Sometimes I can see it.
There's a house
with quilts made from the old clothes I no longer wear. Someone I've
never met transforms them into something different, at once
comforting and startling, a work of art through which an outsider's
intuition assigns an image to my memories.
Maybe it's Ben Venom who completes the
quilting. Reading about him in Juxtapoz, I pictured the beauty of
California and then became excited when I found out he's a Georgia
transplant, a former resident of the city where I sit typing my
article, jazz rolling through the speakers and rain drifting down
onto McLendon Avenue.
For those of you not familiar with
McLendon, it's in the Candler Park area of Atlanta, near Little 5
Points. This place became a second home during my twenties, making me
its student, overwhelming me with converging cultures, inspiring me
to reach beyond my small town roots. C. introduced me to this place,
then seemed to abandon me here and later reclaimed it with me and our
children, once I'd already come to embrace it on my own terms.
I find some odd comfort in knowing the
children think of this place as nothing too special. I also look
forward to the days when I will sit within my quilt draped walls,
bearing witness to my adult children as they begin
to recognize the hidden wonders rooted in this city where we have
spent so much of their early childhood, attending SoulShine part time and frequenting the Land Trust.
Through the rest of this post, I want
to pay homage to some of the creative people and opportunities I've found here so far.
Migration like Ben Venom's feels natural, but the present moment
still offers a tremendous bounty of art and inspiration in Atlanta.
 |
| Alberto & Shana playing TerraPans |
Alberto inspired the creation of my
family's company TerraTonz LLC and has become a mentor and friend. He
also creates visionary visual art reminiscent of shamanic sojourns.
His work “My Hummingbird Dreaming" will be included in this
year's exhibition for the international Bioethics Arts competition
sponsored by UNESCO.
A co-collaborator of Alberto's and
friend in her own right, Shana's art reaches across mediums while
seeming to bridge previously disconnected spaces within my own mind. Shana's attentiveness to art events in the city also makes her a beautiful guide to new discoveries.
 |
| Scene from Forward Warrior! 2015 |
Dubbed “an annual live painting
performance” by Creative Loafing Atlanta , the
2015 installment of this event featured over 30 artists converting
blank city walls into dynamic murals. Watching this transpire on
father's day was an active testament to people's ability to transform
the energy of a landscape with art.
One of
the first stops on my first solo trip into the city, Mint offers
unique multimedia exhibitions. It's a great place to develop new
ideas and find new artists.
Wonderoot
A non-profit arts organization, Wonderoot provides virtually free studio space for its members--recording, visual and performing artists alike. It also serves as a venue for both adult-centered shows and events intended to ignite the whole family's creative spark.
Wonderoot
A non-profit arts organization, Wonderoot provides virtually free studio space for its members--recording, visual and performing artists alike. It also serves as a venue for both adult-centered shows and events intended to ignite the whole family's creative spark.
Outside
the future home I sometimes see--bunches of sage, rosemary, lavender, and
roses thrive. A CSA drops boxes of food beside the door. Inside, candles burn and firelight jumps across the rooms, music and
smoke simmering slowly, sunlight and moonlight drifting across shelves filled with
books and magazines within which my work appears. I'm not near the city of Atlanta. Yet evidence of it surrounds me even
then, making me smile.
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