trying to remember the year

It hardly seems like it's been 12 months since the last time I tried to remember the last 12 months, yet here we are, taking a look back before we start looking forward.  2023 was a really good year on a lot of different fronts.  Since this is my blog, I get to be the main character here, so what follows is a brief, very self-centered look at what I can remember about my year.  If you're interested, here we go.  None of this is in any particular order, which seems to match the jumbled up memories I have of the year.

I looked up this year and Blue was an adult.  He was driving, he had a job, he had a life outside of the house and he went to prom.  He will graduate high school in May.  Dang.

I got to see Tom and Kathe Stanley a few times this year.  Tom had an exhibit at Lander last January and I got to spend a little time with them when he delivered work, did an artist talk and when he picked up work.  I even got to have a coffee with them.  Even cooler than that, they surprised me in August by showing up to a reception in Chapel Hill and hanging out with me so I wouldn't be completely awkward and alone.  Very cool.

Violet and I got to meet our Instagram friend Kasha Speas in real life!  Kasha has a 7+ year runstreak going, and back in February? she ran the Greenville Half Marathon.  Violet and I drove up to cheer her on.  Nice photo by her husband, Adam.

Violet and I also got to go see Beetlejuice at the Peace Center.  Very entertaining and a fun day.

I don't get to go to many track and field meets because of my class schedule but I did get to go to a couple last year and see Blue throw heavy things and see Violet sprint.  It's super cool to see how much they've both improved in such a short time.

Violet was in the school production of The Wizard of Oz and she did great.

We took an alternate vacation at the end of July and turned it into an adventure.  These two are always up for my ridiculous suggestions of things to do.  This was a quiet evening when we had no plans.  We just walked out the door and started exploring the island while chasing the sunset.  It doesn't need to be a big event to be memorable.

This was probably the same trip.  We had some fun walking around Charleston in search of food and coffee.

I wrote about the significance of running with Blue and Violet as a summer highlight because it was a very cool thing.  When the Cross Country season started officially in August, they both did so great.  This was Blue's final season of Cross Country and I'm so proud of him for running.  I may not get him to run with me again, but it was cool sharing a season of running with them both.  It was also noteworthy that Violet worked really hard all season to improve her time and her hard work paid off when she qualified to run State.  Very proud of them both.

Violet and I got to go to Creighton Barrett's solo show in Charleston back in January.  It was great to talk to him for a while and then we got to have dinner with Jana and Dan.

We didn't get to go to a lot of concerts this year, but the ones we did go to were really good ones.  We scored tickets to Highwater from Anne and Kevin, so Violet and I spent a couple of days in Charleston hanging out and listening to music we may not have otherwise saw live.  We accidentally saw one of the guys from Needtobreathe and also accidentally saw Big Boi without realizing who he was.  We saw Bleachers on purpose and got the surprise of them bringing out Lana Del Rey.  The Wilco set was perfect and Shovels and Rope never disappoint.  We also accidentally saw Kevin, Ali (pictured) Smoak and a few other friends.  I wasn't a fan of the $11 waters, but we'll focus on the positives.

Nothing could be more positive than Mrs. Emmette beating cancer this year.  Everyone's favorite Starbucks barrista got a bad test result last winter and spent the year doing chemotherapy and radiation.  We were thrilled to get the news this fall that she was cancer free and finished with all her treatments.  She is such a bright light and we are grateful. Thanks to everyone who contributed to her gift.

Concert 2 of 2 this year:  Taylor Freaking Swift.  I'm sure I blogged about it so you can read it there.  It was, of course, as awesome as everyone said it was, but the part that made it even more awesome for me is that the tickets were given to me by a student.  What an act of kindness.  So grateful for that!

I got to spend time with people in surprising ways this year.  As a hermit, this is hard to process, but I admit it was cool.  I got the opportunity to do a sand sculpture workshop with Fort Dorchester High and some of my students who had traveled on Sand Sculpture trips in the past, decided to plan to go with me.  The plans turned into a wonderful opportunity to stay with Chick Inn on Main in Summerville where Hannah got to hold that chicken.  

The next day I got to lead the workshop on Kiawah Island with this cool group of people.  

One of our goofy adventures on our real vacation was tracking down the tunnel underneath Ocean Boulevard.  Thanks to Blue and Violet using the internet and TikTok, we jumped out of the car, walked under and then got picked back up by G when we emerged.

