Newspaper Page Text
October 29, 2014
PAGE 5C
Guest Column
eferry Payne is a real
BY ASHLIN
BRELAND
In southern Monroe
County there is a place
where bottle
trees grow up
to 12 feet tall
with "fruit" of
every size,
shape and
color. These
trees are the
curious cre
ations of Jerry
Payne.
Bottle trees
have been
erected for
centuries as
an art form as
well as for
utilitarian
reasons. It
was once
believed evil
spirits would
become
trapped in the
bottles at
night. Wind
blowing across
the opening of
the bottle pro
duced a sound
that confirmed
"something"
was not there.
Jerry showed
me his bottle
trees and talk about the
creative process:
In 1951 at the age of
14, I walked home after
participating in sports
at Marshall High School
and did so until my
graduation in June
1956. On my walks I
would pass by the
homes of yard artists
(African-Americans) in
Delaplane, Va. This is
where I
saw my
first bottle
trees, or
trees and
various
woody
structures
festooned
with col
ored, main
ly blue, bot
tles. My
attention
was also
attracted to
glass,
metal and
wood objects that moved
and whirled with the
wind. Mason Payne, my
father, informed me that
these were whirl-a-gigs,
thing-a-majigs and wind
chimes.
Often I talked to these
black artists and asked
why they made these
things. The most com
mon reply was that they
just liked pretty things
that caught their eyes,
captured the sunlight
and moved in the wind.
Of course this answer
led me to ask what they
planned to make next or
how they were going to
use the bottles or metal.
Their reply was often
"I'm puzzling on it".
A lot of the rural white
people in the foothills of
the Blue Ridge
Mountains set colored
glass inside on their
window sills. Outside
they would use it to bor
der their driveways or
flower beds or, like the
black artists in
Delaplane, they hung
them from fences, dead
trees or any available
structure. Most of the
glass was blue or green,
but they utilized what
ever they had, right
down to the glass insu
lators from power poles.
Surprising to me was
that many of the "out
side artists" were either
elderly, or female, or
both. My father noticed
the outdoor art but
never commented on
them.
My present day bottle
trees are an attempt to
recreate these memories
from my youth.
Reminiscing with family
and friends led to dis
cussions of collecting
and saving soft drink
bottles for the deposits
and visiting landfills. In
addition, we (my brother
and some friends our
ages) collected bottles to
use for target practice.
In turn these talks led
to the themes of my bot
tle trees at my present
day home.
First is a bottle tree in
my mother's memory,
decorated with various
shapes and shades of
blue and green bottles.
She set green and blue
bottles on our window
sills for some added
beauty in our house. I
still recall the sun shin
ing through the glass
and projecting streams
of color across the floor
and furnishings. They
also served a very utili
tarian purpose as she
rooted her plant cuttings
in these same bottles
and I used them to store
my marbles.
Second is a bottle tree
commemorating my
moonshining uncles. On
this one, I've used large
gin, vodka and bourbon
bottles.
In a nod to local histo
ry, my third bottle tree
is constructed of one gal
lon, gin, whiskey, vodka
and two-liter glass soft
drink bottles. These
were dug formal the
rubbish heap behind an
abandoned "shot house"
located in a private
home where trusted
friends with enough
money can slake their
thirst without regard to
blue laws, permits or
pesky issues.
Next is a quiet celebra
tion of life in a Trappist
monastery, an endeavor
that required three indi
vidual trees; so I sup
pose they are actually
my fourth, fifth, and
sixth trees. The original
of these trees is at first
look rather muted. The
bottles on this tree are
brown, green and clear
bottles most of which
were collected from the
woodlands around the
monastery. Although to
some degree this is an
‘Payne
austere tree, in my eyes
it has a simplistic beau
ty, far removed from my
more gaudy efforts. The
remaining two
trees in this col
lection are in
recognition of
the industries
that support the
monastery. One
is composed of
sherry bottles
that the monks
utilize in pro
duction of the
fruitcakes that
they prepare
and bake on
site. The other
is an assem
blage of peach
brandy bottles
from their fudge
making endeav
ors.
In a nod to my
pro-golf friends,
I've constructed
the Phil
Mickelson/John
Daly tree. Tree
number seven
includes an
excessive quan
tity and variety of
beer bottles to
commemorate
John Daly's mem
orable career. The wide
assortment of chloral
bottles I've dug from
numerous refuse heaps
were readily put to use
upon the disclosure of
Mr. Mickelson's possible
inside trader knowledge
of Clorox stock.
