Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 5. 2015 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
Arts & Cultural Alliance packs punch for Meet The Artist
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
This month’s Pickens Arts
and Cultural Alliance’s quarterly
“Meet the Artist” event, which
featured local potter Larry Wil
son of Hobson Creek Pottery,
drew art lovers and friends from
surrounding counties.
The self-taught artist and
Georgia native said he was very
pleased with the turnout of his
first solo show, held at Talking
Rock Pottery off Highway 515.
People came from as far away as
Gainesville and Decatur to attend
the show.
Wilson, who opened Hobson
Creek Pottery, is known region
ally for his quirky face jugs, bells
and animals like woodpeckers,
pigs and guinea hens.
Pickens Arts and Cultural
Alliance President Crystal Mer-
rell said the event was not only a
success for Wilson, but that it
doubled as a kind of farewell for
the PACA board member.
“Every meet the artist event
is special, but this one was extra
special to me personally because
my friend long time board mem
ber Larry Wilson was the star of
the day,” Merrell said. “This is
his last month on the board, so
this was timely and well de
served. Larry has served as
treasurer in an outstanding fash
ion in his years serving Pickens
arts, culture, and history through
PACA. It was a treat to view his
work and learn more about him
and his inspirations.”
Wilson’s work will be for sale
at a variety of festivals in the fu
ture, including the Canton Arts
Festival and the Art in the Park
festival in Blue Ridge, as well as
many others. For updates about
where Wilson might pop up next
“like” Hobson Creek Pottery on
Facebook.
You can see more of his work
at hobsoncreekstudios.com.
PACA hosts a “Meet the
Artist” event every quarter. Keep
up to date with arts and cultural
events happening in Pickens at
pickensartsandculturalalliance.org
or follow them on Facebook.
Potter Larry Wilson talks
about his work with a couple
from Gainseville at the Pickens
Arts and Cultural Alliance’s
“Meet the Artist” event held
Sunday, January 25 at Talking
Rock Pottery.
Big Canoe novelist forming a Jasper writers group
“Creativity
comes from
diversity,” says
Larry Holmes
By David R. Altman
Books & Writers Editor
When Lawrence Edward
Holmes was flying missions over
Vietnam nearly 50 years ago, he
never thought he’d become a
published author with two more
books in the works.
But then again, nothing has
been really predictable for
Holmes, who grew up on the
mean streets of Hell’s Kitchen in
New York, lost his mother at an
early age was raised the hard
way - first in a home for disad
vantaged kids and later with an
aunt and uncle.
“When you grow up poor in a
rural setting, you are at least
safe,” said Holmes. “But in an
urban setting, you are not.”
Holmes, who made an early
pledge to himself that he “would
get away from New York” as
soon as he could, enlisted in the
Air Force and was later encour
aged to attend officer’s training
school - which required a college
degree, which Holmes got, ma
joring in electrical engineering.
Writing books was the fur
thest thing from his mind when
he was flying RD66’s over Viet
nam in the mid-’60s.
Later, after leaving the mili
tary, he made his way into vari
ous management positions in the
computer field with many major
companies, including Rockwell
International.
Ironically, Holmes’ exposure
to publishing first came in the
early advancement of technol
ogy. He was asked to lead an ef
fort to build Rockwell’s base in
the newspaper products industry
in Atlanta. “We built scanners
and on-line editorial systems, a
long time before Apple and other
companies,” he said.
Holmes career blossomed,
working for many smaller com
panies and eventually starting his
own software business in
telecommunications. While
Holmes wasn’t building his suc
cessful business, he was often on
the tennis courts where he has
been a certified instructor since
the early 1980s (this from a man
who broke his back during a
climbing accident about 15 years
ago).
After many years in north
Fulton and then Forsyth County,
they decided it was time to retire
to the mountains.
“We both loved the moun
tains, so I suggested Alaska or
Montana and my wife Glenda,
who is a native Georgian, said
‘are you kidding me?”’ Holmes
recalled with a laugh. So, they
simply moved up the highway
from their home in Forsyth
County to Big Canoe.
It was his wife who encour
aged him to begin writing a
book. Holmes said he wasn’t
overly excited about the idea, be
cause of other outside interests
(including his lifelong loves of
tennis and fly fishing).
About two years later he pub
lished his first book, Clearstream
Style, a fictional account of
C.I.A. agent John Style who
tracks down terrorists and the
source of their funding. Holmes’
time as a reconnaissance pilot
gave him an understanding of
how intelligence agencies
worked, and he used that to
weave a complex story in his
first novel.
He has two other books un
derway, but it’s something else
now that is driving Holmes. “I
was having lunch in Jasper one
day with a lawyer who helped us
with our closing,” said Holmes.
“A woman saw my book and
asked me about it,” he contin
ued. Holmes said the conversa
tion turned to how difficult the
publishing business was. “She
said the one thing that’s missing
here [in Jasper] was a writers
Youth birding art contest open
Hey kids! Do you like birds
and love to draw or paint? Geor
gia’s 10th Annual Youth Birding
Competition is offering a T-shirt
Art Contest for resident children
and teens.
Many famous ornithologists
were bird artists when they were
young, so perhaps you could be
the next John James Audubon,
Roger Tory Peterson or David
Allen Sibley!