And another goofy adventure was staying up until midnight to have our own listening party for one of the TSwift albums that dropped this year.  Here we are showing off my Father's Day haul of gifts and torturing the dogs.

Another cool thing that was gifted to me was this opportunity to show work at a special event at the Greenville County Museum of Art.  This was one of the cool opportunities that came to me this year by the Universe just smiling on me.  

This was one of many great art things that happened to me this year.  I got into 12 shows I applied for, including getting public sculptures into the North Charleston Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit and the new Uproar! exhibit in Chapel Hill.  I made a few new sculptures despite some really irritating welder problems and I made over 30 new drawings.  So grateful for these kinds of things.

My girl-gang.  This hardcore group of friends was forged during Brinana and Katherine's senior year of the BFA and Emily's first year of the MFA.  They were my 3D people during that year and our classes and studio times overlapped.  Because of that, our times for goofing off also overlapped.  We've tried to keep the group together as Emily graduated and the other two started pursuing their own graduate degrees.  They were all kind enough to come to my community lecture in the fall and we took the opportunity to get dinner afterwards.  They're so cool and I'm lucky to be in their group.

Another year of knowing Jana and Dan makes me very happy.  I'm so fortunate to know them and call them friends.  I got to see them a few times this year in person and we also had some laughs by text.  They're so great and these two groups of friends are just a sampling of so many wonderful people I got to spend time with this year.  I have too many photos to feature everyone here but I'll mention a few that come to mind.  I saw Jocelyn a few times, both on purpose and by accident.  I went out of my way to see Kennedy in Charleston and she came to Summerville to hang out with a bunch of us.  Just on that one trip to Summerville, I spent time with Hannah, Ashley, Katherine, Abigail, Victor, Jana, Dan, and Tien.  Or maybe that was two trips?  Who knows.  I got to have lunch with Cessquatch, coffee with Katertot, and got to have dinner with the whole Superfriends gang.  There's also a crazy-awesome group of students that I get to see on a weekly basis.  Most of them provide me with laughter and joy and they have no idea.  I wouldn't dare try to list them all but I do try to make sure they know I appreciate them from time to time.  If you're a student and you're reading this, I'm talking about you.  It really pains me to say this, but I really love being around people sometimes.  

This was the year we discovered Pineapple Whip.  I think that's what it's called.  Whatever it is that we're all holding is amazing.  We found it on Folly Island and also in Charleston and it's almost worth the 2.5 hour drive just for that.  No, the stuff you can buy in the freezer section at home is not the same at all.  Just know that if you go get some while in Charleston without the whole family, the absent ones will be pissed.  I haven't made that mistake yet, but I'm sure it will happen.

I got to be the guest artist at the Blackwater Boogie again this year.  Dan invited me back after last year and I felt a little more prepared this time.  I had to go on my own for the first day because Violet had to run the State Cross Country meet in Columbia, but she joined me for the second day.  Knowing what I was getting into this time made it a little less panicky and it was so cool being able to share my process with the crowd of people behind me.  All four drawings were auctioned off to raise money for Givhans Ferry State Park accessibility upgrades.

So that's what I can remember from scrolling through my photos for the year.  I've edited out some really cool and fun things and I've probably forgotten about a lot more.  If you were a part of my year, I appreciate you.

 

the numbers are in

As I type, there’s still a week left in 2023 but all of the art places are closed for the Holidays and the only outstanding entries I have left are scheduled to notify in January.  It looks like the working year is over so let’s have a closer look at the numbers.

25 rejections compared to 12 acceptances.  That’s at least the starting point but since you can use numbers and data to say anything you want, I’d like to look at the entire picture so that I’m not misleading in any way.

First, does this mean I applied to 37 shows/opportunities this year?  No.  The number is actually a little higher, but some notifications will not come until the new year so they will not be counted on the 2023 list.  But still, that’s a lot of applications.  And if you consider that 90% of them had an entry fee of $25-$45, that’s around $1,000 spent just on entering shows, so it’s a lot of applications and it’s a lot of money.  

