Seagrove, North Carolina

I got ALL whipped up when I toured the miniscule Greenville, NC art museum.  Did they have fabulously unexpected pictures or sculptures?  No.  Did they have world recognized artists?  No.  So, you ask, why did I get my panties in such a twist?  The tour guide clued me into SEAGROVE, NC., arguably the hand made pottery capital of the United States.  I immediately got Drake on board to visit this podunk town, population 200, with one stoplight.  I even made arrangements to stay overnight at the Duck Smith B & B, a turn of the century home, which is exactly the same as when it was built with the exception of the addition of four bathrooms.  [Surprisingly, the interior walls of this house - and I mean EVERY interior wall - was two inch wide dark varnished board and that included the ceilings!]  Fortunately, these were the high ceilings you find in these types of houses to help with summer cooling.  I forgot to take pix of the house because I was so pottery crazy.  This was a great place to stay - comfortable and with a killer breakfast.  

However, I came to see pottery, and I conquered.  First, we toured the North Carolina Pottery Museum which was an interesting history lesson about pottery in this Piedmont Region of North Carolina.  To make pottery you need clay, and central North Carolina is filled with all types of clay deposits.  The pottery tradition started with the Native American tribes which inhabited this area.  They made coiled rope pots and fired them.  Every piece needed a five step process to complete, and every piece was functional.

The Europeans arrived in the mid 1700s, and some of the first arrivals came with pottery making skills which included using a pottery wheel.  They were thrilled to discover potter's quality clay for the taking.  Unfortunately, the early glazes included using LEAD.  The lead poisoned both potters and their families.  The below pictured plate is from 1780 and the cake pan is from 1830 - they both use lead based glazes.  The plate form and decoration is still being made today by contemporary potters.

As soon as lead was determined to  be poisonous, potters quit using this type of glaze.  However, the clay needed for the non-lead glazes was much harder to get.  It needed to be dug out instead of being collected by the shovelful on the surface of the land.  The new type of clay when fired was called 'stoneware' replacing the earlier clay called 'earthenware'.  Potters scouted out caved in sides of creeks and riverbanks (water is in abundance in NC) as the easiest way to find the necessary clay.  Clay digging expeditions were organized.  In addition to the right kind of clay, potters began using salt fired glazes.  If there was no convenient salt lick, then this ingredient needed to be purchased.  Salt was dumped into ports in a hot kiln containing the stoneware vessels.  This caused a gray dimpled glaze which looked like the surface of an orange.  The pot below was fired in 1850.

North Carolina pottery of the 19th century was completely functional.  Pottery was used for all types of plates and bowls, but also for canteens, foot warmers and grave markers.

Pottery making was the second source of 'cash' for a family farm after tobacco.  Thus, family run potteries have a long history in North Carolina.  One of first large family potteries run as a business separate and distinct from a tobacco farm was the Jugtown Pottery which is still in business today.  Here's an example of Jugtown pottery in the distinctive orange glaze. 

In the 20th & 21st centuries, pottery had a dual character.  The majority of pieces were still 'functional' and classed as a craft rather than an 'art'.  From the 1970's forward, more and more potters were creating studio pottery following the Japanese style - production of mostly functional pieces which prized uniformity of pieces together with the 'master potter' creating one of a kind studio pieces.  It hasn't taken long for these unique studio pieces to be classified as art by the art world and displayed in top museums. 

I've been collecting pottery since 1970.  My pieces are both studio pieces and functional pieces, and my favorite pieces are BOTH.  We went crazy in Seagrove.  I could have easily spent another entire day there and spent twice as much.  Fortunately for me, there are three large galleries in town which display and sell 90% of the 100+ potters working in the area.  I came away with a beautiful platter 18" long which is sea green and shaped like a tropical leaf; a blue jug with cascading glaze useful for gravy or salad dressing or juice for two; two magnificent coffee cups, so lightweight you can't believe they are pottery; a large round lidded display piece in forest green; two small display bowls; and a piece of lace pressed pottery about 3" across.  Oh, man, I had a good time.

If you are ever in the area, I recommend a stopover.  The big galleries are all clustered in town.  If you need more pictures and explanations, here they are:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/97DYP66nkitBda6P8

 

  

 

The OBX

I wish I could have a cute shorthand way of referring to my absurdly long street name (West Corte Del Sol Este).  That's what OBX is:  shorthand for Outer Banks.  We took a vacation to this popular barrier islands spot just before leaving Eastern North Carolina.  Yes, yes, I know my whole life is a vacation, but going to someplace other than the initial get away spot is something of a vacation.  Here's a typical beach scene at the Outer Banks.  

