations, with data on over 400 new facilities with more photos and new contact information for the museums’ directors, present detailed information on museums and collections of art, botanical gardens, costumes, geology, historical houses & sites, marine sciences, medical & health, musical instruments, natural history, photography, planetaria, religion, science & technology, sculptures, zoology and much more.

Four Indices: University & Museum Index, Museum & University Index, Geographic Index and Key Personnel Index

Founding & Opening Date Appendix

Selected Bibliography and Cumulative Index complete the text

Available in print and ebook formats

America’s College Museums provides a comprehensive overview of the funding, development, exhibitions, governance and future trends of college museums, along with highly informative profiles of these important facilities. This new edition will be a welcome source for all academic and public libraries.

————————————

Inside the book I found this info about the author.

Dr. Victor J. Danilov is a leading figure in the museum world. He was the director and/or president of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago for 15 years, and the founder and director of the Museum Management Program at the University of Colorado from 1988 to 2003. He is the author of 27 books, including 17 in the museum field, from museum career and planning guides to overviews of science, historic site, living history, ethnic, hall of fame, sports, corporate, and hands-on museums. He holds degrees from Pennsylvania State University, Northwestern University, and University of Colorado, and has been an officer in national and international museum organizations.

Here’s my 2 cents.

This is a big book, but I’ve got some that are just as big, filled with hundreds and hundreds of pages about some computer software program and I can’t find a few pages that tell me how to make that program do what I want. So, the size of a book doesn’t impress me and those big computer books were a lot cheaper.

My first impression is that this is a book every library in a city of 70,000 or more people should have in their reference department, as well as any library at a college or university that teaches art. I’m not sure why any individual would want this book at that price. That’s what libraries are for – they carry books we don’t need on an everyday basis.

Of course my interest was in what info they provided about art museums and art galleries at our Carolina colleges and universities. That’s my beat.

The info about facilities in the Carolinas filled about 10-12 pages in this book. And, I found the listings to be mostly complete, but also missed the mark in some big ways.

One example was that there were no listings for Charlotte, NC. They included the art gallery at Davidson College in Davidson, but none of the UNC-Charlotte art galleries. Nor do they include the facilities at Queens University and the community colleges in Charlotte. Charlotte is a big city to leave out completely.

It made me wonder if the info was collected by sending out a survey form and some people didn’t fill them out or return them in time?  But since this is the second edition I wonder how they knew who to send it to if you were not in the first edition.

They also didn’t include the Catherine J. Smith Gallery or the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at  Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. It’s hard for me to think they wouldn’t be included in the Art Gallery category. And, neither facility is brand new.

The directory also seemed to have a problem when it came the UNC- and USC- facilities, leaving out art galleries at UNC-Asheville, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington, USC-Aiken, USC-Sumter, and UNC-Upstate to name a few.

In South Carolina, they did not include info about the art galleries at Coastal Carolina, Francis Marion University, Furman University, and SC State University.

And like I mentioned in leaving out Charlotte facilities, this directory did not take into account art galleries at community colleges – at least in the Carolinas.

I’ve been in SC a long time now, but I checked out the college and university I attended in Michigan and their facilities were included. The book has a lot of listings so I can only assume they don’t know much about the Carolinas.

Size of the facility did not seem to matter. So they were not leaving out smaller galleries, as they did include the galleries at Coker College in Hartsville, SC, and Davidson University, which are not very big gallery spaces.

The book does have info on 668 college and university art galleries and more about art museums throughout the US, so if I was an artist looking for an academic art space to exhibit my work, this directory could be very helpful. It includes e-mail and phone contacts for these facilities.

As far as those facilities not included in the Carolinas – I have a hard time getting some of these same folks to send me info so I’m not surprised some are left out. And I’ve been doing this in the Carolinas for 15 years.

These days UPS or other freight carriers can take your art anywhere, so there is no reason you couldn’t show your work at the Sheppard Fine Art Gallery at the University of Nevada, Reno in Reno, NV, or the Hammons Gallery at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR, as long as you know who to contact first. This book has a lot of that info sorted in several categories and in several different ways.

What should you do? You might want to check and see if your local library already has this book or encourage them to get a copy.

Grey House Publishing is located in Amenia, NY. You can contact them by calling 800/562-2139, e-mail to (books@greyhouse.com) or visit (www.greyhouse.com).

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