dearing street

this year is the athens-clarke heritage foundation's 50th anniversary, and to celebrate, i am contributing to a monthly neighborhood highlight. this month revolves around dearing street, which was laid out in the 1830s and sold in 4 acre plots over the next 50 years. the neighborhood includes a wide range of architectural styles including folk victorian, queen anne, craftsmans, and two italianate homes. what i love about this neighborhood is how some of the homes are hidden by trees and still have dirt driveways. there is an air of history but also of simplicity on this street.

photographs and words by kristin karch

walter anderson museum

over the holidays, i visited the walter anderson museum of art in ocean springs, mississippi. walter anderson was an american painter whose depictions of wildlife & people of the gulf coast placed him amongst some of the most well regarded painters of the 20th century. the museum also displays and celebrates his brothers' work, peter anderson of shearwater pottery and james mcconnell anderson, who was a noted ceramicist and painter.

two of my favorite parts of the museum was the community center and the 'secret room', both of which were covered in murals by walter. i learned on my visit with my family that my aunt held her wedding reception in that very community center. as far as the secret room, walter would not ever allow anyone inside, not even his wife. it was only after his passing that she saw the magic that was inside.

words and photographs by kristin karch

mississippi fog

over the holidays, i visited some family in coastal mississippi. there was a dense layer of fog over the beach and the harbor for almost the entire trip that made for the most wonderful moody landscape.

photographs by kristin karch

mule creek

my family's property is one of my favorite places. i got the chance to fully explore it this past weekend and i was surprised of all the beauty i found. something about moody overcast light brings out the soul of the land.

photographs and words by kristin karch

country house

this house is one of my favorite houses around. i have been going here for over 15 years to take photographs and each time i go back i am mesmerized. it is so simple and quiet and so beautiful. enjoy.

photographs and words by rinne allen

open to wander

we always love to take the backroads.  on a recent trip through the NC mountains, this house caught my eye.  i slowed the car and noticed the open door.  we walked in and wandered through this place someone once called home...

photographs and words by kristen bach

sara parker textiles

i kept seeing these really great drawings on pouches, tea towels, and linens all over town. turns out it is the work of local textile designer, sara parker. i visited her studio recently to get to know her, and tell her how much i love her drawings!

sara was raised up in the country in thompson, georgia. after living in chicago and attending the art institute there, she and her husband moved to athens in 2012 and set up shop. she says she has always been a nature girl, and it shows in her simple drawings, distilled from hundreds of hours of 'looking'. i grew up a nature girl too, always observing colors, lines, and shapes in nature. i just love her drawings. sara has plenty of flora and fauna to work with since she and her husband moved down here in 2012. 

sara screen prints her fabric in her home studio. she makes all kinds of wonderful things from it, as well as notecards. you can see it all on saraparkertextiles.com.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

colors of fall

we have had a funny fall.  the weather has been warm, weather has been ultra dry, our trees and plants don't know what is going on.   last week a friend told me she had iris' blooming! at any rate, i feel like the fall leaves have stuck around longer than usual.  i surely don't mind that!

this past weekend we went on an annual hike to take in all of the fall beauty.  we spent the weekend in charlotte, nc and went hiking at a local park.  the trees were exploding with colors that i had never seen before, it was breathtaking.  

if you haven't hiked around yet......don't wait!  those fall leaves will be dropping soon!

photographs and words by kristen bach

a day on the farm

we have written about our many visits to sweet olive farm here on the blog. it is such special place to us all and we enjoy all of the peaceful moments that we have out there. 

my daughter and i love to go and help do chores whenever we have a spare moment. it seems that those days are few and far between, but always welcomed. 

we recently went out and helped scoop up poop for the day and help socialize some of the new animals. we are so lucky to have this special place in our community that rescues animals and provides educational opportunities to our community.  we love you sweet olive farm! 

photographs and words by kristen bach

a forgotten home

we were driving through milledgeville, georgia and this home caught my eye.  this traditional southern home was by far the largest, most stately home on the street.  It made me wonder, why was it left here to rest...why was it forgotten.  

