The Bonner Collection - More Than You're Expecting
If you live in the South, you're familiar with Jim Bonner's commercial art. Now visit the Bonner Collection in Old Town to see his take on the natural coastal world.
- story and photographs by Karen Fineran
Ship models, wooden duck decoys and seabird figurines are artfully displayed among exquisitely rendered watercolor paintings of pelicans and other wildlife, boats, and lighthouses. Sea-colored jewelry is draped over driftwood sculptures. Vibrant ceramic seahorses, starfish, seashells, crabs and turtles seem to be crawling just about everywhere.
The Bonner Collection Art Gallery contains the studio of well-known artist Jim Bonner, and is the primary outlet for his watercolor paintings and prints. Owned by Bonner and his wife Patsy, it also contains an expansive retail space showcasing home décor, jewelry and gifts, and featuring the work of several other local artists. The gallery was first opened in Pass Christian in 1996, moved to Old Town Bay St. Louis in 2003, moved to uptown New Orleans in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina, and in 2013 finally returned to its Gulf Coast home. Originally from Meridian, Mississippi, Jim Bonner hails from the heyday of the advertising era in the ’70s in New Orleans. He’s the guy who designed the iconic Barq’s root beer can, the Crystal hot sauce pepper logo, and the original New Orleans Jazz NBA basketball team logo, among many others, some of which are available as prints at his studio.
So while a commercial graphic designer by trade, and a very celebrated and successful one at that (with a lineup of design and advertising awards to his credit), Jim’s true passion eventually emerged for painting watercolors of wildlife and nature scenes. His work has been exhibited at The George Ohr Museum and at the Ocean Springs Annual Show. His studio sells his original watercolor paintings, as well as signed and numbered giclees and prints.
Jim also accepts commissions, and is particularly talented at painting pet portraits that seem to perfectly capture the spirit and sensibilities of these quirky cats and dogs so beloved by their owners. He’s even painted Bay St. Louis’s own Lucy! Jim’s wife Patsy manages the retail side of the operation, collecting and displaying unique coastal-style gifts, home decor, antiques, new and vintage jewelry, and fun beach fashion like colorful bags, hats and scarves. Alligators and herons adorn delicate boxes made of capiz seashells. Dinnerware, hand towels, lamps and pillows prominently feature crabs and other sea motifs. Patsy says that the NOLA couture line that she carries is especially popular, with its neckties, dog collars, and key chains sporting alligators, cocktail glasses, fleur de lis, or red beans and rice. She also carries the original art pieces of a number of local clay artists, jewelers, and mixed media artists.
“This building is in such a great location that I think it really lured us back to the Bay,” Patsy explained about thedistinctive French Settlement Building that was opened for retail space on the Old Town beachfront in 2013. “Plus, we have such a love for the beauty of the Coast, and we love being right by the water here. Since we moved here, so many people have been coming and telling us that this is their favorite place to come in the Bay!”
The Bonner Collection Art Gallery is conveniently located in the French Settlement building at 108 South Beach Boulevard, steps away from the Bay St. Louis Harbor. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday and Monday afternoons “by chance.” Many of Jim’s paintings, as well as some of their retail goods, can be viewed at their website at www.thebonnercollection.com. A Frida-Fest Second Saturday!
The monthly artwalk on July 9th celebrates the birthday of iconic artist Frida Kahlo with an extraordinary costume contest and a fiesta of other events! Hot Spots: Magnolia Antiques (200 Main Street) and O'Dwyer Realty (105 North Beach).
- stories by Grace Wilson
Magnolia Antiques
|
I’m back from my wedding hiatus to share tales of my whirlwind adventures! I’d like to thank my mother and Suzi Walters for taking over my column while I was immersed in the grand event of my wedding.
While I was on break, life gave my existence a reshaping. I transcended the mundane, and emerged a married woman! Seriously though. I make it sound like water over rocks, but I lost countless hours of sleep and probably grew my first grey hair during the process. It was so worth it to find myself legally bound to the man I’ve loved for almost seven years. |
Vintage Vignette
|
We left stress at the door and took a car to our final destination, San Miguel de Allende. Our sweet driver, Miguel, did his best to entertain us with the cultural and political history of the area while we repeatedly nodded off in mid-conversation. In a dream, we passed through mountains and deserts filled with strange plants that danced in the sun and waved us into the city. (This was likely the hallucinatory effects of altitude sickness, but we enjoyed the show and kept our eyes peeled for roadrunners and coyotes.)
As we began our descent into San Miguel we awoke, startled by the vivid colors and enchanting historic buildings. It was the beginning of our honeymoon. We were in love with each other and together we fell in love with this new place and its colors.
Immediately I could see this was a place of art. The buildings reflected the colors of the sunset and were accented with deep turquoises — the color palette of our wedding. It was somehow so foreign, but so familiar that we just melted (almost literally) into the landscape like we belonged there.
This wasn’t a place that paved over their rough cobblestone streets to make it easier to walk on them. Instead, they seemed to be adding more and widening the walkways. Things weren’t polished, they were patinated and loved for it. To understand Mexican folk art, you have to embrace primitive. You have to love color as a distraction from crude craftsmanship.
