The Land is Alive; and Artists and Chocolate
02/02/08 17:57
Count
down till PaintOut
68 days
2 February 2008
February 2nd dawns clear and sweet with long shadows stretching out ahead of the day!
Last weekend a childhood friend of mine materialized out of the past and landed here for a short visit...less than 24 hours.
I put him in the car and drove out to Micanopy for lunch. As we pulled off 441 and onto Cholokka I slowed the car to a crawl and watched his eyes try to take in the whole picture of where he was, so foreign to a Connecticut Yankee. There was a small Farmer's Market set up in front of Mosswood Store and just enough traffic to feel energized. He reacted to the Herlong Mansion and was filled with typical questions about Live Oaks and Spanish Moss. We parked and as we walked across the street, I caught sight of Helen Suits and her Chocolate Stand!
Helen had set up her version of a "lemonade" Chocolate Stand by Gallery Under the Oaks/Micanopy Chamber of Commerce. She was handing our samples of truffles and turtles! We tried everything she'd give us and
bought more. I suddenly realized we could have our own Chocolatier at the PaintOut and visions of how happy the artists would be just made me dance around on the spot!! Helen seemed overwhelmed with the invitation
and the prospect of being with the artists for a week of painting and chocolates...a match made in heaven.
Lunch was yummy although almost everyone else was licking on immense homemade ice cream cones. We walked around town some more and admired the antiques, old Florida books and architecture. I showed him some great examples of cracker houses, some simple and others grander in scale. He kept exclaiming about how he had no idea it was like this here.
We took 'the Trail' through Evinston, making note of what was growing in Freddy's garden and on to McIntosh where the roads grew around the Live Oaks. We drove up and down every street...he just couldn't get
enough. I showed him where the painters would be; in the park and down in between the Depot and the Carriage House....imagining how the wintery look of the gardens (wintery for Florida!) will soon give way to lush greens and flowers.
From there we went to the top of the OLO, the Orange Lake Overlook.
The OLO is my current favorite place.
We're going to be partnering with Sean Dowie to begin booking classes and workshops into the package house/soon to be classroom.
I plan to be out there as much as possible. The view is pretty amazing. Its got to be the highest spot around with the longest vista.
I'm thrilled that it is one of the designated paintout sites this year...just imagine the paintings this year!
We watched 1/2 the sunset and jumped in the car to continue watching it from the Prairie. Suddenly I was determined to find an Alligator and there they were, not one but two hefty gators hanging out in the
fading pools of warmth. They looked like truck tires.
I really do love not being the top of the food chain. Our land has wildness and mystery. Its Alive. A few years ago I met a woman at a downtown function. When I asked her
where she was from, she said Naples, Florida. Then she said this and I've quoted her many times,
"Your land is still alive, ours is dead. People in Naples no longer know their land is dead; its not even part of the conversation. But it has made us different. Your land its still alive. You still have wildness and mystery. You must tell everyone how they have to keep the land alive...its so important."
She grabbed onto my arm; her eyes full of desperation to have me hear her. "Promise me," she commanded, "You have no idea what a difference it makes and how lucky you are. Once its gone, its gone."
This guidebook is a proactive way of commanding our region's future well being.
Annie Pais
Paintings Below:
Top: "Orange Lake Palms" by Chuck Manning
Below: "Orange Lake in Orange" by Charles Dickinson
68 days
2 February 2008
February 2nd dawns clear and sweet with long shadows stretching out ahead of the day!
Last weekend a childhood friend of mine materialized out of the past and landed here for a short visit...less than 24 hours.
I put him in the car and drove out to Micanopy for lunch. As we pulled off 441 and onto Cholokka I slowed the car to a crawl and watched his eyes try to take in the whole picture of where he was, so foreign to a Connecticut Yankee. There was a small Farmer's Market set up in front of Mosswood Store and just enough traffic to feel energized. He reacted to the Herlong Mansion and was filled with typical questions about Live Oaks and Spanish Moss. We parked and as we walked across the street, I caught sight of Helen Suits and her Chocolate Stand!
Helen had set up her version of a "lemonade" Chocolate Stand by Gallery Under the Oaks/Micanopy Chamber of Commerce. She was handing our samples of truffles and turtles! We tried everything she'd give us and
bought more. I suddenly realized we could have our own Chocolatier at the PaintOut and visions of how happy the artists would be just made me dance around on the spot!! Helen seemed overwhelmed with the invitation
and the prospect of being with the artists for a week of painting and chocolates...a match made in heaven.
Lunch was yummy although almost everyone else was licking on immense homemade ice cream cones. We walked around town some more and admired the antiques, old Florida books and architecture. I showed him some great examples of cracker houses, some simple and others grander in scale. He kept exclaiming about how he had no idea it was like this here.
We took 'the Trail' through Evinston, making note of what was growing in Freddy's garden and on to McIntosh where the roads grew around the Live Oaks. We drove up and down every street...he just couldn't get
enough. I showed him where the painters would be; in the park and down in between the Depot and the Carriage House....imagining how the wintery look of the gardens (wintery for Florida!) will soon give way to lush greens and flowers.
From there we went to the top of the OLO, the Orange Lake Overlook.
The OLO is my current favorite place.
We're going to be partnering with Sean Dowie to begin booking classes and workshops into the package house/soon to be classroom.
I plan to be out there as much as possible. The view is pretty amazing. Its got to be the highest spot around with the longest vista.
I'm thrilled that it is one of the designated paintout sites this year...just imagine the paintings this year!
We watched 1/2 the sunset and jumped in the car to continue watching it from the Prairie. Suddenly I was determined to find an Alligator and there they were, not one but two hefty gators hanging out in the
fading pools of warmth. They looked like truck tires.
I really do love not being the top of the food chain. Our land has wildness and mystery. Its Alive. A few years ago I met a woman at a downtown function. When I asked her
where she was from, she said Naples, Florida. Then she said this and I've quoted her many times,
"Your land is still alive, ours is dead. People in Naples no longer know their land is dead; its not even part of the conversation. But it has made us different. Your land its still alive. You still have wildness and mystery. You must tell everyone how they have to keep the land alive...its so important."
She grabbed onto my arm; her eyes full of desperation to have me hear her. "Promise me," she commanded, "You have no idea what a difference it makes and how lucky you are. Once its gone, its gone."
This guidebook is a proactive way of commanding our region's future well being.
Annie Pais
Paintings Below:
Top: "Orange Lake Palms" by Chuck Manning
Below: "Orange Lake in Orange" by Charles Dickinson