finding hope

photograph by kristin karch

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

bright

photograph 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

brick shadows

photograph by kristin karch

beach tracks

photograph 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

fort yargo camping

i recently went camping with some friends at fort yargo state park for the first time, and it was so much fun! we chose to sleep in a yurt, which had access to the beautiful lake, cannoes, and a fire pit. it is located in winder, just a quick 30 minutes from athens!

photographs and words by kristin karch

autumn vines

photograph 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

vines

photograph by kristin karch

sunrise

photograph by kristin karch

house on a hill

photograph by kristin karch

cacti

photograph by kristin karch

autumn orange

photographs by kristin karch

wood brick

from habersham mill. wood was cheaper than brick at the time.

photograph and words by kristin karch

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

golden hour

photograph by kristin karch

autumn garden

we had an abnormally long summer here in georgia, with temperatures in the upper eighties until late september. i think it confused our plants a little bit, but regardless, it made for a beautiful time in the garden.

photographs by kristin karch

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