Bluffs & Bayous

July 2011

The Arts Issue

July…..the month to celebrate our country’s independence day, our local art groups and individual artists, weekends at the lake, afternoons in the pool, and family vacations at the beach and beyond. Traditionally in July, the summer’s heat intensifies; however, June was a warmer than usual month for all of us in this part of the South. Both these summer months have always been a time to dress down and relax. I love to discover new or old reads and change my busy schedule of meetings and commitments to unscheduled daily meanderings.

This month, Bluffs & Bayous provides the perfect magazine for an entertaining summer read and for frequent referrals to intriguing shopping prospects and professional services. In addition, our July’s annual emphasis on the arts and arts listings underscores this area’s bountiful art opportunities for your upcoming season of ballet, symphony, opera, theatre, and museum exhibits. We also highlight some new area artists whose unique flair is sure to intrigue your interests.

Our Bluffs & Bayous’ coverage shares with you the talents and enthusiasm of many gifted artists in a variety of disciplines; and we invite you to become avid ambassadors of the arts through participation in surrounding theatre, dance, and music organizations as well as in the shows, exhibits, and studios of individual artisans as you involve yourself and your family in the enriching diversity of the arts.

H. C. Porter of Vicksburg, Mississippi, one of our many artists of note, has embarked on the fascinating project—Blues @ Home—of capturing living and legendary blues musicians in the Mississippi Delta. Her gift of documentary through photography, art, oral history, and music will provide dramatic insight to enthrall world-wide audiences. Just as her project Backyards & Beyond depicts the personal and economic devastation of the Mississippi Gulf Coast following the ruthlessness of Hurricane Katrina, so her new project will personify the panorama of our rich Delta Blues Legends.

Among our local contributors, Johnny Bowlin reflects on his experience as a first-time softball coach for his daughter in Meadville, Mississippi; and Natchezian Courtney Taylor, author of two cookbooks, How To Eat Like a Southerner and Live to Tell the Tale and The Southern Cook’s Handbook, shares some delicious recipes with us.

I would be remiss if I did not mention my experience with friend, artist, and Natchez business owner Erin Eidt Myers. Her genius has provided rich room and accent colors and imaginative placement of our most prized possessions as we have finally finished the renovation of our new home to make it uniquely ours. Myers’ visual arts flair has engendered a retail business featuring her original works, custom-painted Walter Anderson prints, and hand-stained, hand-painted furnishings. Her eclectic talent graces chic homes throughout this area as she shares her gifts with all of us.

In this escalating heat of July, take a bit of time for yourself, dress down, relax, and enjoy the good read our July issue offers as we share the arts with all of you in our life along and beyond the Mississippi.