The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery, AL

Part 2 of 3

The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park was the 2nd stop of the day. (I'm writing in reverse order.) If you click on the link highlighted, you can see some photos of the park, some quotes about it, and some information. There is also a video that I encourage you to watch. It tells about the park, the art, etc. The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park is also part of EJI-- Equal Justice Initiative-- as is The Legacy Museum that I wrote about previously.

Visitors are allowed to take photos at a few locations inside the park-- 1 at the beginning and then the rest at the end. 

As you wind around the path, much of the art is bigger than life. So many pieces remind one of the horrors of slavery. The huge ball and chain was one of those for me. There were also pieces that showed how people lived -- 2 plantation homes; a boxcar train to show how slaves were transported.

One piece that caught my attention were fingers coming out of the ground. HUGE fingers. They surrounded a tree that was tall and upright. It was as if life had grown out of that hand. 

Walking through the woman who opened her chest cavity for us to walk through was powerful, humbling. It was as if we were invited in-- invited in to her life, her pain, her story. Yet, we passed through to the other side.

The biggest piece in the park is shaped like an open book and contains the surnames from the 1870 census, the first census in which black people were included. There are over 100,000 names engraved on this monument. You can find more information on this piece-- size, background, etc.-- in the link posted in the beginning of this post about the park.

This piece was something to behold. Not only was it huge, but names were on both sides. I didn't go around to the back, but I did search for some names. In the video on the link above I learned that not all surnames were taken from connections with slave owners and families. Only a percentage. I believe I heard 40%, but would need to listen again to verify. 

There is a fountain after this and then you are back in the beginning.

There is a statue of Harriet Tubman at the visitor center and photos are allowed there also. 

There is a big computerized data base of the census inside that you can look up names. You can look them up by state and county. That was informative. I believe I saw a theater in there as well. 

OTHER LINKS WITH INFORMATION AND PHOTOS:

• News Channel 4-- March 18, 2024
• Daniel Popper-- July 31, 2024
• Whitney Washington-- August 10, 2024

There is much more information to be found online.

I recommend a visit to The Legacy Sites to learn more.

Thank you for joining me in this educational endeavor. 

Deb

Reflection from a lectionary art piece

I saw this piece of artwork in a clergy group yesterday that sparked me to write abut it. 

What I posted:

"Artwork for Pentecost 17, with text from 2 Timothy 1:6-7 by Chris Suerdieck, artist. 

This image and the verses got my attention. Yes, there might be tiny hearts that caught my eye. #SeeAHeartShareAHeart 

The vibrant colors captured my gaze as my eyes wandered over the piece.

As I read the verses, there was a pause within me. Hmmm. I wonder. What gift is waiting within me to be rekindled? What gift within you is waiting to be rekindled?

With power, love, and self-discipline, it is time to kindle a gift or rekindle a gift that has grown cold in the ashes.

As a prayer goes:

"Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy your consolations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Rev. Deb"

Not in post online: 

Rev. Chris Suerdieck's artwork is posted in the clergy group and can be found all over Facebook. She offers her artwork to clergy and churches to use in services and devotionals, with appropriate credit. I was hoping to find another source t post here, but was not able to. Just search her name to see different art.

Art speaks to different people in different ways. 

I am grateful for the artists I know who share their giftedness with others. 

From drawing to photography to painting to writing to music and every other aspect of art, to all the artists out there, keep on creating! You inspire us! 

DD

A day in Mentone for the Rhododendron Festival, May 2018

I have never been to the Rhododendron Festival in Mentone, AL before.  But since I learned that a new artist friend Donna Godwin was going to be there, some of her longer-time friends and I headed up to see her and check out the festival.

It turned out to be a gorgeous day.  And for me, it was good to be back at Brow Park.  Oddly, even though Riley and I have visited Mentone off and on, I forget to go over to Brow Park.

We ate lunch at Wildflower Cafe, my second time there.  This time we had entertainment. A gentleman with a guitar and tamborine toe-tappers.  I might add I was jealous of the tambourinne toe tappers.  He went around serenading all, even singing songs for the kids.

The festival had plants, food, art, photography, soaps, pottery, freshly roasted coffee, tie-dye, wood work, iron work, etc.  It wasn't too crowded and we ambled along, seeing the booths, smelling the aromas, and seeing the sights.

One of the aromas that got my attention was the coffee that was freshly roasted on site by Apison Creek Coffee Roasters.  I tasted a sample of the bold roast and the smooth flavor sold me on a bag.

After the festival we went over to Desoto Falls to check it out. There were folks enjoying the sun on the rocks up on the top part and folks below swimming in the big pool area.  There was a pontoon ride for 45 minutes for $15, but we didn't do that this time.  Hopefully they will be back another time.  It would be neat to go back up river without being the paddle power, as I was in my camper days.

We stopped at Miracle Pottery on our way down the mountain.

I experienced grace there.  A humbling moment of grace.  I had scoured the place for something to possibly buy, but couldn't find the right item. Then, I saw these tiny flower vases and I was going to get one for Charlie.  Charlie loves plants and flowers.  My hands got shaky with the one and only colored vase of the one I picked out and it dove to the concrete floor, chipping its rim.  I knew it now belonged to me, but the store keeper said it would go on the discount shelf, that I wasn't obligated to buy it.  Wow. Grace.  It should have been mine.  I should have had to pay for it. But I didn't.  That humbled me.  I went out to the car to check my blood sugar.  It wasn't dangerously low, but is was 115, low for me for a mid-afternoon.  I had a mint to raise it some.  I was willing to buy the chipped vase, but also glad to accept the grace extended to me in the moment to not have to buy it.

