CHARLIE LUCAS OPENING

Charlie Lucas is a famous outsider artist who lives in Selma. Alabama. His is a story that is stuff movies are made of. There is a book being written about him right now. Ben Windham, the editor of the Tuscaloosa News, is working on one with Charlie. I will leave the whole story to them to tell. I have seen a sample chapter of the book. Ben’s mother is the famous storyteller and NPR commentator, Kathryn Tucker Windham, who lives next door to Charlie. Her whole family calls Charlie “brother”. He really is a member of the family. Kathryn lives in what can kindly be described as a declining neighborhood. Her children wanted her to move out of the house that has been her home where she raised her family. Kathryn refused and found her own solution to the problem. She bought the house next door and moved Charlie into it. They had become friends when both were appearing at Kentuck, an arts exhibition festival in Northport. Charlie was completing a messy divorce and needed a pace to live. Kathryn needed a reliable neighbor.
The two watch out for each other. They have a signal morning ritual. When Kathryn gets up, she opens the blinds in her kitchen window to let Charlie know she’s all right. Kathryn is in her late 80s, so the ritual is useful, but does not invade her privacy. Charlie, like all artists, has periods of feast or famine. Kathryn has vowed he will never go hungry. She is a famous writer whose works include books on southern cooking, so Charlie eats well whether art is selling or not.
This past Saturday night, Charlie had an art opening in his new gallery next to Holly’s Feed and Seed in downtown Selma. He shares the building with the Everyman bookstore and antique shop. His side makes the perfect gallery to showcase his sculptures and paintings. His work needs a place with the patina of age to show it best.
His sculptures are metal, made of found objects welded together. His paintings are framed with boards salvaged from abandoned buildings he tears down. He also does art on ironing boards and other interesting things. He has a series of masks that he makes from old tin roof shingles. He also does metal wall hangings. All of the pieces look well against the damp stained plaster walls of the warehouse space. The light is dim, which works well with his bright colors.
Some of Charlie’s work is simple and childlike. I bought one of these when I was previewing the show. The one I bought is called “50 Foot Woman”, a study in bright pastels with the woman surrounded by small buildings. It is so powerful in its message, that with Charlie’s permission, I plan to have prints made for all my powerful women friends. Charlie painted it after he had a dream about the Woman. All Charlie’s work is based on mystical and philosophical principles. He is a deep thinker who spends a lot of time contemplating how the world and the human minds in it work. When you point to any work in the gallery, he will tell you its story. Each and every piece has a story. There are no pieces that he just throws together for the sake of seeking a sale. One piece that particularly spoke to me was one called “The Teacher”. It was an abstract with a face mask surrounded by smaller descending faces. It was the teacher with her students. On the back of the sculpture were wires tying the lives together. He told me the story as I looked at the sculpture, pointing out the various aspects of the work. Half the fun of owning a Lucas work is knowing the story behind it. Coming to see the artist and his work, in my opinion, is the only way to buy from him.
I had reserved another piece of his, in addition to the one I bought, but it was expensive for my budget, so I put it on layaway. It was a metal wall hanging on a red wooden board called “Lug Wrench”. It told the story of divorce – How love had put the two together and divorce had wrenched them apart. He told how he wished to see divorce be gentler between the people involved without the pain of the wrench. I wonder if the person who bought it understood Charlie’s message. Charlie regretfully informed me that before he got to the opening, it sold. He was much better off. It would have been months before I could have paid it off, and he was able to get his money on the spot. He is going to do me another piece, so I’ll have months to save up for it.
I may even opt for another piece I saw. I had trouble deciding not to buy one of her newer pieces which looked quite Picassoesque. The reason I bought the “50 Foot Woman” is that it reminds me of one he did for Kathryn’s birthday of her as a dancing woman. It captured her essence as a joyful figure. The “50 Foot Woman” has the same air of carefree abandon. Charlie has a knack for distilling the essence of life.
Charlie’s phone number is (334) 872-3956. If he’s around, he will answer his phone and meet you at his gallery.

CHRISTMAS PLAY IN GILBERTOWN

I am always amazed when I attend a play put on by the locals in Choctaw County at the Ballet and Theater Arts School in Gilbertown. Fred and Svetlana Kimbrough came back from New York City where they had been performers to raise their family in rural Southwest Alabama. To make a living, they founded a non-profit organization to teach and do performances with local people. The talent they find and bring out in the locals is truly amazing. Their daytime work is with children in the schools and in after school programs. Their plays are extra.
Last weekend, I went to see “A Sanders Family Christmas” – the Christmas sequel to “Smoke on the Mountain” which they had presented to sell out audiences earlier this year. It is set in 1941 at the beginning of World War ll. It is a religious musical comedy, if you can imagine. It involves a cast of 9, with three musicians extra. I have rarely heard better harmony on the musical numbers.
I never like to enjoy plays or eating out by myself. I like to celebrate good things with friends. I took three of my favorite culture buffs along with me. As I have told you before, I am like an army, I travel on my stomach. We had choices of good places to eat along the way. It is hard to believe that there are a number of places scattered through the woods of such a rural area. The largest town is around 300. We could have had catfish as Bobby’s fish camp, seafood at DeDoc’s, a train wreck loaded potato at J&K Junction, or authentic homemade pizza at Bimbo’s. I opted for Bimbo’s because I am partial to their shrimp, mushroom and bacon pizza on a homemade crust as well as the interesting things on their salad bar like pepperoni.
I have attended plays in Gilbertown for years. One Christmas, I went to see Amahl and the Night Visitors. Believe it or not, in rural Southwest Alabama, it was an opera. It was beautifully done! At the end, Fred came out and said “Ah, fooled you didn’t we?” How many of you enjoyed the opera?” Everybody clapped and raised their hands. Then he asked “how many of you would have come if you had known it was an opera?” About three hands went up. Sometimes in rural Southwest Alabama we have to be fooled into culture, but we enjoy it when we get there.