Second, what kind of applications are we talking about here?  Many were applications to national level juried exhibits.  These charge $35-$45 and allow you to enter 2-3 works of art for consideration.  This generally involves uploading digital images of the artwork along with an artist statement, bio and a CV.  On the best sites, this will take 15 minutes, including paying by card.  On the worst sites, it may take an hour.  I appreciate galleries and museums who use CallForEntry.org or Slideroom.  Some applications were for solo exhibitions or for grants/fellowships.  These take a little more time as they have to be customized for each venue and for each unique set of requirements.  If you have your stuff together, you can do this in an hour

Third, does this mean I was in 12 shows this year?  No.  Some of the things I was accepted into will occur on the 2024 calendar year.  I think one was even for 2025.  

Fourth, am I sad?  Quite the opposite actually.  When I posted a new rejection throughout the year, many of my kind friends would send a sad face or express disgust with anyone who would reject me.  That was super nice of them but I wasn’t really sad.  At least not 5 minutes after the rejection.  Actually, that’s not totally true for all of them.  It did burn extra bad to get rejected from the Winthrop Alumni show.  I was not a scrub when I was there and I’ve been pretty successful since leaving, so I thought I had a good shot at getting in.  I totally did the comparison thing when I saw what was accepted and I judged things harshly, but I got over it.  It just took more than 5 minutes.  Either way, going 12 for 25 on the year is pretty amazing.  I had a lot to be grateful for in the art world.  

Fifth, should I explain that more?  Yes, I should.  Any artist applying for exhibits and opportunities should expect a lot of rejection.  It is part of the daily life of an artist.  I teach my students to expect a 90% rejection rate.  Apply for 10 shows and expect to get in 1.  Some artists I know don’t even get that.  This is just getting into a show, we’re not even talking about any awards.  I know many artists who have never won an award of any sort.  I think I got some sort of merit award this year, so 12 letters of acceptance and an award?  That’s great.  Well above the expectation.  If you apply to 10 shows and get accepted once, you should feel really good about yourself.  Anything above that 10% is a bonus.  

Sixth, what’s hidden by these numbers?  When I started the list at the beginning of the year, I thought it would be accurate to track just rejections and acceptances.  My assumption was that I would apply for all the things and just keep track of the notifications.  I did that and did it well.  The thing I didn’t really plan for was how to track things that just happened without me applying.  This isn’t a thing that happens regularly, but from time to time, someone will have an open exhibition date or be trying to fill a calendar and they’ll contact an artist to see if they’re interested in showing.  Since I didn’t know to track this, I didn’t write it down and at my age, the brain is pretty full so unless I know it’s important, we just discard those memories immediately.  A few months ago I could remember between 5 and 7 things like this happening through the year.  Some of these events occurred this year and some will happen in upcoming years.  At this point, there may have been 10 or so of these things that just happened to me without applying for anything.  So there’s a lot more success than what shows up on paper.  These are more reasons to not be sad.  

There’s also artwork sales to consider.  I’ve sold a decent amount of things this year which means that someone liked my work well enough to invest in it and to live with it on a daily basis.  I probably don’t even think about this enough, but if you consider that someone chooses to wake up and see your work in their home every day, that’s sort of a big deal.  

The other consideration is positive comments.  This is also something I probably don’t think about enough, but sometimes people say really nice, encouraging things.  This year, I was told I was “brilliant”, “amazing”, “extraordinary” and “crazy” and I think they meant crazy in a good way.  Several people told me in passing that they loved my work or that they were “fans”.  Sure, you could argue that some of these are just happy talk but remember, if you believe the bad, you have to believe the good too.  I definitely let the bad comments linger, so I need to let the good ones linger too.  All of these things make the rejections a tiny bit better.

Seventh, is it painful to be rejected 25 times?  Of course.  It always stings.  In the moment, I feel judged as a failure.  For that 5 minutes, I feel that my art is not good and that everyone hates me.  Luckily, the old man brain helps me forget things quickly so after 5 minutes, I’m usually good.  If you’re wondering if it gets any easier, I don’t think it does.  You get better at dealing with it, but a no is always a no.  

