Return to Savannah, Part IV: Downtown art shops and galleries

When I left Savannah, Ga., after our most recent visit, I found myself appreciating the city for its support of local art more than I had ever done so before. 

The city has large art museums -- the Jepson Center and Telfair Academy jump to mind immediately -- and we had visited those. They are virtual neighbors at Telfair Square on the west end of the Historic District. 

But there also are striking collections by artists whose work is on display at small shops sprinkled throughout the Historic District. I decided to devote a post to a few of those artists simply because I visited them by chance as I strolled past them during my walks while in the city in late March. 

Lee Ann and I most enjoyed our stops at the Tiffani Taylor and Ray Ellis galleries, which are about five blocks from each other on opposite sides of Ellis Square. 

Taylor is still a working artist who graduated with several degrees from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). From her early years in Ogden, Utah, Taylor used her talent for observation cultivated by her grandmother into textured paintings and hand-painted pottery, from the field poppies (see photo above) to aspen tree trunks to a variety of floral interpretations. SCAD awarded her a grant to open a shop in Laconte, France, where she will spend time and draw inspiration for her work, which is on display in several international galleries. She opened the Savannah gallery at 11 Whitaker Street in 2011. The tea pot below is an example of her hand-painted pottery. 

Ellis died in 2013 after a 70-year career that involved stops on seven continents, although he lived and painted mostly in the United States -- his native Philadelphia as well as New York, Savannah and Martha's Vineyard. In the 1980s, he and longtime CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite collaborated on a series of books celebrating America's coastlines -- "North by Northeast," "South by Southeast" and "Westwind." He opened the Savannah gallery in 1988.

For three consecutive years, beginning in 1998, Bill and Hillary Clinton commissioned Ellis to create scenes of the White House for their annual Christmas cards. Some of his works are in the permanent White House collection. In 2004, the Telfair Museum honored the depth and breadth of Ellis' work by establishing a traveling exhibit titled "Ray Ellis in Retrospect: A Painter's Journey." He collaborated with CK Wolfson on a biography of him that was published posthumously in 2014. 

The image leading off the post is among my favorites of Ellis I came across at the gallery. The one above the previous paragraph is another sailing work of his. 

We came upon a kiosk used by Jorge Lastra Guerra, a Chilean sculptor and jewelry maker, also by chance while walking along the riverfront on our last day in Savannah. His creations of sailboats using driftwood for the boat's hull and cut metal strips for the sails (see above) and his jewelry were limited in the small confines. But it caught our attention nevertheless. A sign outside the kiosk identified him as an "artist in residence," but did not explain the significance of that title. In addition, Lastra Guerra does not appear to have an online presence. 

The fourth shop, Savannah Gallery of Art, 304 E. Bryan St., was another surprise. Once inside the small quarters, we chatted with the attendant -- who actually was one artist whose work was on display -- and he mentioned the gallery had been in operation only since the previous October. Unfortunately, I didn't get his name, and the gallery's website did not seem to have any space devoted to him. Examples of some of the works on display are shown below.

Next Up: City Hall

PREVIOUSLY IN THE SERIES: 

Part I: Colonial Park Cemetery

Part II: A cruise on the Georgia Queen

Part III: More of the Historic District

Shops, eateries, railroad are among attractions in historic downtown Apex

Like Garner and Cary previously profiled by Photo Potpourri, Apex, N.C, also boasts a historic downtown.

Its epicenter is along a three-block commercial stretch of shops, restaurants, salons and boutiques on Salem Street, beginning at Chatham Street and extending north roughly to Thompson Street. Town Hall is on Hunter Street, the next street north of Thompson.

I've been to Apex a few times -- mostly passing through. On two occasions, however, I was there to visit the weekend Farmers Market. My visit there Sept. 28 was my first to devote time to exploring it in some detail. I didn't know town hall was so very close to where I had been roaming until after I'd returned home and pulled up the downtown map on the Internet. It was one of those occasions where I should have consulted the map before going there. Oh well ... it gives me a good reason to return another time.

In addition to shops, the historic downtown district features the town's cultural center, which hosts performances, art shows and movies. The volunteer fire department has its headquarters downtown, and across the street from it is a modest plaza and memorial to those who have served our country and their communities.

The town's association with the CSX Railroad is prominent in the downtown area, not only from the tracks and rail cars, but from structures that once served as depots. The older one is north of the tracks, across Center Street from the one which has since been remodeled for Chamber of Commerce office space and to host meetings and modest-sized gatherings. The parking space in front of the chamber building is used for the community's weekly Farmers Market.