I've never seen cleaner beaches.  The beaches on the Atlantic side of the barrier islands are pounded by waves to the point that any seashells are pummeled into polished fragments.  There's a quick drop off into deeper water, and the days we were there, a serious advisory about rip tides.  All the beaches are public and there are numerous access points.  Using any other way to get to the beach is seriously discouraged because of damage to the dunes and the special vegetation that hold the dunes in place.

A single highway runs the length of the North Carolina Outer Banks until Cape Hatteras when the barrier islands take a 90 degree turn.  At that point you can catch a ferry to Ocracoke Island and continue to the 'tip' of the last island in the North Carolina chain.  These pictures show the typical scenery for miles and miles and miles.  The height of the dunes is five to ten feet tall.  In some places on the highway, it's simply sand.  Where there's no vegetation, the sand drifts over the highway.  It's easy to see how quickly this two lane road could be buried.  Protecting these dunes is serious business.  

The 'sound' side of the barrier islands are often refuges which are wetlands.  We took a  hike into the interior of the Pea Island Refuge (yes, it's one of the barrier islands), and the scenery was entirely different.  According to the info, managers of these wetlands have even created artificial wetland islands.  I couldn't tell the difference between the 'real' and the 'artificial'.

(If everything looks a bit hazy, this was the day of the big wildfire smoke event that billowed down even into North Carolina from Canada.)  I was thrilled to see some big water birds and have a chance to take pictures of them.  

There were two main attractions in the OBX which I thought were really stellar.  First, this is the location of Kitty Hawk, NC, which immediately brings to mind the first engine powered airplane flight by Orville and Wilbur Wright in 1903.  There's a National historical sight with a marvelous Visitor's Center which is right on the spot of the first flight.  I learned lots of things about how the first engine powered flight took place.  The Wright boys spent several years, and had eureka moments which preceded the famous flight.  Incidentally, they flipped a coin to see who would pilot the first attempt at powered flight.  Wilbur won, but they couldn't get the engine to start.  Another coin flip, and Orville won.  The engine started, and the first flight went all of 30 feet.  Of the four attempts that day, December 17, 1903, the longest flight was just short of 900 feet.

This boulder marks the spot where the airplane 'took off' for each of the successful powered flights that December in 1903

Each of these rocks mark the spots of the flights which the farthest rock being almost 900 feet from the 'take off' boulder

The is the memorial to the event dedicated during the 1930's - attended by flight luminaries including Amelia Earhart. 

 (The helicopter was doing 'touch and goes' from the nearby air base.)

Of much more interest to me was the full sized replica of the Wright brothers plane.  The real plane is in the Air and Space Smithsonian Museum in Washington.  The plane is made out of light weight wood and canvas!  The pilot doesn't 'sit' - there's no pilot seat - instead the pilot lays down in the center of the lower wing.  

The replica of the Wright Brothers first plane

The Wright brothers came to Kitty Hawk for several years prior to the first powered flight.  They worked out several problems initially using gliders.  Orville sketched out the design for the powered air plane on a brown piece of paper!  

There was one other interesting sight.  It's a circular installation of metal monoliths inscribed with the important moments in the first 100 years of flight.  Here's the monument, and a close up of one of the entries.

Finally, here's something that will really blow your skirt up:  

There are only 66 years between the 1903 flight of Wilbur and Orville Wright to the famous picture of the Earth taken from the moon landing in 1969.

The other notable attraction on the Outer Banks of North Carolina is the 200 foot tall lighthouse at Cape Hatteras.

This gigantic lighthouse and accompanying buildings was actually moved in 1999 when it became in danger of falling into the sea.  In about two years, after repairs, visitors will again be able to climb to the top of the lighthouse.  

As always, there are more pictures:  Look at them individually for captions

Wright Brothers:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/K9i8W2GzKntE2iG56

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse & Pea Island Refuge

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VUPBppxBWis2YhTM7

 

Never Underestimate Southern Women

 In the 1930's Margaret Latham (far left) challenged North Carolina to rebuild the lost Tryon Palace, the Colonial Governor's home in the first capital of North Carolina, at New Bern.  This town was positioned between two major rivers which allowed access to the interior of the British Colony.  A luxurious home was constructed for William Tryon and his wife Margaret Wake Tryon.  It took more than six years to build (with slave and indentured servant labor), and the Governor and family occupied the residence in 1771....  Five years later, Tryon and family were the first Crown appointees to flee the colony and the upstart American Rebels.  In 1798, the residence unoccupied and falling to ruin caught on fire.  Due to the updraft from the cracked skylight, the interior was completely destroyed.  By 1930, the house had been leveled.  North Carolina Highway 70 was laid over the top the site, and there were about 50 businesses lining the highway.

