What’s Going On at 4 Main Street in Summerton, SC? The Creative Mind Exhibition

"4 Main" in Summerton, SC, presents the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) African American History Program Traveling Exhibition: The Creative Mind. This educational traveling exhibition celebrates the contributions of African Americans to medicine, mathematics, engineering, and all branches of science. It features the careers and achievements of some of today’s outstanding black scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and medical professionals and highlights the work of notable figures from the past. 

A “Did You Know” section of the exhibit brings in additional information about each scientific field, pointing to future career possibilities for creative minds of the next generation. The exhibit consists of seven colorful panels—one introductory panel and six other panels devoted to medicine, mathematics, engineering, biological sciences, physical sciences, and social sciences.
 
Visit the exhibit at 4 Main Street in Historic Summerton from September 15 to October 11. Open Monday thru Thursday, from 10 AM to 3 PM.
 
The Creative Mind traveling exhibit is made possible by generous support from Dale Barwick, ANP-C Summerton Primary Care, Taylor Motley, Motley Structural Design LLC, Harvin Clarendon County Library, Manning, SC. Donald McCutcheon, Black Contractors Association Carolina LLC, Morris Animal Clinic Manning, SC. South Carolina African-American Heritage Commission and Robert Ridgeway III, MD, of nearby Manning, SC.

 

4 Main, Summerton, SC

Featuring Lake Marion Artisans in Summerton, S.C.

The Lake Marion Artisans Guild is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in historic Summerton, South Carolina. Its stated mission is to support the arts, advance art education, and encourage an appreciation for arts and crafts in the communities around beautiful Lake Marion in Santee Cooper Country.

The Lake Marion Artisans operate a small Art Gallery on Main Street in downtown Summerton. To view some of the many artworks produced by our artisans, make sure you swing by the gallery the next time you visit Santee Cooper Country. You can also visit their website which provides links to art education materials, news from around the art world, information about our local artists, software tools for artists, and much more.

The following are brief biographies of some of the artists associated with the Lake Marion Artists Guild:

Carole Shoemaker Swartz received her BFA from the College of the Dayton Art Institute and her MFA from George Washington University. Carole has exhibited her artwork in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the US. Her work can currently be seen at the South Carolina Artisan’s Center in Walterboro, in addition to the Lake Marion Artisans gallery in Summerton, SC.

Sharon Phelps was born and raised on the Gulf Coast of Florida. She now lives in North Santee on Lake Marion. In addition to overseeing gallery operations, her artistic talents are many - witnessed by the quilts, dolls, sketches, glasswork, ceramics and oil paintings that she has produced. Many of these artworks are on display at the art gallery.

Judy Latham is a retired school teacher from New Jersey. She has lived in Clarendon County, SC, now for over 10 years. She earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Art degree from Kean University and William Patterson University. She has energetically pursued her love of the arts for over 60 years. Her areas of expertise are ceramics, painting and jewelry making.

Marlise Guillerault is a former elementary teacher, graphic artist, and occupational therapist. While she is now semi-retired, she continues to pursue a range of varied life experiences. In addition to her oil and acrylic paintings, jewelry making, and experiments in graphic art, she is currently trying out new modalities in the art world, i.e. 3D fiber sculpture creations.

Wade Edwards is the owner of Wade Edwards Exhibitions, LLC, based in Summerton, SC. He is a noted professional whose art includes an array of both traditional as well as unique works involving many types of media and themes. Additionally, his business has provided affordable, high-quality custom picture framing for over 20 years. He offers art classes as well.

Local Author Vicki Wilkerson and 'Swamps and Soirees'

I just sat down today and started reading the third novel I have bought by local author Vicki Wilkerson. This one is called ‘Swamps and Soirees’. It’s the latest in her series of Summerbrook Novels set in a small Southern town in South Carolina.

I never planned on reading her books, but she is a fellow member of the Lake Marion Artisans based in Summerton, S.C. There was a book signing held at the Lake Marion Artisans art gallery in downtown Summerton earlier in the year which I attended and I thought it would be a nice gesture to buy one of her books.

I wasn’t sure when I would get around to reading it, especially since it didn’t look like the kind of book I normally read. However, later that week I sat down on my porch overlooking beautiful Lake Marion, picked up the book and started reading. Damned if I didn’t get hooked. I really enjoyed her novel. It was called ‘Sweet Tea and Time’.

Bottom line, after I read the book, I went over to the art gallery and bought ‘Bikers and Pearls’ about a local woman’s interaction with former members of a biker gang. Who would have thought I would enjoy reading these sweet, uplifting stories set in a quiet Southern setting. They certainly were different than the westerns, mysteries, and other ‘manly’ novels I usually read.

Nevertheless, I’m here to say they are great and you ought to pick up one of her books and settle down for an entertaining and educational read. Try it! You’ll like it. It’s Southern literature at its best. Now back to my reading of her third novel ‘ Swamps and Soirees’.

Vicki Wilkerson - Author

Some Useful Tools for Visual Artists

There are a lot of useful tools available nowadays for artists to use – not only to create artworks, but to sell them and make enough to maybe earn a living doing what you love to do. For example.

• There are many free and open source software (FOSS) tools available for artists. A number of examples can be found on the Lake Marion Artisans web site. Read Lake Marion Artisans ‘Open’ Art Technology 
• To display, make prints, and sell your artwork, take a look at SmugMug. It’s a great web site for artists that will handle the sales, shipping, billing, and processing of payments for you. Check out these Blogs & Articles About SmugMug 
• Recent articles about technology for artists include recommendations for the following tools you might want to check out: Google Blocks, Google Autodraw, Corel Painter 2018, Rebelle 2, Tuxpaint and much more.

There are many other tools to consider on the Internet such as Fracture Me, a web site that will reproduce your photos or paintings in vivid color directly on glass. Try Easy Canvas Prints that does exactly what their name implies. Also, check out Easy Art 1-2-3, a web site that lets you make your own custom paint by number picture kits from any photo. Take a few minutes to search the web yourself.

 

Send us your list of recommended tools and web sites so we can share them with our local artisan community.

Bird Watching around Summerton, Santee, and Lake Marion, SC

Birding, or bird watching, involves the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by simply listening for bird sounds. 

When you visit Summerton, nearby Lake Marion, and the Santee National Wildlife Refuge, you will find many parks, wildlife management areas, nature trails and back roads you can use for bird watching and to observe the other wildlife throughout the region. Sightings of nearly 300 bird species have been recorded in the area. These include songbirds, wading birds, and several species of waterfowl.

Some of the many other birds sighted in the area include quail, turkey, loons, grebe, storks, cormorants, herons, egrets, eagles, hawks, falcons, rails, cranes, plovers, sandpipers, gulls, terns, doves, owls, swifts, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, flycatchers, jays, crows, larks, swallows, wrens, thrushes, mockingbirds, warblers, sparrows, cardinals, blackbirds, finches, and much more.

Selected Information Sources

• All About Birds
• American Birding Association
• BirdWatching Daily
• Carolina Bird Club
• National Audubon Society
• Santee National Wildlife Refuge - Local Bird List
• South Carolina Young Birders Club
  

* Make sure you visit the Summerton SC 'Nature & Outdoor Recreation' web site.