For my lead-off photo at the top of this post, I chose a picture of The Beer Dispenser craft beer shop along the east side of Salem. I wanted to go inside and check it out, but I decided not to while I was "working." Hopefully, another time.

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of any photo in this post, simply click on the photo. This is especially helpful if you access the blog using a mobile device. For a full gallery of photos from my shoot in downtown Apex, click on the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: I handled the entire shoot with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3
Di VC PZD lens. I took three exposures of every composition to meld later in high-dynamic range (HDR) Photomatix software during post-processing. I set the camera shooting mode on aperture priority (f/8.0) and adjusted my ISO levels to allow for optimum shutter speeds so as not to blur images.

Anna's Pizzeria (above) is at the intersection of Salem and Chatham street ... and across the street from the scene I photographed (looking north down Salem) in the photo below. 

Storefronts of the Rusty Bucket (above), a country home furnishings boutique, and the Salem Street Pub (below), where burgers and "moonshine" can be had. 
 

A storefront from across the street (above) and an activity for passersby to consider (below).  

Above: A sidewalk view of shops looking south down Salem Street from close to the Peak City Grill and Bar.

Across the street from each other are the Volunteer Fire Department headquarters (above) and a small plaza containing a service memorial to military veterans, emergency personnel and people who lost their lives on 9/11 (below). The memorial, funded by private donations, began with a 6-inch cube of metal beam recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center's South Tower. That cube is atop the stone monument in the center. The nearby 10-foot-tall clock is there to remind passersby to take time to remember.

Above and below: Examples of large store identifications painted on the brick facades of Salem Street. 

The Halle Cultural Arts Center (above) and a closeup of its lighted sign (below). The center hosts an array of art shows, performances and free movies each year. 

Above and below: Two views of the Salem Heritage Plaza, a modest collection of shops at the north end of the commercial district.
 

Above and below: Two views of Salem Street looking south, with the intersection of Center Street visible in the foreground of the photo above and the spire and belfry of Apex Baptist Church appearing above the trees in the photo below.

Above: The facade of the Apex Police Department on Saunders Street, in the first block west of Salem Street. 

The CSX Railroad's history has a prominent presence in the Apex downtown ... not just by the tracks (above and below) or even a cherished rail car (second below), but also by the last depot building (third below), which now serves as the base for the Apex Chamber of Commerce. The building's parking lot is used each Saturday by the Apex Farmers Market.  

Next up: Two Apex churches in the downtown area

A visit to charming Nashville, Ind.

Indiana residents well know the charm and allure of Nashville, Ind., the seat of Brown County.

Nashville has long been known as an artists' colony, and its quaint, orderly collection of novelty, knick-knack and artisan shops; sundry restaurants; and even local representation of at least three Central Indiana wineries attracts a regular stream of visitors and tourists throughout the year. That stream evolves into a river come autumn, when Brown County and its namesake state park bring in even more people eager to see the leaf change-of-color spectacle in the densely wooded areas nearby.

I'd been to Nashville at least a half-dozen times over the years, but the last time had been a decade or so ago until I drove down last Saturday. And this was the first time I bothered to bring along a camera to take pictures. For this shoot, I used my Canon 7D and Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens.

The primary objective for the trip wasn't photography, but I stopped and got about five dozen shots along the way, and that's what this post is about. When I return there some day, I plan to take the camera again and add to my Nashville profile, which I've begun in the communities section of my site at SmugMug.

Leading off the post, and the first picture below, are closeups of some glazed ceramic foot planters situated outside the shop pictured in the second frame below.

As always, click on any image to view a larger, sharper version.

Above: One of the few interior shots I dared to take during the afternoon.

A look down one of the main thoroughfares (above), and a side view of the Brown Count Courthouse, where the local fire department was holding a fish fry fundraiser this day on the backside of the structure (to the right in this view). Yes, I partook. Fish fries are a big thing in Wisconsin, where I grew up, so I like to drop in on one whenever I can in Indiana.

Above: There are several clusters of shops -- sort of mini-strip centers -- in Nashville, and this sign shows what businesses are in this cluster.

Above: The town isn't without its sense of humor. Years of experience -- and many husbands and significant others driven to boredom and beyond -- no doubt spawned this idea.

Above and below: A closeup and full-view look at an institutional sculpture outside the visitors center.

Above is a view of the town a few blocks from the beaten path, which shows that if you don't get there early, your parking options become a sort of hunting game in the surrounding neighborhoods. Some home and business owners charge anywhere from $3 to $5 to park on their premises or lawns. One visitor (below), who looks like they were making a stop in Nashville after a biking outing, found street parking on the southwest end of town.