Day 4: Bay St. Louis to Ocean Springs to Jackson, MS

It's my day off and I am spending it the best way I know how, drinking a cup of tea and eating a raspberry and white chocolate scone while waiting for Gwen Impson, one of the artists on www.SouthernArtistry.org and also a dynamic leader of the ARTS Hancock County. Lori Gordon put me in touch with Gwen so that I could get a real honest tour of the recovery process in the arts community here in Bay St. Louis and the surrounding towns. Gwen recommended meeting up at the Mockingbird Cafe - a coffee shop, pub and gallery space that arrived just off of Main Street one year after Katrina hit. Owners Alicin and Martin Chambers are hoping to expand it into a restaurant at some point, but in the mean time, they provide live music (on my walk down to Gabbie's last night I heard it wafting from the streets.) On the walls, I notice the work of two more of the artists on our registry, painter and bee-keeper, Kat Fitzpatrick as well as, muralist and mosaic-maker, Elizabeth Veglia - I begin to realize how many of the artists on our registry are living and working together in this community and how thankful I (and many other visitors) am that they have not moved on elsewhere.

Gwen takes me on a tour of the main street and points out various buildings and galleries, which the area is famous for - some of which no longer exist and stand as water-damaged, wind blown shells and some of which, are just as colorful as a rainbow and as inviting. Listen to Gwen talking about the new bridge being built and how local artists are being recognized in that process thanks to the work of people like her and politicians who see what a community looks like with and without art. We arrive at the Lumberyard - the yard has since been converted into studio/gallery space for local artists, and classes are also taught out of this space (Photoshop design is the most popular at the moment.)

We run into yard co-owner, mixed-media artists, author, and photographer, Vicki Niolet - she talks about how the yard came to be. She has packed up her materials for a show in Pensacola, save a few copies of two books she published since the storm: "West Side Stories: Before, During and After Katrina" (pictured below and written in collaboration with Betty Stechmann) and "Parting Shots" a more humorous approach to chronicling the damage by pointing out the irony of the storm's destruction.

Vicki is kind enough to open her packed trunk and unwrap one of her pieces, "Mood Elevator,"(pictured here.) Listen to her talk about the inspiration behind the piece.

I also meet sculptor, Mary Ott Davidson and her husband Ken - Mary's work is mostly large-scale memorials and those with historic significance, but she also creates miniatures and small scale to share on days like these when the ARTS Alive tour is taking place.

Next, Gwen takes me past 220 Main - a co-op gallery that opened just 5 weeks after the storm - it is chock full of fantastic pieces including Lori Gordon's mixed-media assemblages, Betty Stechmann's photographs, David "Cairo" Wheeler's wood pieces, Michelle Allee's paintings and so much more. I am pressed for time and am sad to have to leave without purchasing anything - it seems that everything I see is surrounded by this magnificent energy of re-birth and new inspiration. From talking to many of these artists, one of the biggest changes that re-building has brought is a focus on a new medium - mostly out of necessity from the loss of materials like printing presses and canvases - there is so much assemblage work, and architecture/design work (imaging artists getting to start fresh with their living space?) that has entered many of their repertoires. Before we leave I have a chance to literally run through the Bay Artists Co-op on Necaise Ave. just past the old Train Depot where I meet Al "Breadman" Jensen, little does he know that his free samples of homemade rosemary-garlic and sourdough bread will serve as my mid-day meal while I hop from booth to booth getting quick interviews and taking pictures with the other artists in the co-op.

Listen to potter Mark Buszkiewicz talk about the inspirations behind his wildly-shaped vases.

Listen to painter and bee-keeper Kat Fitzpatrick talk about her work with bees since the Hurricane and how it integrates with the Byzantine icons in her work.

Listen to potter Reagan Carney talk about her most recent experiments with new glazes and how making these objects is about giving up control - her philosophy reminds me alot of the spirit of why people are able to move on with things after something like Katrina happens. The picture shown here is credited to the Sea Coast Echo - from their publication of the ArtsAlive! studio tour.

Listen to photographer-manipulator Marilynn Masters talk about how she emulsifies Polaroid prints and manipulates them to get the floating effect.

Listen to potter Dale Simmons talk about the natural surroundings that inspire is work and his wife's work and why the found beach glass that he incorporates into pot-handles turns purple in the sun.

WHEW.

After Gwen drives me back to my jeep, it's on the road to Ocean Springs - my trusty, pre-printed Google Maps tell me to get on a major interstate from here, but when I look at my road atlas, it tells me I can take coastal highway 90 all the way to Ocean Springs. Driving along the coast, I am reminded of how fragile our settlements are - entire high-rise casinos now exist as concrete slabs on the beachfront - I have flash backs of a former visit to Biloxi in 2000 when all of the swim suit shops and casinos lit the beach with light and color. It is the first time that I slightly grasp the absence that is all around me. If there is one thing that this visit has taught me, it is that absence is not necessarily a negative thing, it brings with it opportunity - but sometimes the shock of it is enough to make you question starting over. I don't make it to Ocean Springs on coastal highway 90 because the bridge is still out past Biloxi - apparently, there will be a big celebration tomorrow for the re-opening of that bridge.

When I finally arrive in Ocean Springs, I'm greeted by Glenn Miller -etcher/printmaker and now interior designer working also with paper and pastels. During Katrina, the water reached to the roof of his house and all of his belongings were coated. The salt content of the water corroded many of the metal plates that he used for his printmaking. Here's Glenn's work before and after.

Here's Glenn talking about this recent work, which includes automatic drawing techniques and references his attitude towards the hurricane. The peice he references is the one you see sitting in the middle of the desk.

After spending time with Glenn and his girlfriend Teri looking at all of the work he has done to the interior of his former studio - now living space - we go up to his tree house which overlooks a nearby park. It is a beautiful day, and from the tree tops, everything feels as if it could never be touched by waves - not from up here.

Armed with some squares of dark chocolate and a banana (thanks Glenn) I drive many hours north to Jackson, MS and check into my room at the Old Capitol Inn. This place is known for it's roof-top serenity garden and jacuzzi that overlook downtown - my brain is so full, that all I can do is plop down on my bed and await a pick up from Judi Pulliman from the Mississippi Arts Commission. She arrives and takes me to eat sushi with colleague Diane Williams - we discuss the merits of a colorful plate, and hot tea.