So there’s that.  If you’re an artist, you get it.  If not, I appreciate you reading this to understand better.  Many people think that artists just live this romantic life of doing what they want to do all day.  I don’t know a single artist who does that.  Most people outside of art never have to consider what it’s like to make something with all your heart and to immediately have that thing judged as good or bad, worthy or unworthy.  It’s tough out here for a thug.  Artin’ ain’t easy.

superfriends

The year was 2010.  I was working on finishing up my first semester of full time teaching while they were working on their first semester of college.  It wasn’t until January of 2011 that we met officially.  They entered the sculpture studio to take 3D Design and I met Brandy, the smiley one, Katie, the quiet one, Sean, the sarcastic one and Ashley, the even more sarcastic one*.  They were fast friends, all noting that each brought an important element to the circle of friends.  

The “trauma” of being a first year art major and suffering through my classes strengthened their bond as they began to realize I wasn’t actually the devil and we started enjoying extracurricular activities together.  The art events often ended up at Millhouse for dinner.  The Moonshine Run and Color Run 5Ks were done together and typically turned into a Cookout trip for greasy food and milkshakes to recover.  When Sean and Ashley took the racquetball class and hoped to defeat me, they started inviting me to play during the afternoons.  Sean and I took turns trying to hit each other with the ball and soon Brandy joined in.  Once she even grazed the side of my head with her racquet, drawing blood.  No remorse whatsoever.  Katie was happy to be safe on the other side of the window filming the whole thing.  

One of the Moonshine Runs (2013) featuring the artist formerly known as Singletary and Slagle

The trauma-bonding continued through many of our highest highs and lowest lows through graduation.  When I won a teaching award, they were the first ones to make fun of the low standards for that award.  When I crashed the wheelchair trying to win a 5K, it was Brandy who played “Everybody Hurts” on her car stereo on the way to get food, a brilliant move that opened the floodgates of jokes at my expense.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m just as quick to turn the verbal weapons on them.  It’s a dance that we do, everyone playing their part in the greater performance.  When at our best, the group is like a well-oiled machine and the jokes are funnier than anything you’ve ever heard in standup comedy.  At our worst, we’re still funnier than your friends.

The 2014 infamous Color Run featuring Colleen, before photo, of course.

I have no idea what's going on but....typical

After graduation, the four of them drove towards their hometowns and got adult jobs and adult responsibilities but every once in a while, they’d drive back to Greenwood to hang out.  Much more often, someone would start a group text thread out of the blue and you’d check your phone fifteen minutes later to find 50+ messages, each funnier than the one before it.

And then, just when you needed it most, there would be a thing planned.  Someone would suggest a hangout or we’d end up attending the same event.  The 5 of us would gravitate to the same area and the laughing would begin.  Familiar stories would be repeated, funny themes revisited, and the energy between us would glow.

I’ve been teaching long enough to know that every student isn’t really my friend.  Out of all the students I teach, only some will naturally gravitate towards my personality and my teaching style.  Of that group, only a fraction would ever want to have a conversation with me outside of class.  Of that even smaller group, I would only break my sacred hermitude for a select few.  Now we’re down to a fraction of people and many of those are only interested in me as long as I can be a benefit to them.  Many, especially in recent years, have attempted to use my friendship to be more comfortable in the department, to get a good reference, or to use my network in the art world.  The day after graduation, I’m no one to them.  I’ve learned to pay close attention to the ones who come around when I can offer them nothing but my company.  Those are the real ones.  

I am a pretty positive person by choice.  I actively look for the bright side and I have a pretty fair and honest perception of myself as a teacher.  I’m a good teacher.  I care about my students and their success.  With that in mind, it’s odd that I find myself at the end of every academic year more drained, more tired and more discouraged.  There’s a laundry list of reasons I could provide, but the point here is that even the most positive person can get down and it’s likely the ones you’d never suspect.  

Ashley, Brandy and I were standing in the waiting space at the restaurant when Sean and Katie walked in.  There were hugs and instantly we were in conversation.  It was almost as if someone fast forwarded several minutes.  By the time I noticed, I felt like I had to run to catch up.  As one person talked, the other 4 would pepper them with jokes, comments and questions.  Each person would adjust to the new verbal landscape and quickly offer new information.  It’s like 5 people playing a “choose your own adventure” game all at once.  Everyone gets aboard the conversation and hangs on for dear life.  