it is now in major disrepair, covered in vines...left for the squirrels but was once a home to someone.

photographs and words by kristen bach

cotton fields

we just got back from a trip to south georgia...cotton country. my heart is filled with so much beauty when we pass these fields. there is something about the cotton fields that brings me so much joy.  is it the white of the cotton that reminds me of the snow...? i don't know, but i love passing the fields. we stop at every field and take in all of the striking beauty! a true landmark of the south!

photographs and words by kristen bach

habersham mill

two dear friends of mine just got married this weekend at habersham mill. i had never been to a place like this size before, which sits on a thousand plus acres of land and has almost 200 years of history. the mills sit on the soque river in habersham county and once used the water to power energy. it was used to make canons during the civil war and later became an iron ore manufacturing plant. after, it ran through multiple purposes and businesses before russell athletics bought it in the 1970s. now, it is owned by a lovely couple who vision it as an event space. they have already created four beautiful airbnbs, one of which I got to stay in for the weekend. 

there are so many rooms, buildings, rocks, & pools to explore. i highly recommend taking a trip to see the beauty of this place.

photographs and words by kristin karch

rural studio’s morrissette house and grounds

twenty years ago, rebecca and i and a small handful of friends went to rural studio for a long weekend to help build a bathhouse. little did we know the amazing world we were stepping into, but, without a doubt, that weekend changed my life. we spent hours and hours working alongside the late co-founder of rural studio, samuel mockbee, and his young students as they constructed one of the first outbuildings on the grounds of their home base, the morrissette house. that weekend, we drove bobcats, mixed concrete, and laid brick and block over the course of three days, and had long, thought-provoking conversations all the while.

now, 20 years later, i recently completed my 5th visit to rural studio to check in and see the changes and transitions they have been through and brought to the surrounding area of hale county, alabama. the grounds of the morrissette house still house the bathhouse and ‘pods’ for students, but also an almost-complete greenhouse, a small farm, all sorts of outdoor gathering spaces, a kitchen, and other experimental structures.

christ's church

another old church on edisto. christ church, organized in 1835. beautifully framed by ancient trees and hanging moss.

words and photographs by rebecca wood

italianate

i drove by this old italianate home when i was visiting rural illinois this summer. even though it was rough around the edges, it's beauty made me pull over for a closer look.

photographs and words by kristin karch

gas station bathroom

i told you this was a whole other blog! so much beauty in such a small space. once again, inspirations for large abstract paintings…from olar, sc.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

trinity church

edisto island has lots of history, of dinosaurs, extinct mammals, indians, slaves, and plantations. there are a some beautiful churches that have survived hurricanes and wars.

here is one called trinity church. it was built in 1876. all the old churches are surrounded by ancient live oaks dripping with moss.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

olar

about 30 miles south of barn well, south carolina, is olar. a well manicured, but deserted town. one of many in the area. there used to be an antique shop in one of them 25 years ago or so, but nothing now. would make a great looking resettlement town! so many cute buildings, and probably cheap!

photographs and words by rebecca wood

marfa

this summer my family drove to the west texas desert and back. we passed through new orleans, austin, and marfa on our way to big bend national park and loved every minute of it. our trip to marfa was the second time i had been to this strange, beautiful town in the middle of nowhere. the last time i was there was 5 years ago- a lot has changed since then, and...nothing has changed.

this rancher town has, over the years, evolved to include a handful of artistic and creative endeavors that draw in the curious. the serene, vast desert landscape is the perfect backdrop for the art of donald judd, the late artist who lived in marfa for decades. he installed his sculptures in and around the old army barracks here, and eventually he took over rows of downtown buildings for studio space. there is a thriving community of artists who live & work here now, and small flocks of tourists coming through town to see it all in this most-unlikely place. 

but, the thing i love about marfa, is that you have to really want to get there; it isn’t any easy trip to make...which is one of the most appealing things about it, really. if you go, you will know.

photographs and words by rinne allen

along the etowah river

photographs and words by kristen bach