In a place called Atotonilco, a 20-minute drive from the city, we found a revered artists’ market. Not a lot of people had set up on this weekday and I felt almost like the Pope as I walked through with the vendors vying for my attention and pesos. They totally deserved both. It reminded me of a Mexican ArtsAlive!.
It wasn’t the ease of her craft that enticed me to buy her things; it was her work ethic. I appreciated her labor, her willingness to show up in the 90+-degree heat and cut sharp, rusty tin by hand. I bought several of her pieces, and I didn’t even haggle (which is weird for me).
I went stall-by-stall and did the same thing, watching the artists create. Several of them stopped to pay me attention and show me their artwork. It was a very moving experience, the same feeling I get when I watch artists at home in Bay St. Louis. I felt like a stitch in the embroidered tapestry of something bigger than myself.
To see my new husband so astonished at all that was happening was a delight, and his encouragement of my purchases was even more delightful, as I had made a vow that I wouldn’t work on our honeymoon. But when you love something, it really isn’t work.
People have always told me that, but we both understood it during this trip. I felt like Marco Polo, compelled to bring these objects and share my stories about them with my customers back home. Bringing back items from travels to offer to people in the community is in the blood of every merchant, just like bringing back inspiration is in the blood of every artist.
I’m grateful to be both and so thankful that I got to experience what I like to describe as “Bay St. Louis in Spanish.” Nothing thrills me more than the prospect of getting to dwell in color during Frida Fest on July 9th, when the downtown is converted into a little Mexico of sorts. I will forever relish my newfound ability to breathe blues, hear reds, and embrace the warm oranges of love.
- stories by Grace Birch
Saturday, June 11th
Over the past two decades, the Second Saturday Artwalk has become one of the most popular monthly community events in the entire region. Gallery openings, shop and restaurant specials and live music make the streets of town swirl with a fun family energy. While things are lively all day, the music and specials take place from 4 - 8pm.
Each month, two "Hot Spot" businesses take the limelight. This month, California Drawstrings (216 Main Street) and Twin Light (207 Main Street) are featured. Make sure to stop by and congratulate them! |
Second Saturday column
|
216 Main Street,
Bay St Louis
(228) 463-2124
A CLEAVER SPONSOR - please thank them!
But California borrows its motto from Archimedes, the famed Greek mathematician, whom according to legend exclaimed "Eureka!" after he discovered a method of determining the purity of gold.
Keenan had her eureka moment as a young entrepreneur coming to New Orleans for the 1984 World’s Fair.
“I was working in real estate in North Carolina when I saw this fabulous line of linen clothing at a boat show,” said Keenan. “I knew I wanted to continue my real estate career and move to New Orleans, but I thought people visiting for the World’s Fair weren’t going to understand the heat and humidity. I thought I could earn some extra money by selling this cool clothing line in the French Market and it just really took off.”
Keenan quickly outgrew her French Market booth and moved into the French Quarter. Today her store on Royal Street in New Orleans is a well-known spot for both men and women to pick up the best in resort wear — shirts, pants, shorts, dresses, skirts, outerwear, accessories — California Drawstrings has something for everyone to be comfortable and stylish, no matter how high temperatures rise.
California Drawstrings has also expanded to a Magazine Street store, as well as an outlet location on the North Shore in Covington.
“One day Nancy Moynan of Lulu's called me saying the mayor of Bay St. Louis told her about my shop and they thought it would be a good fit for Bay St. Louis,” Keenan said. “I went to see her space at Maggie May’s and opened a Bay St. Louis branch in 2012.”
Just as Keenan faced the familiar problem of outgrowing the space a couple of years later, she heard of a business for sale on Main Street. She saw the building and immediately made an offer.
“I just know Bay St. Louis is a place I want to spend the rest of my life,” Keenan said. “I’ll never really retire, but the pace is so much easier here than in New Orleans. And after a while you just appreciate not having to worry about things like parking.”
Keenan said that besides being a picturesque beach town, what she loves about Bay St. Louis is the people. And Keenan knows people.
“I feel like I have the greatest sales team and the greatest managers,” Keenan said. “They look after the stores as if they were their own. The greatest compliment you can give me is that you love my staff. They are truly like family to me watching out for what’s best for all of us. I can’t be in three places at once. And to think I literally started with two tables and $1500 at the French Market.”
When she’s in Bay St. Louis and not at California Drawstrings, chances are you’ll find Keenan at her favorite place to eat: the Sycamore House.
“Their food is very consistent, very good, and they have a great bar and bartender,” Keenan said. “It’s the kind of place where they know your name when you walk in.”
You could say Keenan has struck gold again by moving to the Bay.
Twin Light Creations isn’t just the a shop, it’s a home. Located in one of Old Town’s iconic bungalows, the 1890s building is listed on the city’s historic tour as the Angeline House named for a family from Sicily who once lived in it.
Today the proud business owners and residents are Pam Collins and Joy Panks, who have created a colorful, whimsical paradise where they live, work and play. Each day they welcome people in and when they lock the shop doors at night, they simply walk out the back door into their apartment in the evening.
