Art and Atalaya Mix Naturally at State Park
By Lenore McKenzie-Morris
Atalaya's mysterious labyrinth of corridors, walk-through rooms and cloistered spaces returned to its creative roots in September with sculptures, paintings and thousands of pieces of art in myriad forms.
The Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival, sponsored each year by the S.C. Department of Parks and Tourism, is a unique event. This year 103 artists and artisans were selected to honor the spirit of Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband Archer Huntington, the original designers of the Moorish style home. Only the best artists are awarded a spot in the coveted show and a wide variety of art forms and crafts are presented each year.
Among the new exhibitors this year was Gaston Lochlear, a Myrtle Beach area native. Lochlear's oil and epoxy paintings offered a fresh departure from the Coastal Carolina landscape paintings that are prevalent at each show.
Mary Fritz's stoneware dryad figures were stunning executions of fairy-like creatures new to the art world. Varying in size and scope, Fritz's stoneware was the work of an accomplished artist expressing her own vision. This was only the Greenville artist's second show but it will surely not be her last.
Local craftsman Ed Streeter, known for the Pop's Glass studio in Conway, joined the show this year with a vibrant collection of glass pieces that added light and beauty to Atalaya's otherwise bare brick walls. Some visitors' conversations with Ed and his wife Barbara compelled them to make a follow-up visit to the Streeters' studio to make their own glass ornaments.
In fact, all of the artists and craftsmen at this year's show were friendly and ready to explain their work.
Scott Penegar explained in detail the process of sculpting 2,000 suction cups for his bronze cast octopus. Dubbed fluidity, this exquisite piece was selling for $8,750.
It took eight months to sculpt the piece in clay and then cast it in bronze. The piece showed not only Penegar's formal art training but also demonstrated his mastery of marine biology. For those who asked, he happily ran through the anatomy and physiology of the piece with them.
The softest scarves in vivid hues of blue or rich and earthy browns lured patrons into considering Jon Gunter's contemporary fiber designs displayed in one of Atalaya's courtyards. Gunter returned to the show for his second year.
Just down the walkway, Joe Wujcik displayed his hand carved, turned wooden vessels. These lovely brown bowls sparkled with subtle inlays of turquoise or malachite. Wujcik's favorite display pieces were a family of decorative wooden teapots shaped like dinosaurs. The pieces were so new, we were not allowed to photograph them as the Alabama artisan protects his original designs.
The variety of arts and crafts displayed for sale here was staggering. Jewelry, furniture, watercolors and pottery ran the gamut from traditional art forms to the innovative and just funky fun.
At Marlow Gate's booth, there were brooms too beautiful to use for sweeping. Using rhododendron recovered from a lake flooded by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Gate's fashioned a sculptural broom that flowed with the natural forms of the beautifully burled wooden handle.
The park service highlighted the beauty of its own properties with the introduction of a new book: "Beautiful Places: The Timeless Beauty of South Carolina's State Parks." Photographer Jon O. Holloway presents photos from 47 state parks in the the 140-page hardback volume.
As always, the Atalaya festival offered live music in the courtyard throughout the weekend, featuring performances by The Out-of-Towners Band, Latitude, Northern Border and Vocal Point. Cold drinks, sandwiches and other foods were available with picnic tables nearby.
Check back soon at the Festival's Web page for information on next year's Festival.
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