Author: Margaret Evans

The quintessential Lowcountry artist talks about his life, his work, the future of art without public funding, the culture of rice, copycats, and the joy of coming home.   When Jonathan Green came into the world, he brought with him an inescapable sign of his specialness. He was born wearing a caul, an inner fetal membrane that covered his head at birth. In some societies, this is interpreted as a token of great luck or that this child will never know death by drowning. But in the Gullah society along the South Carolina coast, it insures that the child is touched by an uncommonness and magic that will bring inordinate grace to the community. From the beginning, Jonathan Green was marked and grew up known as “the child of the veil.”                                                             – Pat Conroy

Six artists have formed the expressive and colorful ‘Upstairs Group,’ taking over the second floor of the esteemed Charles Street Gallery. Their work celebrates the colors, imagery and scenes that drip, slide and smudge from the brushes of skilled and insightful artists— they know how to speak with color, share with joy, and spread around the beauty: Lynn Brown, Sharon DeAlexandris, Carol Henry, Jim Rothnie, Sara Timmons, and Nancy Sturgis. Meet the artists & enjoy the reception on Friday, February 25th, 5:30 to 9pm, at 914 Charles Street in Beaufort. The Charles Street Gallery is an established source for Lowcountry and international art, presented within a carefully renovated house surrounded by a lush garden in the middle of Beaufort’s historic district. 843-521-9054, thecharlesstreetgallery.com.

David Soliday has turned agricultural history into art   The York W. Bailey Museum at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark will host a debut exhibition by Charleston photographer David Soliday, entitled “Remnants of Rice Fields in South Carolina”, featuring images of rice fields from Georgetown to Beaufort, South Carolina.   The gallery opening will be held on February l9, 2011 from 5:00-7:00 p.m., featuring an artist’s talk and a taste of Gullah rice sampling.  The admission to the event is $6 for adults.