Collins and Panks love having visitors come through the shop and admire their unique home and garden offerings. Shoppers are wowed at the variety of items. It’s easy to see that this shop is a literal dream come true for the owners of Twin Light.
“We started renting a cottage in Bay St. Louis in 1999 and it just got harder and harder to leave,” said Collins. “We knew one day we wanted to have a shop, but we also knew we wanted it to be something different.”
At the time Collins was working in the hotel business in New Orleans while Panks was a draftsman, drawing deep water structures.
“I jumped out of the frying pan with hotels and into the frying pan of retail,” smiled Collins.
“It’s a lot like having a farm,” Panks added. “Our days start incredibly early and go incredibly late. It makes it hard to travel sometimes.”
Their whole Twin Light adventure started with travel. While they were still working their former jobs, they took two 6 week trips - one up the East Coast and one to the West Coast. Along the way they met families and artists that made unique goods. By the end of the trips they had a list of 50 vendors they wanted to work with.
“Some people said we would never make it because we don’t feature many local artists, Collins said. "But we're still proud to be here."
Twin Light does feature local artist Julie Nelson, well-known for raku pottery, but the rest of the items are unique to Old Town Bay St. Louis.
Lots of wind chimes. hand-blown glass, specially lighting, metal artworks and wine-themed decor items line the walls, shelves and ceilings.
The bungalow keeps going with beautiful bird fountains near the back and a whole section dedicated to garden and house flags.
Out the French doors in the back of the shop, Twin Light Creations continues onto an outside deck and stunning garden. The outdoor walls are filled with vibrant Haitian art and spinners blow in the Bay breeze in the backyard.
Each unique piece has the story of the artist or family behind it, which Collins and Panks are all too happy to share.
There are many unique lights and lanterns in the shop, which fits the name Twin Light Creations perfectly. The true meaning of the name Twin Light is even more illuminating.
“We have friends who always call us twin because Joy and I look so much alike,” said Collins. “And the Light is for God.”
Indeed, images of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary hang above the front window, rescued after Hurricane Katrina from their former shop location right across the street.
The Sacred Hearts and special twins have found their true home at 136 Main Street and their light is shining bright in Old Town at Twin Light Creations.
Also: Don't Miss Smith&Lens Gallery Pop Up Patio Show
106 South Second Street
The Bay High Tiger News Team Puts Art Into Action
- story by Karen Fineran
High schools offer so many activities and opportunities these days, it can make the head spin trying to keep up with the whirling array of upcoming and ongoing social, academic, and sporting events held every week at school.
But at Bay High School here in Bay St. Louis, students can remain calm and well informed, because the Tiger News Team is on the job! The extracurricular club that formed just last September collects, writes, performs, records, and edits all of the high school’s breaking news. The result of this innovative program is that the entire student body and faculty of Bay High is kept better informed (and entertained), while the students on the team have the chance to learn and practice valuable media skills and techniques and learn about opportunities in the broadcast and media industry. |
Arts Alive! column
|
Dancing Babies and Grumpy Cats:
The Copyright Fair Use Doctrine in the Social Media Age
A Spring "Green" Second Saturday Artwalk
- stories by Grace Birch and Kerr Grabowski
Arts Alive! Takes Over Old Town
- story by Ana Balka, photos by Ellis Anderson
Healing Arts
- story by Christina Richardson
Hancock High's New Performing Arts Center Debuts
- by Stacey Cato
The grand opening ceremony for the new Hancock Performing Arts Center will take place Saturday, February 20th, 2016, 10am. 7140 Stennis Airport Drive. See more details at the end of this story!
The arts hold a unique place in the hearts of the people of Hancock County. Talented people pursue their dreams here and want to inspire others to take a creative approach to life through music, theatrical performances, and more. Now, Hancock County artists have a new 24,620-square-foot center to call home and to enjoy some of the most highly anticipated social events on the coast.
“The Performing Arts Center will be committed to promoting the arts to the children and citizens of Hancock County and will showcase local and visiting artists. We are excited to offer this magnificent facility to the Gulf Coast area,” said Director of the Hancock County Performing Arts Center Catherine Tibbs. |
Arts Alive
|
The facility houses a 500-foot orchestra pit, over 2,000 square feet of lobby area complete with gallery-style hanging system, and a spacious backstage make-up and dressing room. The center also has a catering kitchen fully equipped to accommodate guests in final preparations for that big fun-filled family event or special day.
All are invited to the ceremonial ribbon cutting on February 20th, where there will be food, multiple performances, and other live entertainment. Crews have been working around the clock to make this opening an event you don’t want to miss!
Tibbs says the center’s goal is to benefit the entire community and its visitors. "We've never had anything like this in Hancock County! We want to bring in big Broadway plays and other programs that the community will enjoy. The center is not just for Hancock County. We welcome all performing artists to use the facility. It's a place where you can bring the whole family to enjoy concerts, dance recitals, and other aspects of the arts. We want it to be an all inclusive facility."
The center will be available for rent upon reservation. Stage productions of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Little Shop of Horrors” have already been booked for the coming months. For more information on upcoming performances and rental dates contact the center at 228-255-6247.
Saturday February 20, 2016
10:00 a.m.