I am always amazed when I attend a play put on by the locals in Choctaw County at the Ballet and Theater Arts School in Gilbertown. Fred and Svetlana Kimbrough came back from New York City where they had been performers to raise their family in rural Southwest Alabama. To make a living, they founded a non-profit organization to teach and do performances with local people. The talent they find and bring out in the locals is truly amazing. Their daytime work is with children in the schools and in after school programs. Their plays are extra.
Last weekend, I went to see “A Sanders Family Christmas” – the Christmas sequel to “Smoke on the Mountain” which they had presented to sell out audiences earlier this year. It is set in 1941 at the beginning of World War ll. It is a religious musical comedy, if you can imagine. It involves a cast of 9, with three musicians extra. I have rarely heard better harmony on the musical numbers.
I never like to enjoy plays or eating out by myself. I like to celebrate good things with friends. I took three of my favorite culture buffs along with me. As I have told you before, I am like an army, I travel on my stomach. We had choices of good places to eat along the way. It is hard to believe that there are a number of places scattered through the woods of such a rural area. The largest town is around 300. We could have had catfish as Bobby’s fish camp, seafood at DeDoc’s, a train wreck loaded potato at J&K Junction, or authentic homemade pizza at Bimbo’s. I opted for Bimbo’s because I am partial to their shrimp, mushroom and bacon pizza on a homemade crust as well as the interesting things on their salad bar like pepperoni.
I have attended plays in Gilbertown for years. One Christmas, I went to see Amahl and the Night Visitors. Believe it or not, in rural Southwest Alabama, it was an opera. It was beautifully done! At the end, Fred came out and said “Ah, fooled you didn’t we?” How many of you enjoyed the opera?” Everybody clapped and raised their hands. Then he asked “how many of you would have come if you had known it was an opera?” About three hands went up. Sometimes in rural Southwest Alabama we have to be fooled into culture, but we enjoy it when we get there.

DECKING MY HALLS

I finally got all my decorating done. I had to ask myself “why bother?” since I live alone. People tell me I don’t live alone because there are always friends in and out. It’s been particularly pleasant to have company this December because it is still porch sitting weather. We can light the candles and drink wine on the front porch in the evenings. It is not usually like this, so I consider this a Christmas gift from the Universe to Southwest Alabama.
I decorated as much as usual, pretending that it is cold December even while I write this sitting on the porch with the birds still singing in the trees. It is like having the best of both worlds – the joyous Christmas season and shirtsleeve weather.
This appears to be a red year in decorating. I used red amaryllis, my favorite flower as the main element. I have collected them for years. I like clear reds, not deep reds. Living in the country ( I think of it as a small town, but I realized it wasn’t so when a friend from California said she lived in a small town of 40,000), I save ribbons and decorations over the years. I reuse them as much as possible, but this year, many of the old ribbons bit the dust. I bought one big roll to start over with. All my ribboning this year is red tartan. Many of us residents of southwest Alabama have a Scots/Irish heritage. I am not particularly celebrating that, I just love red and green. I notice many of the magazines this year are using white accented with silvers and blues. To heck with that, I like bright and colorful for Christmas. My tree has colored lights. They are gold with touches of red and green. The tree is loaded with ornaments then beribboned all over with gold, red and green ribbon I bought at the flea market in Mobile. I never think of myself as a fan of Victorian decorating except at Christmas. For the holiday season, I festoon and drape with the best of them. Usually, I am a fan of the country English look because I love the way they collect all kinds of books and art, finding places for it all. I love the way that everything is used and lived with, including the finest antiques. If I can’t sit on it and prop on it, I don’t have it. At Christmas, there are a lot more people around to sit and prop. In the past four days, I have had different overnight guests three of those nights. They have all enjoyed my decorations and sitting on the porch with me. It is has been a great treat to me to have one on one time with some of my favorite people and cook some authentic southern foods for them. I made some Conecuh sausage cheese bread, chicken salad, pimento cheese, and soups (even though it is hot weather).
I do have a full time job, but being with friends and entertaining is a fine southern tradition that adds to the quality of life. I can rest when I’m dead. I take a full regime of vitamins and herbs to keep me going. I never go to the doctor because I’m never sick. Okay, I confess, I did go to the doctor recently. I was shopping at the Talbot’s outlet in Kentucky where my mother lives the day after Thanksgiving. I looked down in the dressing room and saw a blue circle like a bull’s eye on my stomach (which I try not to look at ordinarily). In the middle of the circle was a red spot. I didn’t feel bad, but my family got all upset, so when I got home, I went to Dr. Frank. He gave me a tetanus shot and took blood work to see if I had a dread disease. I didn’t, but the tetanus shot got me down for a day or two. I don’t believe in taking medicine if I can help it, but I took my first round of antibiotics in 20 years. I have recovered sufficiently to keep up my social schedule. In rural southwest Alabama, entertaining and being entertained is a way of life.
I am including some photos of my Christmas decorating to share with you. I have recently discovered that I like to make pictures now that digital cameras provide instant gratification. I don’t think I’ll ever Ansel Adams’ successor because that kind of photography takes patience which I don’t seem to have much of. I can’t wait for the light to get right, I just have to snap it and hope it comes out well. There must be some magic in my digital camera, because so far, pictures are turning out well. If you don’t thinks so, don’t tell me. Keep my simple faith alive. This is the essence of Christmas.