"Carolina Arts Unleashed" – Page 59 – A Blog by Tom Starland, Editor/Publisher of Carolina Arts

Charleston’s Museum Mile – the old Bait & Switch

It looks like Columbia, SC, isn’t the only place where the use of county accommodation tax money ends up helping commercial enterprises when it is shielded as support for non-profits. Accommodation tax money is a special tax collected from hotels, motels and vacation rentals to promote area tourism. The Museum Mile project was first proposed ... Read More

One Eared Cow Glass Turns Sand Into Art

Columbia SC Visual ArtsColumbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Mark Woodham, One Eared Cow Glass, Tommy Lockart

One of my favorite stops on my monthly delivery run is at One Eared Cow Glass Gallery & Studio, located at 1001 Huger Street in Columbia, SC, in the Congaree Vista district. Columbia is one of the few stops on my runs where I’m there during regular gallery hours – at least some of the ... Read More

What is it About 701 Whaley Street in Columbia, SC

Columbia SC Visual Arts701 Contemporary Center for Arts, 701 Whaley Street Columbia SC, BlueCross BlueShield, City of Columbia SC, Jack Gerstner, Jeffrey Day, Marvin Chernoff, SC Arts Commission, The State newspaper, Wim Roefs

Take the same location, some of the same supporters, the shield of being a non-profit, and what do you get? Another close-knit group of well connected people doing something that doesn’t seem to be available to others – mixing and matching the commercial sector and the non-profit sectors together. Let’s take the old group: 701 ... Read More

City of Spartanburg, SC, Helps People Be Creative??

Spartanburg SC Visual Arts

Not too long ago I received a press release about a new website in Spartanburg, SC, which announced a new initiative by the City of Spartanburg to showcase the area’s creative community. At least I guess that’s what it was all about. My first impression was that the site wasn’t that creative itself nor did ... Read More

NC Pottery Center Tightens Budget

NC Pottery Center, NC Visual ArtsDenny Mecham, NC Pottery Center, Saving the NC Pottery Center, Seagrove NC

Not just waiting on the kindness of strangers and friends, the Board of the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, has cut the full-time position of its director, Denny Mecham, to a part-time position. Mecham has agreed to stay on until she finds another job. Tim Blackburn, who is head of the Center’s board ... Read More

Greg Schmitt’s Exhibit at Charleston Co. Library

Charleston SC Visual Artsabstract photography, Charleston County Public Library, Greg Schmitt, Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery

The day we went to Apple Store heaven in downtown Charleston, SC, Linda and I also stopped at the Charleston County Public Library’s Main Branch to restock. Linda headed for the novels and I headed to the selection of books on CD. I’d be hitting the delivery trail again soon so I needed to find ... Read More

Keenan Fountain at the Columbia Museum of Art

Columbia SC Visual ArtsAmy Fichter, Apollo's Cascade, City Art, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia SC, Keenan Fountain, Mint Museum of Art, Rodney Carroll, SC Arts Commission, SC State Art Collection, Verner Awards, Wendyth Wells

A few months back I stopped to take some early morning photographs of the new fountain in front of the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. Well, it’s not so new, but new enough. I hope you enjoy some different views of this fountain, named Apollo’s Cascade. The fountain was created by Rodney ... Read More

OMG An Apple Store Opens in Charleston, SC

Dreams That Can Come True

Saturday (7/26/08) was looking to be a near perfect day. Temps were in the 70s in the morning when I had to cut the grass, the sky remained overcast making this late July day seem mild. The Carolina Panthers were starting training camp today in Spartanburg, SC, one of the local TV channels was going ... Read More

Saving the NC Pottery Center

NC Pottery Center, NC Visual ArtsNC Arts Council, NC Pottery Center, Saving the NC Pottery Center, Seagrove NC

About the same time we were posting my blog entry about a recent visit to the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Martha Waggoner, an Associated Press writer was releasing a story about the financial problems of the Pottery Center. The headline hitting papers throughout the Carolinas was, “Supporters: NC Pottery Center needs $100,000″. ... Read More

Native American Pottery at NC Pottery Center

NC Pottery Center, NC Visual ArtsCatawba Indian Pottery, Celebration of Seagrove Potters, Lucks Bean Cannery, Museum of NC Traditional Pottery, Native American Pottery, NC Pottery Center, Seagrove NC

I was on the road to Greensboro, NC, for some technical help for this blog. When I crossed the SC state line into Rockingham, NC, and got on the newly repaved 220 (part of the future I-73), I realized that I had an opportunity to stop in at the North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, ... Read More