7140 Stennis Airport Drive
10:00- 10:15- Ribbon cutting ceremony and greetings from Mr. Dedeaux
10:15-West Hancock Elementary School
10:20-10:40-Hancock North Central Elementary School
10:45-11:10-South Hancock Elementary School
11:15-11:35-Hancock Middle School
11:35- 12:30- Intermission
12:30-12:50-Hancock Middle School’s Performing Arts Club
12:55-1:05-Hancock High School’s Talon Dance Team
1:10-1:30-Hancock High School’ Drama
1:35-1:40-Hancock High School’s Talon Dance Team
1:40--2:00- Intermission
2:00- 2:20-- Hancock High School Drama
2:25- 3:00- Hancock High School Symphonic Band
STEAMPunk Pottery Project
- story by Karen Fineran, photos by Robert Mosley
“You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?”
— Biblical verse (Isaiah 29:16) written across a large sign on Barney’s extreme pottery-making contraption, “Agile Argile”
Whether at the helm of his bizarre-looking pottery machine, dangling upside down over an inverted pottery wheel, or forming clay pieces using his bare (and very bald) head, Steve Barney has taken pottery to a whole other level.
|
Arts Alive
|
The program is designed to integrate the STEAMPunk genre, the "Maker" culture and the experience of making pottery. The combination of elements will be applied to a unique new educational curriculum.
On January 30th, from 10am to 6pm on the grounds of the Ohr, Barney will perform a "sneak preview" of the project, informally demonstrating his radically innovative pottery-making machine and techniques.
Then on March 5th, Barney will be the host and the headliner at OOMA's kick-off event to introduce the new curriculum. It's scheduled to coincide with "Coast Com" (AKA Comic Com on the Gulf Coast) and the Mississippi Museums Association's annual meeting, being held this year at OOMA. The March event will feature George Ohr-like circus sideshow performances.
With an electrical engineering degree from Tufts and a lifelong interest in industrial design, Barney spent 15 years as an instructional design consultant in Boston and created interactive computer simulations for clients like museums and educators. But Barney had also been throwing clay pottery on the wheel since he was a child growing up in Buffalo, New York. Creating and teaching ceramic art were always an important part of his life, and he itched to bring his artistic interests and his passion for engineering together.
Barney initially visited New Orleans several times for Jazz Fests; when he made exploratory forays into the surrounding areas, he fell in love with the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina, Barney bought and renovated several cottages in Old Town Bay St. Louis, throwing himself into the creative process of restoring historic homes. Within a couple of years Old Town became home.
Barney’s fascination with industrial machinery had taken a steampunk turn in the late 1990s. Steampunk as a movement incorporates a Victorian industrial aesthetic: think H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, or Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” with a modern sensibility.
While Barney had long felt influenced by the post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” movie series and William Gibson’s cyberpunk novels, his “eyes and mind were blown” when in 1997 he started attending the annual Burning Man art festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. There he got carried away by the outrageously high tech/low tech contraptions, art cars, sculptures, and performance art on display and before long was exploring the diesel punk world of machine-design innovation and folk engineering, fashioning original contraptions out of old flywheels and belt pulleys.
Barney can use Agile Argile upside down, using reverse gravitational forces to throw an upside down pot by affixing a lump of clay upon its 19th-century cast-iron drill press, which then pulls itself down from its base by gravity.
Upside-down pottery throwing is not particularly novel, Barney explains. Many potters over the years have bolted wheels to the ceiling in their studios and “pulled down” surreally tall structures that are not possible to create on a standard potter’s wheel. Barney chose to further explore the process by inverting his body so his hand-and-body orientation to the wheel and spinning clay could be maintained while he was throwing.
Thus, Barney dons a climbing harness supported by an electric winch, working upside down with a remote control for as long as he can stand it before the dizzying rushing of blood to his brain impels him to re-right himself. When he first started climbing into the harness about 15 months ago, he could only hang for about 45 seconds before blackness oozed across his vision. Now he hangs for about 2 ½ minutes at a time.
Another striking visual feature of Agile Argile is a series of fixed and mounted mannequin hands attached to multi-axis pivoting arms to mimic the potter’s hands performing particular tasks. Functioning simultaneously, they conjure a demented Wizard of Oz or the multi-armed Hindu deity Shiva.
Barney's relationship with the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art began when he first visited OOMA a couple of years ago and learned about the fantastical works and vaudeville persona of the self-proclaimed “Mad Potter of Biloxi” George Ohr. Ohr was a master of carnivalesque self-promotion, and his pottery shop was an established coast tourist attraction where fascinated visitors could watch the Mad Potter give entertaining performances as they purchased mementos of their trip.
Ohr’s eccentric persona and flair resonated with Barney. “As I walked around the Ohr museum and grounds, I felt like I had come home," Barney said. Weeks after that visit, Barney dreamed of Ohr himself directing him to carry out Ohr's artistic vision using a steampunk premise. “This concept really belongs at the Ohr Museum,” Barney says. “It’s the right idea at the right place and the right time.”
Barney plans to take his machine to schools, museums, and festivals across the state and pique children’s interest in pottery, as well as inspire passion for learning about engineering, machinery, robotics, and other sciences.
