capturing the delta...

So, this year I get to work with NINE art, music, and dance teachers around the Delta (plus a host of other kinds of teachers)... but as a former art teacher, and as a super duper advocate for arts in schools this is a particularly heavenly assignment. see, when people think of my home, people IMMEDIATELY can conjure our musical and literary legacy, but rarely can they name even ONE visual artist. since both my mom is fantastically creative and talented with the oil paint, the ink pen, the potter's wheel, and the pencil, i hate that people don't look to MS for burgeoning artistic talent.

I'm not going to bore you with gory details, but here are four of my favorite visual artists who live, (or have lived) work, or create in the Delta. (and by favorite i mean, "would be INCREDIBLY excited to have a piece in my home" Two are pretty well known, two are smaller-time, but all are fantastic. PS: I don't mention my mom here-Holland Wilson- because her art already graces our walls. but she's probably my most favorite.)

Here we go...

Maude Schuler Clay: Sumner, MS

Alison Furr-Lawyer: Jackson, MS (ok, not technically Delta)

William Dunlap, Tupelo, MS (also NOT the Delta, but he paints the Delta A LOT)

Bradley Gordon: Clarksdale and Oxford, MS

 

has your appetite been whetted sufficiently? Go here to learn more about MS artists of all stripes

wishing for a pile of leaves..

 the first time boone and I were really ever alone together was when he had a broken collarbone and couldn't drive his truck, so i gave him a lift home. as we walked to the bus (to pick up my car) we walked by the most perfect pile of crisp leaves...and the urge to kick them was really too hard to resist, so i ran over, scooped them up with my foot, and flung them everywhere. they made SUCH a great crunch sound.  but when i looked over at boone, he seemed so surprised that i got embarrassed... and then i realized that the pile had been so perfect BECAUSE some poor person had to rake to get them that way. i tried to scooch them back into place, but really..the damage was done.

to this day i look at piles of leaves and think of 3rd grade and st. john's day school and my first time alone with my honey. although it's autumn here, i really haven't seen any leaf piles... if you see one where you are, give it a kick for me, ok?
anyway, with this in mind, this weeks' posts are brought to you by the letter "l" and crisp, rust colored, autumn leaves. ;)

photos from imagespark

not much to report

well, it's official...i've been using my organization-issued pc notebook so much that my sweet, lovely black mac is angry with me. she keeps freezing, and--i swear-- is moving the keys so i can't type at my regular speed. (or it may have something to do with the fact that the pc has keys that are much, much closer together. it's almost like typing on a blackberry. yep. they gave me one of those, too)

anyway, i want to thank all of my friends who've stayed loyal and have continued to check back for updates week after week even though NOTHING new has been posted in ages. trust me, things are crazy here. boone's been posting though... really great things about life in rural america, and when i can, i'm going to chime in. here's that link: http://godknowswhereblog.blogspot.com

all i really have to tell you (beyond that my fingers have stopped recognizing mac keys and that my work life is insane and completely fulfilling) is that when you think of where we live, i DO NOT want you to imagine this place:

nope. although it IS the technical Mississippi River Delta, it's not THE Mississippi Delta. just so you know. ;) that is all.