A highway?  50 businesses?  No problem for the women shown in the above picture.  They got the legislature to move the highway and all the businesses.  Then, they got down to the business of finding the original foundation by hiring an archeologist, a historian, and an architect.  They combed records looking for descriptions of the original building and the contents.  Finally, as the building was under construction, using the original colonial building techniques and plans,  WWII ended.  Two of the ladies hightailed it to England and bought original furniture and decorative items from the period using Governor Tryon's inventory of his possessions as their guide.  They shipped everything they bought back to North Carolina. 

The rebuilding and refurnishing of the Colonial Governor's home, Tryon Palace, was North Carolina's first great public restoration project.  It opened to the public in 1959.  All of this project was spearheaded by the four women in the above photograph.  Never underestimate the determination of Southern women. If you'd like to see the Tryon Palace and gardens, click on the link.

Oh, and FYI:  The initial pictures are a replica of a military camp during the Colonial period. This was on the grounds as an additional exhibition.  The final pictures are of Union Park, a coastal park in New Bern.  Most of the pictures have captions - click on them one at a time to see the captions.    

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kChKPpamkaxbbCmT8

 

Whirligig City

 As you long time readers know, I'm always intrigued by something I've never seen before.  Just typing that sentence brings several things to mind such as the caribou wandering down the center of a highway in New Foundland seemingly unconcerned with the cars; or the sand sculpture competition in California; my first exposure to the Metropolitan Art Museum; or living across the street from tidal pools and a seal colony in Oregon.  Eastern North Carolina has added another unique experience:  A whirligig park.

Welcome to Wilson, North Carolina, home of the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park.  The only whirligigs most of us are acquainted with are either pinwheels, windmills, or weathervanes.  Vollis Simpson, a farmer, had a creative streak a mile wide.  He started designing and building gigantic, complicated whirligigs.  Unwittingly, he began  the resurrection of his small town, Wilson, North Carolina.

In it's heyday, this town was filled with tobacco warehouses (only two are left standing today - one of which is the home to the Whirligig Museum).  Brokers got rich being the middle men between the growers and the end users of the tobacco crop.  Wilson was their headquarters and they built fancy houses.  The town became extremely prosperous, and it was even electrified 1909.  Finally, the growers decided to cut out these brokers and began dealing directly with the end use buyers (RJ Reynolds, for example).  Wilson fell on hard times.  

This town decided not to die, and using Vollis Simpson's whirligig creations as its downtown centerpiece, it began to revitalize.  Restaurants and shops began to open.  The beautiful Edwardian houses started being restored, and artists began moving to town.  Tourists started arriving to see the whirligigs.  

We deliberately chose a windy day, so we could see these contraptions MOVING.  (Some of my pictures are videos that show the movement of the pieces.)  Simpson was a genius at construction, and these devices were meant to be outside in all weathers.  He often used reflective highway signage pieces.  Thus, the whirligig park looks 'lit up' at night. 

Pieces of reflective signage used in whirligig creations

  

The daytime version of 'the Big Star'

The night time version of 'the Big Star'

Wilson is also the home of the North Carolina Baseball Museum which is housed at Fleming Field, the college league baseball stadium.  I was pretty amazed at the number of famous players who were originally from North Carolina.  My favorite was Gaylord Perry, the famous 'spitball' pitcher, who I actually interviewed a few years ago during a Spring Training game in Arizona.  This museum is run by a bunch of retired guys who contact players, coaches, and anybody else who will give them memorabilia.  They have uniforms, gloves, autographed pictures, etc, etc, etc.  The museum is staffed haphazardly by these same guys.  

The one who was at the museum the day we visited followed us around telling the stories about the players he personally contacted or actually knew.  This museum is a labor of love, and falls into the category of quirky museums I love to visit.  Here I am with Babe Ruth followed by an example of one of their exhibits. (My face is still healing up from the tumble I took in NYC on Mother's Day.)

It's easy to see how much I enjoyed Wilson.  Unique things to see, interesting architecture, and cool small museums lovingly created and staffed by locals.  If you want to see more picture, click on the link.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BmCFF7BJkRP8eqS7A

   

Greenville, North Carolina

 I can sum up Eastern North Carolina in one word:  Beautiful.  This place is wonderfully GREEN.  Mixed forests cover the landscape.  There are several kinds of oaks, maples, elms, sycamores, and all types of pines and cedars.  This is also the land of the giant magnolia trees.  This one is outside of the Greenville Museum of Art.

This tree was easily 30 feet tall, and it's not even the biggest one we've seen.  After getting my Greenville Library card, we took a tour of the art museum with a young woman who has all the degrees to become a curator.  Currently, she's doing educational outreach in the community - thus the tour.  

The collection of the museum tends to be an interesting blend of modern and primitive/folk art.  

I really liked the whimsical outdoor sculptures constructed of 'found materials'.