“The steampunk concept really brought it all together for me. I thought, if I could teach pottery as a creative and cognitive process, and incorporate my passion for engineering, then I could gift to the children so many things that I’ve learned over the years. I feel like my ideas have the potential to touch thousands of kids nationwide.”
Barney sometimes appears in Bay St. Louis at Second Saturday and other local events, often in front of the Ugly Pirate bar. For more information about the SteamPunk Pottery Project, email Barney at steve@steampots.org.
1/22-24, 29-31 – Friday and Saturday nights,
Sunday matinee
Ransom of Red Chief
|
1/28 – Thursday
BSL Rotary Club Chili Cook-Off
|
1/29 – Friday
A short video from last year's "Surrender" show
|
Surrender Art Show &
|
1/30 – Saturday
Krewe of Kids parade
|
1/31 – Sunday
Krewe of Nereids Parade
|
2/8 – Monday
2/9 – Tuesday
Krewe of Diamonds Parade
|
The Holiday Artwalk
- story by Karen Fineran, photos by Ellis Anderson
Shop Locally AND Creatively!
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson and Ana Balka
Unless you’ve been stationed in the Antarctic for the last decade, you’ve probably heard that shopping local is a good idea. Old Town Bay St. Louis provides encouragement for local shopping throughout the year with Second Saturday Art Walks, Hancock Chamber of Commerce Business-After-Hours events, Mr. Atticus’s Friday Night Markets at the Mockingbird Café, big yearly events like Cruisin’ the Coast, and incentives to explore, like the Old Town Historic Walking and Biking Tour.
|
Arts Alive
|
and we've hot-linked Cleaver sponsors who represent them!
Just around the corner on Second Street, Antique Maison, Social Chair, Bay Emporium, Flair, and the Mockingbird Café are longtime venues for local artists. The new Smith & Lens Gallery has gained a statewide reputation for excellence and imaginative shows in the year that it's been open.
Toward the beach, on the first block of Main Street, Twin Light Creations, Maggie May’s, Jean Anne’s Fashion Express and the new Bay Life Gifts all feature work by superb local artists. By all means, one can’t forget the iconic Jim Bonner at the Bonner Collection on Beach Boulevard (in French Settlement). Cappie's Point, also in the French Settlement building, is the sponsor of this Arts Alive monthly column!
In Old Town's Depot District, The Lawson Studio boasts a collection of art to complement the most discriminating decor, while folk art lovers can pick up prints of popular original paints by the renowned Alice Moseley in the museum named in her honor (top floor of the historic depot building).
Antique shops like Magnolia Antiques and Antique Maison Ulman can be gold mines for outsider or collectible vintage art and artifacts. While it's hard to guarantee their point of origin, by shopping locally, you're still investing in your community while having a blast!
Throughout the holiday season, shoppers can take advantage of some special shopping nights that we have listed in the Cleaver calendar. On the three Thursdays leading up to Christmas, participating Old Town stores will provide discounts and specials for educators, first responders, and men, respectively (we like that men in general get their own night to “go wild” shopping in Old Town BSL, and that it’s at the proverbial last minute before the holiday).
Also, on December 4th and 5th the Ladies Auxiliary of the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club holds their annual Christmas Bazaar at the Yacht Club, with over 30 local vendors participating. Martha Whitney Butler of the French Potager said, “It’s like having all of Old Town in one room.” Martha will be taking items from her store including flowers, gifts, jewelry, and candles. A gift card to Huge&GiantBuy or a mass-produced electronic item doesn’t convey the same sentiment that a locally made item would. And dollars spent at UberMart don’t circulate in our community throughout the year. But you already knew that, right? This isn't the Antarctic! |
Thursdays:
December 3, 10, 17 Special shopping nights in Old Town Participating Old Town merchants 3-8 p.m. Old Town hosts three special shopping evenings on consecutive Thursdays in December. First, educators come out and get your shopping done early and local for Teacher Appreciation Night on Thursday, December 3, 3-8 p.m. The following Thursday, December 10, all you firefighters, emergency professionals and military personnel can make your rounds in Old Town during First Responders/Military Appreciation Night (also 3-8 p.m.) And finally, all you last-minute-shopping Men get the red carpet treatment at Men’s Shopping Night on Thursday, December 17, 3-8 p.m.! (Some of you may qualify for all three events!) |
Happy Holidays from the Crew at the Cleaver!
The Rosendahl Home on Bookter
- story and photography by Ellis Anderson
Not many people would attempt a full-scale renovation of a historic house long distance. And if they did, chances are the results would be disastrous. Yet Ron and Vicki Rosendahl say they couldn’t have imagined a better outcome for their Bookter Street home.
Of course, it helps that the contractor was their son, Matt. In addition, Ron, who spent most of his working career as a high-end builder, made trips to the Bay when he was able, to lend his son a hand. For instance, Ron worked out structural details for the back of the house, where an add-on porch became a vaulted, light-filled living area. It’s a stunning showcase for an enormous art collection featuring many pieces by the couple themselves – both are noted artists. Ron’s primarily a sculptor, while Vicki sculpts and paints. |
At Home in the Bay
|
The Rosendahls’ appreciation of art is apparent the moment a guest enters the door. It’s hard to move quickly through the house — fascinating visual tidbits insist that visitors stop at every step and take a closer look. The walls of the wide center hall are hung tightly with old photographs, family portraits, and landscapes by friends, nationally known artists.