The laughter was immediate and almost constant.  You’ve had the time with a friend when your cheeks hurt afterwards, right?  That happened in the first five minutes.  Soon the abs hurt.  Then the laughing (for me) turned to coughing, (for Ashley) crying, (for Katie) inflamed asthma, (for Brandy) a little hooting and (for Sean) a little hollering.  I can’t even begin to imagine what the other people in the restaurant were thinking.  I had no idea they were even there, honestly.  Our waitress started out very talkative and wanting to be a part of our night and soon she faded way back into the background, trying not to even interrupt us as we gasped our way through the night.  

Pretty sure this one captures our true souls.

From a table away, it must have looked like five people yukking it up for the holidays.  The truth is, beneath that veneer of laughter and jokes, there was a real friendship conversation happening.  People caring about other people.  People helping other people.  People learning from other people.  People sharing with other people.  I left feeling like a part of something bigger.  I was energized.  I felt loved.  Is that what emotions feel like??

As I drove home, I thought about how grateful I am for this group of friends that I also happened to have taught back in the day.  I was reminded of the importance of my interactions with students and the lasting relationships that can grow from those interactions.  Each of us has a part to play in a much larger production and each of our parts is equally important.  Like the old cartoon Superfriends, all of our different powers are needed to defeat the bad guys in our lives.  I hope we can all be the Aquaman to someone else’s Hawkman.  The Zan to someone else’s Jayna (look it up).

I love these people.

*I’ve chosen to use real names out of the deepest respect.  Do not worry, the nicknames are still in daily usage and are used with absolute love.  Also, we missed you Anne!

confidence is slippery

I don’t believe in “imposter syndrome”.  I’ll apologize for my generation because I think it may have been Gen X-ers who decided we needed to put a label on every feeling we ever had.  Let’s say you start a new job and you probably worded the application materials to make yourself sound like you were the best fit for the job.  That’s fair.  But now you’re getting dressed on the morning of your first day and you’re having some major anxiety.  What if they find out I’m not as confident as they thought?  Am I really qualified for this job?  In whatever realm you’ve experienced the feelings, you know what I’m saying.  

My argument is that this is not an example of you (and me) presenting a false idea of who we are and what skills we have.  Instead, this is an example of a crisis of confidence.  You see, you actually were the best person for the job or they wouldn’t have hired you.  You didn’t lose your skills and abilities overnight while you slept.  You really are the person your application materials indicated that you were.  The only thing that changed was how you felt at the moment.  You replaced reality with fear.

Confidence is like that.  We can be riding high one minute and someone can look at us a certain mysterious way or say something we don’t quite understand and suddenly we feel naked and terrified, completely exposed.  

I believe that artists and creative types are especially susceptible to this terrible feeling.  

I have a good friend who is the kind of pianist that most people just dream of becoming.  She’s amazing.  She can sit down and squeeze the most beautiful sounds out of a piano.  She doesn’t just play the notes, she plays the music in a way that expresses the emotion of the piece.  It’s a truly wonderful thing to witness.  Recently my friend hit a speed bump and had a sudden crisis of confidence.  She didn’t become any less exceptional in that moment, she just felt different.  

And then there’s my little nonsense.  I have a great job and a lot of opportunities.  The last few years I’ve been very prolific in art-making and I’ve had the good fortune of getting work into a lot of shows.  I actually even delivered and installed a solo show of my work this week.  And yet…at some point yesterday, I realized I didn’t win this one thing or get into this particular show.  My brain went into a panic and alerted me that I needed to apply to a bunch of shows and get my work back out there.  I literally had the thought that “I haven’t been in any shows recently”.  My heart rate went up.  My mind started racing, trying to think of what opportunities I could jump on immediately.  

After a few minutes of this panic, I looked around my studio and saw bare spots on the walls.  I noticed my stack of new drawings was really thin.  More panic.  Now I need to be in more shows and I don’t have any work to enter.  Sweat started to bead up on my forehead.  

It took a lot longer than it should have taken for me to realize that the reason I didn’t have a lot of art to enter is because so much of it is currently on exhibit.  I had a moment of “Ohhhhhhh.  That’s where my work is”.  

