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| July |
| Featured Exhibit |
Flowers (or Fleurs?)
By Helen K. Beacham
By the time July rolls around, many of our spring flowers are past their prime.
But not at Art Central Gallery where Delaine Walters’ series entitled “Flowers
& More Flowers” is just coming into bloom! She just got back from the trip of
a lifetime, and we had a chance to catch up with her to ask about that trip, and
to find out a bit more about this multi-talented artist.
Q: Tell us about your trip to France - who'd you go with?…what did you see?
… did you paint there?… what did you like about it?
DW: I just returned from a 19-day piece of heaven. I went with Kathie George,
a watercolor/batik teacher from Ohio, and 14 other artists. We visited Notre
Dame, D'Orsay Museum, Pech Merle caves, Sarlot Market, Vincent Van Gogh's
house, Montmartre and several other popular sites. We took a ride down the
Seine River just as the Eiffel Tower came to life with thousands of blinking
lights. Boy, what a sight to see! I painted several scenes in my journal, took
over a thousand photos and traveled by van, boat, metro, high rise bus and
many, many footsteps. We had the honor of being asked to go to a French
concert at Eglise Ste Madeleine de Souloumes. We went…we enjoyed the
music- but not a word of English was spoken! I stayed in Toulouse, Paris,
and then at Le Vieux Couvent for nine days. This is where the workshop was
held. We had three gourmet meals a day prepared for us, took photos of the
chateaus and the beautiful fields of poppies. Yes, at one time it was a home
for the nuns, and that is a story in itself! I enjoyed every minute of my stay in
France.
Q: Tell us about your father's peacocks. What's the story there?
DW: I bought my dad several sets of peacocks: white, blue and brown
shoulder. The two blue ones would follow Dad all over the yard, like a dog
would. When Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and became
disabled, the peacocks would come up on the porch and talk to him. At the
end of his life, he was unconscious…but when the peacocks would make their
sound, Dad would turn his head toward them! There are a lot of happy
memories of Dad and his peacocks.
Q: Tell us about growing up in St. George.
DW: I was born & schooled in St. George, married a local grocer and will
probably die here. I have two sons, Chris and Jamie, and three wonderful
grandchildren. As a young girl, I always drew and colored my paper dolls,
designed and sewed most of my clothes (including my wedding dress). Later I
opened an arts and craft store and became proficient in beading, decoupage,
cross-stitch, macrame, crocheting and painting, giving classes in all of these.
My artistic side has always been a part of my life - from designing floral
arrangements to working in a fine gift boutique. I retired from Dorchester
County as a GIS Tech (Geography Information System).
Q: We heard you had an appearance on “The Today Show” and in magazines..
tell us how that came about.
DW: My husband, John, started the WORLD GRITS FESTIVAL in St. George
25 years ago this year. My bridge club became the ambassadors for the
festival, riding in the parades all over South Carolina and throwing out instant
packets of grits furnished by Quaker Oats. We are officially "THE GRITS
SISTERS"…a group of nine fun-loving, crying-on-the-shoulder, wonderful
wives, mothers, and grandmothers that are on call 24/7 for each other. In
December 2000, we went to New York for a fun weekend. We brought bright
red sweatshirts and monogrammed "Puttin' on the Grits, New York Style,
2000" on the front. Saturday morning before daybreak, we were ready for "The
Today Show". It was so cold we couldn't take our coats off to show the world
our grits shirts! Needless to say, that didn't stop us from being seen on TV
with our big Southern accents and smiles. Pictures of the Grits Sisters have
been in The Smithsonian and Delta's in-flight magazine, Sky. The Grits
Festival has been featured in radio interviews worldwide.
Q: You’re obviously featuring flowers in your July series at Art Central…of all
the subjects you could have chosen, tell us why flowers are important to you.
DW: The first painting I ever did was of a jonquil. I’ve been very active in the
Rose Garden Club where we studied the botanic names of all the flowers. We
conducted plant exchanges and garden tours. I guess that, as a result,
flowers have always been my first love!
Q: You do paint in a variety of media, but your batiks are intriguing.
DW: Batik on fabric has been around for hundreds of years. The batiks I do
are painted the same way, but I use rice paper instead of fabric, and
watercolor instead of dyes. Each batik painting is layer upon layer of wax and
color. As the wax builds, you lose your image and color. Then you decide
when it’s the right time to stop. No two pieces are ever alike. That is why
they are a mystery – turned into beautiful pieces of art.
To see Delaine Walters new series “Flowers & More Flowers”, please visit Art
Central Gallery during July.