Open hallway doors reveal a guest room, Vicki’s studio and a lush master suite, each enticing the eye. Inside the studio, one of Vicki’s creations — an extravagant, glittering alligator made from beads and baubles — lounges on a countertop. Compelling and vibrant Haitian art beckons from the guest room walls. The first thing that grabs the eye on entering the master suite is a stunning landscape by the Rosendahls’ daughter, Kerry. She obviously inherited the creative genes. A graduate of UNO’s fine art program, she also attended the Ringling College of Art and Design. Toward the back of the original cottage, the hall opens up into a vaulted and vast living area. One of Ron’s recent sculptures stands at attention in a corner of the great room, seeming to guard the floor-to-ceiling-lit shelves displaying more of their work. To the side is a contemporary and well-appointed kitchen. This is clearly a home where cooking is a priority and entertainment is a regular feature of life. The tropical landscaping outside seems as if it’s a part of the living space too. Sets of jumbo glass doors open onto a side deck and a screened porch. |
When the two began their family, Ron focused his business savvy on construction, which was booming in the ’70s and early ’80s. Although his primary business eventually evolved into consulting on large-scale development projects in the Caribbean, Vicki and Ron worked on many upscale residential homes together. Ron would design and build the house, while Vicki — who had studied further and obtained licenses as an interior designer and a real estate broker — would create a custom and complementary interior. The team developed a reputation for “making space work.”
Vicki’s art background gave her a knack for discovering standout work by local artists — pieces that would become focal points in luxe Naples homes. Ron, who’d followed his artistic muse despite his busy career, found that his own sculptures were in demand throughout South Florida. Since he worked mostly in stone at the time, he also had opportunities to design and create award-winning stone altars and fonts for well-known churches.
Katrina changed those plans, along with those of everyone else on the coast. Afterward, nothing remained of Matt’s Bay St. Louis house except a single piling. To complicate matters, Ron began battling a grave and extended illness. In the coming years, Vicki often wondered if the active life they’d shared was coming to a close. They downsized from their large Naples house into a small cottage near Cedar Key, Florida, waiting to see what the future would bring.
In 2011, the future delivered, big time. Matt, who’d continued building and renovating in both New Orleans and in Bay St. Louis, went to Bay St. Louis on the behest of Vicki to check out an abandoned house that she’d seen on the Internet. Although the interior was wrecked and the structural integrity dubious, the team of three had the vision and experience to make the purchase. They began the renovation with enthusiasm.
“Matt’s always got great ideas,” says his mother. “Most of the time, if he suggested something, we said, ‘just do it.’”
“The three of us brought all the knowledge we’d learned from decades of building to this project,” says Ron. As an example, he points to a hidden steel beam that added strength to the back structure. A distinctive feature they collaborated on is the bead-board wainscoting throughout the house: it’s made from wood salvaged from the original ceilings that had been collapsing when they made the purchase. Vicki insisted on leaving the original paint colors of taupe, turquoise and ivory, with lots of natural wood showing through the layers.
At 2000 square feet, the house is smaller than the Rosendahls are accustomed to, but they say it fits them “just right.” Their experience with designing well-thought-out spaces shows throughout. Although it’s three bedrooms and three-and-a-half baths, no space feels cramped. The high ceilings contribute to the sense of spaciousness. Comparing them to the lower ceilings common in Florida, Vicki says “it’s opened us up.” Her studio, outfitted with built-in cabinetry, gives her both room to create and ample storage. Ron, whose work requires a larger studio, may eventually build one on the home’s large lot, but for now, he’s content with a small cottage in the neighborhood that gives him room to work large.
The couple have settled happily into their new home, often sitting on the front porch to listen to music coming from Depot Row or watching events unfold on the Depot park lawn. The entertainment features of the house come in handy. Matt and his wife, Lauren, divide their time between Bay St. Louis and New Orleans. Daughter Kerry, who lives in the Bay, along her rescued black Lab Louie (short for Bay St. Louis) comes over often. Oldest son Chris (who, no surprise to anyone, sculpts as well) and grandson Rider still live in Naples, but they visit several times a year.
Even with a revolving roster of family and guests, the Rosendahls admit that their home is a still work in progress.
“Come over next time,” says Vicki, “and we’ll have everything all changed around.”
With two such talented artists in the same household, who makes the final decisions on décor? Vicki begins to laugh. “We don’t always have the same opinions,” she says. “But in the end, I get my way.”
Ron smiles in response and then winks. “We work it out,” he says.
Al Lawson - On Design
The other thing that artists do in their homes is collect or acquire things that energize them and help them to find inspiration and new influences for their own art. Artists' homes can also be fascinating self-portraits about the art they wish they could have done or are hoping to involve in their own art. The secrets and revelations to discover in artists' homes are limitless - just like the unending expressions artists may depict. Artists' homes are their safe place set apart from a world that may not understand them.
Our pick of very-cool, don't-miss upcoming happenings!