Tree number eight is a
toast to the secretive
drinkers among us. This
is another subdued tree
of brown
and clear
glass.
However
these are
one-half to
one-pint
bottles
that con
veniently
fit into
one's back
pocket or
the glove
compart
ment of
one's vehi
cle.
Although not altogeth
er pleasing to her, tree
number nine is in hom
age to my wife, Rose's,
drinking habits. This
could be my longest run
ning project as it looks
as if its projected com
pletion date is a decade
away.
And last my soft drink
tree, number 10, recalls
the days of my youth.
My friends, siblings and
I spent many hours col
lecting and returning
soft drink bottles for
money to attend the
local performances by
musicians, magicians,
cowboys and the like in
Upperville and
Middleburg, Va. Now of
course aluminum cans
are collected by some for
sale or else beverages
are consumed from plas
tic bottles.
Lest you think my
career in glass is over, I
have 10 more bottle
in the
trees in various stages
of construction. They are
associated with my gar
den. As my wife (make
that long-suffering wife)
says, four in the front
yard in enough. "Too
much of a good thing is
G lass’
wonderful." - Mae West
If you are curious and
would like to know more
about bottle trees, check
out "BottleTrees...and
the Whimsical Art of
Garden Glass" by Felder
Rushing.
Community Calendar continued from page 4C
Nov. 7
'Fall' in love with
Parents Night Out
Dayspring Presbyterian Church,
1045 Hwy. 41 South, Forsyth is
hosting a Free Fall Festival for
Anchor of Hope's Parents Night
Out (PNO) on Friday, Nov. 7, 6-9
p.m. Volunteers and participants
need to register. Contact Juli at
478-994-0439 or go to ancho-
rofhopefoundation.com and click
on the "Next Parent's Night Out"
tab to access forms. This free
respite program is for children
with disabilities and their sib
lings to develop friendships in the
community.
Nov. 11
Veterans Day ceremony
The Monroe County Veterans
Day ceremony will be on Tuesday,
Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. Boy Scouts will
conduct a flag retirement ceremo
ny.
Nov. 14
Juliette Opry presents
Trinity River Band
The Trinity River Band will per
form at the Juliette Opry, 442
McCrackin Street in downtown
Juliette, on Friday, Nov. 14, at
7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the
door; students, $10, 12 and under
free.
Nov 15
High Falls has
Civil War program
High Falls State Park will pres
ent Civil War Days: Sherman's
March to the Sea on Saturday,
Nov. 15 from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. There
will be Confederate and Federal
camps, musket firing, cannon fir
ing, Civil War medicine, a lecture
on the Georgia campaign and the
March to the Sea, a 19th Century
dance demonstration, 27-mile
bike ride to commemorate
General Sherman's cavalry foray
into Monroe County, and a Blue
Grass concert with Brush Fire.
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Fri., October 31st
Sat, November 1st....
Sun., November 2nd ..
Fri., November 7th
Sat., November 8th....
Brian McCleery
Robbie Parker
. Robbie Parker Acoustics
Papa Bear
Spanky’s Monkey
Sun., November 9th Nathan Morgan
Fri., November 14th TBA
Sat., November 15th Shotgun Boogie
Sun., November 16th Robbie Parker
Fri., November 21st Jason Taylor Hobbs
Sat., November 22nd Eley Road
Sun., November23rd Nathan Morgan
Fri., November 28th Robbie Parker
Sat., November 29th Robbie Parker Acoustics
Sun., November 30th Robbie Parker Acoustics
Every Thursday • 8-72 p.m.! Every Sunday • 4-8 p.m.
Open 7 days a week • 21 or older
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Exit 212 • Locust Grove, GA
(Across 1-75 from Tanger Mall behind the Dairy Queen)
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Jerry Payne shows one of the artistic creations in his bottle tree forest.
(Photo/Ashlin Breland)
10 Reasons to make bottle trees
1 .Vertical recycling
2. Decorate with what is available
3. Keep living inhabitants safe by capturing evil spirits in the upside-down hanging
bottles
4. Pass along art, a form of folk art/folk lore/folk tradition; our connection to the past
5. A good reason to pop a cork on another bottle of wine
6. Poor man's stained glass or a gardener's idea of cheap decoration
7. Keeps the brain active, after all not everyone enjoys crossword puzzles or quiz
shows 8. A way to keep up with the spouse, friends, family and neighbors drinking
habits
9. Speaking of neighbors, a way to aggravate them
10. "Relections of the past are all around us; it's those we choose to remember that
will survive."