Realizing I had just participated in a very unhealthy thing that I constantly advise my students against, I decided to take a moment and take stock of the situation rationally.  Here’s what I realized:

At this moment, I have 1 public sculpture on exhibit for a year in North Charleston, SC.  I have 1 public sculpture on exhibit for a year in Cashiers, NC.  I have 3 small sculptures in a juried exhibit in Indiana.  I have 1 small sculpture in a juried exhibit in Key West, FL.  I have a solo exhibit of about 16 drawings in Spartanburg, SC.  I have about 15 drawings and sculptures in a commercial gallery in Saluda, NC.  I have 2 sculptures in an exhibit in Greenwood, SC.  And honestly, I may have something somewhere else and have completely forgotten about it.  

In the academic world, that list would get me tenure and or promotion over a 6 year review period.  I know some artists who don’t have that many exhibits in an entire career and this is just a snapshot of one particular day for me.  It’s absolutely ridiculous that someone with that list of exhibits would lack confidence, and yet, there we were, heart racing, sweat on the brow, telling myself I wasn’t good enough.  

I don’t have the cure for a crisis of confidence.  I would tell you that when you feel it coming, you should stomp the brakes and do a little rational thinking.  The truth is, most of us don’t know we’re experiencing it until after the fact and even if we do realize it, rational thought is not likely to be found anywhere near us.  

A couple of days ago, I watched my grad student freak out because she put her recent work out for a guest artist to critique.  The work is very, very strong and yet, she was immersed in a crisis of confidence as she prepared to receive the artist’s feedback.  When he told her he was impressed by her work, the change in her was visible.  The confidence returned to her face.

I wonder if one of the best things we can do to fight a crisis of confidence is to hype the people in our lives.  When our musical friend is killing it, we should tell them they’re killing it.  We should tell our artist friends when we love their work.  Don’t just like the post, actively tell them you love it and why you love it.  Take the time to point out what they’re doing great.  Remind your creative friends that their writing, their musical performance, their great ideas cause you to consider true beauty and make you smile.  Don’t just assume that they know how much joy they bring into the world with their work.  Remember that just like you, they need to be reminded of what is true.  Perhaps often.  

Doing this will have an impact on you.  During your dark night of the soul, eventually you’ll begin to realize that you are also doing some of the things you’ve been praising your friends for doing.  You’ll remember the kind thing you said to them and you’ll realize that is also true of your work.  You’ll also build a posse of creative friends who know what it’s like to lose confidence.  They’ll begin to hype you and when you are down, they’ll be there to pick you up.  In this way, you’ll receive the same energy you put out into the world.  

You are so much better than you give yourself credit for being.  Humility is awesome but honesty is crucial.  Look for the good in others and make sure they know you see it.  Look for the good in you and make sure you know you see it.  

music and art trip (edisto blackwater boogie II)

Last year my friend Dan invited me to draw during a music festival in Ridgeville, SC.  It sounded fun and I love Dan, so I happily agreed to try something new.  It was a great experience so when I was invited back this year, I didn't even think before saying yes.  Then, like all far away calendar events, I forgot about it and moved on with life.  When October rolled around again, I stocked up on markers and made plans to be near Ridgeville for the festival weekend.  

Last year, I freaked out a bit when I saw I was drawing in front of everyone beside the stage.  This year I saw the map ahead of time and was able to prepare myself.  I loaded up my drawing box and hit the interstate.

I drove straight into Charleston because it was a beautiful sunny day and I love Charleston.  When I walked by St. Matthews, the door was open so I decided to walk in.  The interior is so beautiful and I haven't been inside in several years.  If I ever move to Charleston, I look forward to converting so I can go here.

My next religious experience was just up King Street at Cafecito.  This little Cuban place is a must-stop every time I'm nearby.  I grabbed a lunch sandwich and this perfect coffee called a Colada.  It's meant to share with 4 people, but I've never shared one.  

Caffeinated, fed and sugared up, I was ready to get set up for the festival.  I drove to Givhan's Ferry State Park and got everything ready.  The music was set to start in the late afternoon on Friday and I wanted to be ready to begin because I knew it would get dark earlier than I would prefer.

 

The location of my tent was perfect and I stayed out of the afternoon sun.  The ambient light was enough to finish that first drawing.  The big perk of doing this festival is having good music playing all around me while I work.  

After I finished the first drawing, I was able to relax a little and notice what was going on around me.  I got to see this lady do some fire dancing before I clocked out and headed to the hotel.