This month:
|
Upcoming Events
|
Explore ALL the Holiday Fun with this Snowflakes in the Bay brochure!
Snowflakes in the Bay, Waveland, Kiln and Diamondhead!
A series of joy-filled family events throughout the month of December. Click on the cover of the brochure to open for a list of all the Holiday Happenings!
The event series takes it name from the illuminated snowflakes that transform the historic live oaks of Bay St. Louis and Waveland during the month. Lights continue during the evening hours through Jan. 1, 2016. |
12/3 & 10 & 17 - Thursdays
And finally, all you last-minute-shopping Men get the red carpet treatment at Men’s Shopping Night on Thursday, December 17, 3-8 p.m.! (Some of you may qualify for all three events!)
|
Thursdays: December 3, 10, 17
|
12/4 - Friday
12/4 - Friday +
12/5 - Saturday
Christmas Bazaar
|
12/5 - Saturday
Christmas Parade and Snowflakes and Sugarplums Festival
|
12/5 - Saturday
Holiday Tour of Homes
|
12/5 - December
12/6 - Sunday
Hancock County Library's
|
12/12 - Saturday
Saturday, December 12
|
12/13 - Sunday
Christmas Horse Parade in the Kiln
|
12/17 - Thursday & 12/19 - Saturday
12/26 - Saturday
The ceremonial lighting of the symbolic candles during the gala will feature elders of the community and youth dancers.
This event is a fund-raiser for the NAACP Hancock County Chapter. |
Unity in the Community Kwanzaa Celebration
|
1/8 - Friday
5th Annual Krewe of CASA
|
1/9 - Saturday
Dolly Should
|
Bay Artists Co-op - Twenty Years of Creating
- story and photos by Karen Fineran
The large white concrete building at the corner of Bookter and Necaise, with its brightly painted label of “Bay Artists Co-Op,” tends to catch the eye as one passes by. You may have found yourself wondering what lies inside . . . and, what exactly is an artist’s co-op anyway?
This month, you’ll have your chance to browse the treasures within, to speak with the artists who created them, and to watch live demonstrations of art techniques, all while enjoying live music, free refreshments, and celebrating the notable twentieth year anniversary of the oldest artists’ co-op in Mississippi. |
Arts Alive
|
A cooperative simply is a business or organization that is owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services. Started in 1994, the Bay Artists Co-Op is the oldest artists’ cooperative in the state of Mississippi. Manager and founder Regan Carney began this one, shortly after she moved to Bay St. Louis from Los Angeles in 1992. (A native New Orleanian, Carney was then working from an artist’s cooperative in L.A.’s Artist District.) Like many others before her, she was enraptured by the natural beauty, serenity, and safety of the Gulf Coast.
The artists share the monthly rent and utilities of the building (based upon the square footage of their studios inside) and may also share use of the large electric kilns inside. Over the years, the size of the co-op has ranged from as few as three artists to as many as twelve at a time, and has included clay artists, sculptors, painters, jewelry artists, and metal artists.
In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina’s formidable storm surge partially destroyed the building and completely destroyed the equipment, supplies and art works inside, Carney stepped up to the task of rebuilding the co-op. Along with some of the volunteer groups staying in town at the time, and with the assistance of grant money from the Mississippi Arts Commission, Carney and her friends and family scoured and repainted the building, and repaired the extensive structural damage to the walls and roof. (Her husband, fellow co-op artist Mark Buszkiewicz, was nearly killed when he fell from the roof rafters to the cement floor twenty feet below). About eight months later electricity was restored to the building, some of the artists whose lives had been so disrupted returned to work in their studios there, and the co-op went on.
Currently, the artists at the co-op number eight, including Carney. The other studio artists are clay artists Barney Adams, Gayle Andersson, Mark Buskiewicz, Lynne Harris and Jeanne Pertuit, and painters Janet Densmore and Kathleen Higgins.
Carney’s work has been shown at numerous galleries in Bay St. Louis, Long Beach, Biloxi and Ocean Springs, and can currently be seen and purchased here in town at Gallery 220 and Lawson’s Studio. Carney offers pottery classes (both throwing and hand building) four days per week. She recently offered a clay wind chime workshop, and is looking forward to offering her Christmas clay ornament workshop in December. Other co-op artists also offer workshops and classes; the best way to learn about these opportunities is to speak to the artists during the open house about their work and their instructional techniques.
The open house is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday at 415 S. Necaise Avenue, across the street from the St. Stanislaus football field. Refreshments will be on hand, as will live blues and folk music by Ivory Bill, featuring Billy Ray Hammons and David Sallis. For more information, contact Regan Carney at (228) 216-0210 or Regancar@bellsouth.net.
Saturday, November 14th
Our pick of very-cool, don't-miss upcoming happenings!
|
Upcoming Events
|
11/20 & 21 - Friday & Saturday
11/21 - Saturday
Barksgiving Day Parade
|
11/21 - Saturday
Advance tickets are available locally at Bay Emporium and The French Potager.