A winner will be picked from
each of these age categories: pri
mary (Pre-K-2nd), elementary
(3rd-5th), middle school (6th-
8th) and high school. One winner
will be awarded the grand prize
- their artwork will appear on the
2015 YBC T-shirt and they’ll re
ceive a $100 gift card to
Michaels. The three other win
ners will each receive a $50
Michaels gift card, redeemable
for art supplies.
Entering is easy. Participants
must draw or paint their favorite
Georgia bird on paper or sheet
canvas (at least 8-by-10 inches
but no larger than 11-by-17
inches). Mail it in a large enve
lope - flat, not folded - in time
to be received by 4 p.m. March 9
to: GA DNR-WRD, YBC T-shirt
Art Contest (Attn: Linda May),
2065 US Hwy. 278 SE, Social
Circle, Ga. 30025.
On a separate piece of paper,
gently taped to the back of the
artwork, include the participant’s
name, school, age, grade level,
mailing address, phone number,
parent or teacher’s e-mail ad
dress and species name of the
bird depicted.
The illustrated bird must be a
wild species and native to Geor
gia. Pictures of exotic or domes
ticated species (such as European
starlings, pigeons, chickens, yel
low ducks, peacocks and parrots)
will be disqualified. Draw or
paint the bird’s features as accu
rately as possible. A simple back
ground that provides habitat
context is good to include, but
make sure your bird stand outs
well and is the main focus of the
artwork. Also keep in mind that
deep, contrasting colors scan best
for a t-shirt.
Only one entry per person is
allowed and it must be the child’s
artwork. Participation in the
Youth Birding Competition on
April 25-26 is encouraged but
not required to submit artwork
for the T-shirt Art Contest.
Competitors in the birding
event can pick up their submis
sions at the April 26 banquet at
Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center,
where select artwork will be dis
played and winners announced.
Artwork from children and
teens who do not take part in the
Youth Birding Competition can
either be picked up at Charlie El
liott Wildlife Center in Mansfield
through May 8 during normal
business hours or returned by
mail - but only if a large, self-ad-
dressed envelope with five first-
class stamps is included with the
submission.
The 2015 Youth Birding
Competition starts at 5 p.m. Sat
urday, April 25, and ends at 5
p.m. Sunday, April 26. Groups
may use as much or as little of
that time to count as many birds
as possible throughout Georgia.
Although teams may start bird
ing anywhere in the state, they
must turn in their checklists at
Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center by
5 p.m. Sunday.
While judges examine and
score checklists, participants will
enjoy a live animal show fol
lowed by an awards banquet
packed with prizes.
For more information on the
T-shirt Art Contest, visit
www. georgiawildlife. com/YB C
TshirtArtContest. You can also
contact art contest coordinator
Linda May at 706-557-3226 or
linda.may@dnr.state.ga.us
The same site includes links
to Youth Birding Competition
details in the right-hand sidebar,
including how to register a team
for this exciting event (March 31
deadline). You can also contact
the competition coordinator Tim
Keyes at 912-262-3191 or
tim.keyes@dnr.state.ga.us
All Computer Services & Repairs
On-Site Service Home or Office!
/ Virus’s, Pop up’s, & Spyware Removal
/ Computer Repair & Parts
/ Custom Built New or Used Computers
/ Software Installation & Upgrades
/ Network Solutions, Setup & Security
Over 25 Years experience
Bob Bell & Associates
Servicing All of North Georgia
706-301-9148
24 hours a day - 7 days a week
club, so I told her I’d think about
organizing one.”
There are already at least two
local writer’s groups - the Sas
safras Literary Exchange, which
meets once a month at the Sharp-
top Arts Center and sponsors a
student writing contest each year,
and another long-standing group
called Big Canoe Writers.
Holmes is hoping to build an
international writers group out of
Jasper. The “international” part
reflects that he already has one
writer from Slovenia with a
northwest Georgia connection,
and hopes to find more.
Holmes, who believes “cre
ativity comes from diversity,”
said he hopes the writers group
will be able to discuss a lot of
subjects, including what it’s like
to write for a living, the difficul
ties in getting published and the
process of being a successful
writer.
“I’ve hit my toe enough times
to know how difficult it is to get
published and to get recognition
for your work,” said Holmes. “I
would love to try and organize
something that writers could
enjoy.”
Holmes, who hopes to have
the first meeting in the Jasper
area by mid-February, said the
group is open to all writers,
whether they have already pub
lished or hope to in the future.
He encouraged anyone who is
interested in becoming part of
the group contact him at his e-
mail address: larryholmes@
mindspring.com. His website is
www. writerholmes .com.
SIMONDS CONSTRUCTION
Framing ‘Roofing ‘Siding ‘Painting ‘Windows
•Doors ‘Decks ‘Basements ‘Remondeling • Drywall
Will Simonds 770-894-9762
simondsconstruction@tds.net
Stop in or call us for all your banking needs. We specialize in
fast & flexible business loans, competitive home loans, and
free checking. Local bankers getting the job done for you!
Pictured above: Julie Cain, Virginia Hendrix, Jessica Dawkins, Willene Morris
Stearns
BANK.,
'Weyfttfajd date!
Inside Ingles
1449 W. Church St.
Jasper, GA
706.253.7130
Jasper Main
100 Mark Whitfield St
Jasper, GA
706.253.7070