There was a nice little running path near the hotel and I was able to get breakfast and coffees at my favorite little Summerville coffee shop, Coastal Coffee Roasters.  The coffee was great and I got to see art by my friends Kevin and Andrew.

Saturday was going to be a full day so I wasted no time.  I arrived early and decided to get started with my first drawing just as the first set started.  One of my personal favorites of the weekend was Meredith Foster.  There were a lot of sound issues early on, but she powered through a great version of "Oh Carolina" by Needtobreathe and I was hooked.

This year I was smart enough to do a little bit of brainstorming before arriving.  The first drawing took about 4 hours and that's not a sustainable plan for the weekend.  Starting early on Saturday helped, but I also worked fast and got the second drawing finished by noon.  The third drawing also went pretty fast and it was ready for some finishing touches around 2:00.  This was about the time Violet arrived.

One major difference from last year was that I was alone for the first half of the trip.  Violet loves the festival and she was with me last year as my merch-slinger and assistant, but this year the festival fell on the same weekend as the State Cross Country Meet in Columbia.  Violet qualified to run State so she planned to join me after her race was over.  G drove her down and she was able to enjoy the music with me for the rest of the day.  

One of my favorite parts of the festival is the inclusion of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso tribe.  As the original inhabitants of this area, Dan makes sure they get a spot in the lineup to share some of their culture with us.

These two kids dressed in their traditional outfits and demonstrated a couple of dances before inviting everyone to participate in a group dance.  It was very cool. 

The people-watching at any festival is fun and this one always provides fun moments.  I thought this one was odd until Violet told me the name of the band performing had the word "crow" in it.  Still a cool mask.  There was also a kid wearing a wolf mask for reasons we couldn't guess.  

Last year we tried several foods from vendors but this year the best thing we had was the doughnuts.  These were french toast glaze doughnuts from the Donut Daddy truck.  We absolutely devoured them.  They were so good.

The other favorite part is always Dan.  Dan created the Edisto Blackwater Boogie as a way to provide an opportunity for regional bands to play original music.  It has grown steadily into what it is now and Dan is the reason.  His wife, Jana, is equally amazing and thoughtful and she secretly ordered t-shirts that read "Let's Give It Up For Dan Riley".  She distributed those just before his band went on and we all gathered in front of the stage.  We put on the shirts and then cheered loudly when they came out.  Dan was moved by it and, oh man, does he deserve a show of affection like that.  He then played the best set ever with a full band.  He's awesome.

Awesome people have awesome kids by default.  Jana and Dan's children, Forest and Oscar danced and played while Dan's band performed and it was so great to watch.  Oh, and Forest decided to wear a duck costume!  So cool.

I finished the last drawing just before Dan's band went on.  I was well ahead of schedule because there was still daylight left.  This gave me time to put finishing touches on all the drawings and give them all titles.  The four large drawings were then auctioned off to raise money for making the state park more wheelchair friendly.  

After dark, Violet and I were both pretty exhausted.  She ran a super-fast race that morning and I had created 4 large drawings in a short span of time.  We loaded up our gear and headed out to get some food and rest.  We were probably both asleep well before our usual bedtimes.  

The next morning we headed back into Charleston to meet a friend for breakfast.  We grabbed our coffee on the way and were delighted to find googley eyes on our cups.  

Kennedy was our breakfast friend.  We had a good breakfast and catch-up time at Big Bad Breakfast and then took our photo with Bill Murray.

Violet was adamant about having Cafecito before going home.  I was more than happy to help with that.  We walked down King Street and went in a few shops.  We also happened by Marion Square and noticed some colorfully dressed people walking there.  We knew something was going on and decided to investigate.  Turns out it was a festival called India Fest.  We watched a guy lead a group meditation and then saw some cool dances.  

Then we saw the henna tattoos and jumped at the chance to get some.  Violet got a more traditional one.

And I went for the skull and crossbones.

We got our Cafecito and enjoyed our time in Charleston.  I had a moment when I realized there were so many cool things going on around me at once and decided to take this photo.  I was standing in the Holocaust Memorial in Marion Square with a Christian steeple in view.  Church bells were ringing and Indian men were drumming beside me.  Everyone was happily existing in the same space together, fully present. 

"We remember the holocaust to alert ourselves to the dangers of prejudice, to express our outrage at the scourge of racism, and to warn the world that racism can lead to genocide."