They can also be purchased online securely and easily at: www.BrownPaperTickets.com Tickets will also be available at the door. |
Tarts and Tramps:
|
11/21 - 11/22 - Saturday and Sunday
The 20th Annual Open House/Studio Sale
|
11/27 - Friday thru 1/1
Click on the brochure cover to open now! You'll find all the local holiday events!
|
Snowflakes in the Bay & Waveland
|
12/4 - Friday +
|
Christmas Bazaar
|
12/5 - Saturday
The Alice Moseley Museum
- story and photos by Ellis Anderson
She started a new career when she was sixty-five and then, at eighty, uprooted her whole life to move to a new town 300 miles away where she only had a few contacts. The widow bought a historic cottage by the depot, painted it bright blue and set up her studio. Some paintings manifested her memories of life in the South. Others were born from her sharp sense of humor. As her fame spread, tour buses began dropping off loads of visitors from around the country. She’d put on her red beret, sit in her rocking chair and tell them stories that would have them howling with laughter.
|
Click here and scroll down to read archived Sponsor Spotlight articles.
|
The museum is so popular, Myrna Green, director of Hancock Tourism says that over half of the 20,000 people who stopped into the Visitors’ Center last year also visited the museum. That means over 10,000 people from around the world have enjoyed Alice’s art in the past year alone. One weekday in late October, this writer found six visitors in the museum. Two of them were from South Carolina, two were new residents of Biloxi – by way of Australia – and a third couple hailed from England. It was their third time to visit the museum.
Brook is passionate about her work. She believes that the Moseley Museum is the “best-kept secret in Mississippi.”
“Her zest for life was matchless,” says Brook. “She painted up until right before her passing. And she continues inspiring us now. You can walk through the museum and look at all the portraits and paintings and appreciate how far we’ve come. Remembering the past makes us better each day, remembering where we’ve come from and what we’ve gone through.”
Tim Moseley said his mother’s values often showed up in her work. “She had very progressive ideas about civil rights. My mom wanted to make clear that her paintings were a tribute to the people who survived those times and those injustices… My mom considered herself one of those people… If you were in Mississippi and you were a sharecropper, it didn’t matter if you were black or white, there wasn’t going to be any cash money come your way.”
Tim attributes a big part of Moseley’s appeal to her storytelling talents, both verbally and in her paintings.
“It’s not just how good an artist is, it’s the stories they tell and how well they connect with people.”
A good example is a one of the museum’s most popular paintings, called “Labor Vs. Management.” Alice has painted a farmer trying to plow, but his mule is sitting down. The farmer in raging at the mule, but it’s clear the creature has no intention of budging.
Tim Moseley explains the thought behind the painting: “Either you’re labor and think that your boss asks more than anyone has a right to expect or you’re the boss and you think that your labor’s just sitting down on you while you’re paying good money."
“Miss Alice is our Shero,” Brook says, smiling. "She was a woman of true courage, someone we all need to emulate in one way or another."
Alice Moseley’s nephew, Birmingham businessman and frequent Bay St. Louis visitor Mike Krawcheck agrees. He says that Alice Moseley and the town of Bay St. Louis share the same plucky DNA. He points to the way the town’s residents showed courage and determination after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as proof of their similarity to his aunt.
“They’re the kind of people who confront adversity and challenge turn it around to everyone’s advantage,” he says.
“My aunt was flat out indefatigable. She described the time she spent in BSL as the best time of her life. She flourished there.”
Alice’s son Tim agrees. “She really did think that the pot of gold was at the end of the rainbow in Bay St. Louis.”
Categories
All
15 Minutes
Across The Bridge
Aloha Diamondhead
Antiques
Architecture
Art
Arts Alive
Arts Locale
At Home In The Bay
Bay Bride
Bay Business
Bay Reads
Bay St. Louis
Beach To Bayou
Beach-to-bayou
Beautiful Things
Benefit
Big Buzz
Boats
Body+Mind+Spirit
Books
BSL Council Updates
BSL P&Z
Business
Business Buzz
Casting My Net
Civics
Coast Cuisine
Coast Lines Column
Day Tripping
Design
Diamondhead
DIY
Editors Notes
Education
Environment
Events
Fashion
Food
Friends Of The Animal Shelter
Good Neighbor
Grape Minds
Growing Up Downtown
Harbor Highlights
Health
History
Honor Roll
House And Garden
Legends And Legacies
Local Focal
Lodging
Mardi Gras
Mind+Body+Spirit
Mother Of Pearl
Murphy's Musical Notes
Music
Nature
Nature Notes
New Orleans
News
Noteworthy Women
Old Town Merchants
On The Shoofly
Parenting
Partner Spotlight
Pass Christian
Public Safety
Puppy-dog-tales
Rheta-grimsley-johnson
Science
Second Saturday
Shared History
Shared-history
Shelter-stars
Shoofly
Shore Thing Fishing Report
Sponsor Spotlight
Station-house-bsl
Talk Of The Town
The Eyes Have It
Tourism
Town Green
Town-green
Travel
Tying-the-knot
Video
Vintage-vignette
Vintage-vignette
Waveland
Weddings
Wellness
Window-shopping
Wines-and-dining
Archives
April 2024
March 2024
June 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
August 2014
January 2014
November 2013
August 2013
June 2013
March 2013
February 2013
December 2012
October 2012
September 2012
May 2012
March 2012
February 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011