By Helen K. Beacham
By the time July rolls around, many of our spring flowers are past their prime.
But not at Art Central Gallery where Delaine Walters’ series entitled “Flowers
& More Flowers” is just coming into bloom! She just got back from the trip of
a lifetime, and we had a chance to catch up with her to ask about that trip, and
to find out a bit more about this multi-talented artist.
Q: Tell us about your trip to France - who'd you go with?…what did you see?
… did you paint there?… what did you like about it?
DW: I just returned from a 19-day piece of heaven. I went with Kathie George,
a watercolor/batik teacher from Ohio, and 14 other artists. We visited Notre
Dame, D'Orsay Museum, Pech Merle caves, Sarlot Market, Vincent Van Gogh's
house, Montmartre and several other popular sites. We took a ride down the
Seine River just as the Eiffel Tower came to life with thousands of blinking
lights. Boy, what a sight to see! I painted several scenes in my journal, took
over a thousand photos and traveled by van, boat, metro, high rise bus and
many, many footsteps. We had the honor of being asked to go to a French
concert at Eglise Ste Madeleine de Souloumes. We went…we enjoyed the
music- but not a word of English was spoken! I stayed in Toulouse, Paris,
and then at Le Vieux Couvent for nine days. This is where the workshop was
held. We had three gourmet meals a day prepared for us, took photos of the
chateaus and the beautiful fields of poppies. Yes, at one time it was a home
for the nuns, and that is a story in itself! I enjoyed every minute of my stay in
France.
Q: Tell us about your father's peacocks. What's the story there?
DW: I bought my dad several sets of peacocks: white, blue and brown
shoulder. The two blue ones would follow Dad all over the yard, like a dog
would. When Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and became
disabled, the peacocks would come up on the porch and talk to him. At the
end of his life, he was unconscious…but when the peacocks would make their
sound, Dad would turn his head toward them! There are a lot of happy
memories of Dad and his peacocks.
Q: Tell us about growing up in St. George.
DW: I was born & schooled in St. George, married a local grocer and will
probably die here. I have two sons, Chris and Jamie, and three wonderful
grandchildren. As a young girl, I always drew and colored my paper dolls,
designed and sewed most of my clothes (including my wedding dress). Later I
opened an arts and craft store and became proficient in beading, decoupage,
cross-stitch, macrame, crocheting and painting, giving classes in all of these.
My artistic side has always been a part of my life - from designing floral
arrangements to working in a fine gift boutique. I retired from Dorchester
County as a GIS Tech (Geography Information System).
Q: We heard you had an appearance on “The Today Show” and in magazines..
tell us how that came about.
DW: My husband, John, started the WORLD GRITS FESTIVAL in St. George
25 years ago this year. My bridge club became the ambassadors for the
festival, riding in the parades all over South Carolina and throwing out instant
packets of grits furnished by Quaker Oats. We are officially "THE GRITS
SISTERS"…a group of nine fun-loving, crying-on-the-shoulder, wonderful
wives, mothers, and grandmothers that are on call 24/7 for each other. In
December 2000, we went to New York for a fun weekend. We brought bright
red sweatshirts and monogrammed "Puttin' on the Grits, New York Style,
2000" on the front. Saturday morning before daybreak, we were ready for "The
Today Show". It was so cold we couldn't take our coats off to show the world
our grits shirts! Needless to say, that didn't stop us from being seen on TV
with our big Southern accents and smiles. Pictures of the Grits Sisters have
been in The Smithsonian and Delta's in-flight magazine, Sky. The Grits
Festival has been featured in radio interviews worldwide.
Q: You’re obviously featuring flowers in your July series at Art Central…of all
the subjects you could have chosen, tell us why flowers are important to you.
DW: The first painting I ever did was of a jonquil. I’ve been very active in the
Rose Garden Club where we studied the botanic names of all the flowers. We
conducted plant exchanges and garden tours. I guess that, as a result,
flowers have always been my first love!
Q: You do paint in a variety of media, but your batiks are intriguing.
DW: Batik on fabric has been around for hundreds of years. The batiks I do
are painted the same way, but I use rice paper instead of fabric, and
watercolor instead of dyes. Each batik painting is layer upon layer of wax and
color. As the wax builds, you lose your image and color. Then you decide
when it’s the right time to stop. No two pieces are ever alike. That is why
they are a mystery – turned into beautiful pieces of art.
To see Delaine Walters new series “Flowers & More Flowers”, please visit Art
Central Gallery during July.
| Delaine Walters "Flowers & More Flowers" |