 What excited me the most about the Greenville Art Museum is I learned about a Seagrove, NC.   This is a town of 200 potters.  We are headed there for a quick overnight on the 16th of June.  The granddaddy of potters in this town is called Jugtown Pottery.  It's a family owned business which goes back to the turn of the century.  Mostly, they've produced utilitarian pottery (stuff you actually use), but like the Japanese, they also have produced 'art pieces'.  The pottery is instantly recognizable since it's this hideous orange color.  Gradually over the past thirty years, other potters have just gravitated to this town.  I can hardly wait to see what they have to offer.   Here's some Jugtown pottery in the art museum

Greenville isn't filled with 'attractions' like several of the other towns we've visited in the area.  There are two major inhabitants of this town:  East Carolina University (the Pirates), and Greenville is the medical center of Eastern North Carolina.  One-third of the town is hospitals and other medical facilities.  

Since the university is on summer break, the town feels a bit sleepy.  It's filled with restaurants, some locally owned, and others are the chains we all know.  Lots of fast food, catering to the student population.  There are no freeways in Greenville.  It feels like the Tulsa, Oklahoma of the 1950's (my hometown).  It's all about traffic lights.  Since, the town is only 88,000 people, it's still easy to move from one side of town to the other.  The people are quite friendly, in that Southern way, and the natives have the most charming accent.  

We have enjoyed our time here even with my accident recovery time.  However, this town lacks direct connection to NYC which is a must for a move to the Northeast.  I wish I could transplant it to the north of Richmond.

If you'd like to see more pictures, click the following link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tZkP6q8k2xvd6WzVA

Tip of the Day....

Here's my tip for the day:  Do not fall down in New York City. Our Mother's Day dinner. was completely spoiled because I tripped over a raised sidewalk edge, which had been pushed up by a tree root, as the family was walking to the restaurant for our special family dinner.   It took me 15 minutes to get up off the pavement, and I was bleeding from a head gash.  One of those cold, unfeeling New Yorkers came out of his house with a bottle of cold water, iodine, and a gauze bandage. He got the bleeding slowed on the head gash while Sarah got their new electric car and drove us to the Emergency Room. Let's just say, it was not pretty, and I scared the whole family.  Cedric took a proactive stance.  He went home and put a selection of band aids on his stuffed animals to show me my band aid choices.  

I was actually very lucky. My hard head hit the pavement first, then my hands, and my right knee.  When I finally sat up, I was bleeding (gash on my forehead), and the knuckle on my longest finger (yes, the 'fuck you finger') was sticking up and the finger was at a 45 degree angle.  I also did a number on my glasses. My left lens went skidding along the pavement; I was so MAD!  

Now I have been traveling for almost 15 years. I have never, ever, ever forgotten my extra pair of glasses. For some crazy reason I took my extra glasses out of my backpack when I returned to Sun City in August, and I forgot to repack them. In all that traveling, I've never even opened the extra glasses case. Now I'm inconveniencing my daughter to pick up my new lens ($475), and FedEx it to me in Greenville, NC, our first stop this summer.

Thanks to those titanium glasses nothing was broken. I have a skinned nose not a broken one, and black eyes instead of broken orbital bones.   I have seven stitches right above my eyebrow, and I have a sprained left wrist.  Worst of all, I dislocated the knuckle joint on my right hand, but at least I didn't break it. 

I never wanna see a dislocated bone ever again. Forget those TV shows and movies that depict the hero having some body part dislocated, popped back in, and he jumps up and runs right back out to fight.  Pure fiction.  So not happening. My hand looks like the top of a blueberry muffin with the swelling, the discoloration, and the bruising. 

 Feel sorry for Drake not me. He's reliving our days when I had back surgeries.  He has had to bathe me, and dress me as well as do 1003 other things for the past two weeks. I'm having trouble. picking anything up. Fortunately my sprained wrist isn't terrible. And I can take the brace off to eat with my left hand. I relearning how to write using my left hand, and its given me empathy for Cedric who is just learning how to write.  I'm getting better doing stuff with my left hand; maybe I'll be ambidextrous when this is all said and done. And believe me I am ready for it to be done, done, done.  Drake was ready for this to be over 13 days ago.

Other than the stupid fall and spending seven hours of Mother's Day in the emergency room, our trip to New York was wonderful. [Actually, the silver lining was we got Sarah Lynn all to ourselves at the hospital.  I enjoyed that even under a morphine haze.]  We saw ten one act ballets spread over four nights,  We to the Metropolitan Art Museum, my favorite place, as well as we ate dinner in the dining room one night. We also ate soft shell crabs at my favorite Italian restaurant in the Financial District. We went to a museum I've never been to called the New Museum. Of course I have pictures of all of it.

Here's one day post accident:

Fortunately, my right hand is now totally out of the ace bandage, and mostly out of the splint.  I'm only wearing the brace on my left hand a few hours a day.  My right hand is less functional than I'd like, but I'm getting better.  What would have been best would be not to have fallen.