Can you smell a hint of wood smoke in the air? It’s autumn arriving with all its glory. We will soon leave behind the heat and humidity of summer and begin to enjoy breathing in the crisp air of fall. This is a special time for an artist when Mother Nature brings forth her best palate of wonderful colors with the daily changing scenes of beauty. This is also when we can experience a sunset more beautiful than man could ever paint. We are fortunate to have a front row seat here in the mountains to watch the changing of the seasons and to inspire us artists to get out our paints and brushes and try to capture all its magnificence.
Sun and skies and clouds of June
And flowers of June together
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October’s bright blue weather.
Helen Hunt Jackson
Painting, drawing, sculpture, in fact all of the arts, can appeal across the barriers of time and space with a direct and immediate and alive language of its own. I find it requires intense concentration, but it is also relaxing and therapeutic transporting me into another world. It literally refreshes parts of the soul that other activities cannot reach. Artistic virtuosity is sometimes unevenly distributed, very demanding, and hard to fake. Yet it transcends geographic locations. Beethoven and Shakespeare are beloved and honored all over the world.
Many of my friends ask me to explain what is meant by the “Arts and Crafts Era.” To me, it basically refers to a style of art work that began in the 19th century when a great change in the world of decorative arts began to emerge. This movement was led by an Englishman, William Morris, who was a leader in a pared down style that celebrated the natural world and the skills of the craftsmen. It was truly an artistic time that championed honest, simple design that still endures today.
One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost and his ode to fall tops my list.
OCTOBER
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
To-morrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
To-morrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow,
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know;
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away;
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the wall.
We are fortunate to be close to the Blue Ridge Parkway. With a short drive we can climb the peaks approaching an elevation of five thousand feet for an early October show of fantastic color. It would also be a great time to take in an art gallery show or visit the art museum in Asheville.
Our Lake Lure Artists invite you to see our work locally in our fall art show and in the ever-changing exhibits in the Mountains library.
