This weekend my friend Pam and I going to Carolina Stamper to take a class from Fred Mullet. Fred is an immensely talented artist who excels at nature printing. I've been a fan of his for years, and never dreamed I'd be able to take one of his classes.
Carolina Stamper is in Beaufort, a truly lovely city. I've been there many times. We often go crabbing on Hunting Island, and I've been there just to take pictures as well. One of the best things about this charming city is the growing art scene. Last summer while taking pictures and browsing galleries I came across artist Hank Herring. This soft-spoken former marine and I struck up a wonderful conversation and he shared a lot of his work with me. I loved hearing the stories that put various pieces of his art in context.The fact that he works with rescued materials may explain the versatile quality of his work. I have one of his hand carved wood stamps. It's a Celtic image and I dearly love it. Hank has been to Ireland and so it has naturally influenced his work.
Horse drawn tours are such fun, but there's another type of tour you can take in Beaufort.... a ghost tour! Complete with a guide dressed in period costume who tells the most marvelous stories... AFTER DARK of course.
Old Sheldon Church is one of my favorites haunts, literally. Amidst the eerie serenity of the church yard there are graves dating all the way back to the 1700's, where one can just feel the presence of the souls who used to walk here. Guns and ammunition were actually hidden in the Bull family vault during the Revolutionary war. Surrounded by iron gates, the ruins are always open to the public. There's even an old hand-operated water pump near the gate that still works. Oh, I didn't get a picture of that! There's another reason to go back.
I'll take more pictures this weekend and post them on Monday:)