It isn't always easy to accept extended grace.  It is easier to extend it. However, receiving grace is as important as extending it.  I was humbled and blessed by that experience.

We checked out two more stores before getting on the Interstate to head back to Chattanooga.  Two antique stores.  One in Valley Head and one in Hammondville.

It was a great day of fellowship, fun, and overall peacefulness.

It was a day of enjoying the beauty of creation, art, and just being.

Blessings on your journey,

Debra

The Peacocks in Dalton

Yesterday Riley and I went down to Dalton for our day of adventure.  We try to take one day of adventure a month on one of my Friday off days.  Yesterday we wanted to check out the peacocks and visit family.  We planned to drop off some flowers for Mom (thanks for such a beautiful arrangement Creighton's Wildflowers!), take Mom out for lunch and hang out with any other family who happened to be around town.

I first learned about the peacocks from an artist named Donna who had posted about them. [You can connect to Donna Godwin's Art Studio Facebook page HERE.]  I didn't even know my hometown had them.  I had seen Buffalo statues in Buffalo, MN and a bear in Murphy, NC, but I hadn't heard nor seen of the peacocks. Having seen live ones at the Cenacle Retreat Center in Houston, TX, I wanted to see these.

We parked behind City Hall at Selvidge St. and Waugh St. to start our adventure.  That was neat because the parking lot allowed me to see my Dad's former insurance building that now belongs to John Robertson.  I have many fond memories of hanging out in the Selvidge St. office building as a kid and remember the days of Rock Hill school when it started there.

We went to check out the peacock on the corner and while we were standing there, one of the "Guy With a Truck" trucks passed by.  I waved at it, wondering if my brother was working.  The guys in the truck must have wondered who the crazy lady on the street corner was-- I was waving with one hand to them and pointing to myself with the other, as if to say, 'it's me'.  Like they were going to know who 'me' was. It was funny.  When they passed by, I snapped a quick picture and sent it to my brother.  It turned out he WAS working that day, but he wasn't in that truck.  He was in the smaller green truck.  Oh, well.

back side

Guy With A Truck

What I liked about this peacock was the variety in the scenes.  There were multiple scenes with activities in them, including kayaking and hiking.  Admittedly, I also liked the colors.  I matched this peacock and another one best.

After admiring this peacock (both front and back), we walked down to the courthouse to see another one, across from the courthouse, almost at the corner of Selvidge St. and King St.

Even though Mom had told me about where they all were, I looked them up and we used Peacocks on Parade-- 1000 Words as our tour guide.

We walked down King St. and saw two more peacocks.

This peacock is at 115 King St., sponsored by Laughter & Jones Financial.  I took close-ups of two of the financial sayings as they are relevant to us in this stage of life.

The second peacock we saw before lunch was located at Hamilton St. and King St. and was adopted by the Dance Theater of Dalton/Toys in the Attic.

We saw one more peacock before we before we met up with the crew for lunch. This peacock is located at the Historic Post Office on Hamilton St. and  Crawford St.  It's the Civitan peacock.  I took some extra pictures of this one because it had quite a bit of writing on it on the front.  I really liked the back of it, with the people in a circle and the butterflies.

Lunch was at "More Than Greens", a salad bar restaurant.  Well, as the name says, it did have more than just a salad bar.  It had quiche and some other hot items and dessert. You pay by the ounce.  The chicken salad was very tasty, as were the variety of olives.

Because it had begun to warm up quite a bit, Riley and I got a ride back to our car before finding the remaining peacocks.

Our next two peacocks were on Hamilton St. They were close to each other and we were able to find them easily.  The first one below is in front of Crescent City Tavern at 311 S. Hamilton St. and the second one is at The Sweet Spot at 336 S. Hamilton St.

From there we walked around the corner,  by some cool wall art on corrugated metal, by the Moonshine Distillery, and to find one more peacock.  It was on Depot St. and Morris St. in front of the other side of the Crescent City Tavern and by the Chamber of Commerce. We got to look at the Pullman car that was in the yard.

As we headed back to the car, I noticed the metal owls on the front side of the Crescent City Tavern and went inside the patio area to try to get a better picture.  There are quite a few of these metal type sculptures around Chattanooga on Amnicola Highway, but I don't know much about them.  I thought the owls were neat looking.

After finishing our tour of the peacocks (well, what we think is "finished"-- we found a total of 8 and per other sources, there may be 9), we decided to find some local coffee before going over to Mom's house.  Upon searching for local coffee, it showed up that a coffee shop, Common Ground (Facebook page), was in Christ Church Presbyterian on Tibbs Road.  We decided to give it a try.  We weren't disappointed.  [Here is the link to Common Ground via the church website.]

We got there and found a wonderful coffee shop serving Mad Priest coffee.  There was a spacious outdoor area (that they are working on to make more user friendly) and a spacious indoor area with tables, sofas, a chess set, and bar seating.  The atmosphere was great.

Now this next line might sound weird coming from a pastor, but here goes.  Even though this coffee shop is inside a church, it doesn't feel "churchy". I say this in case you're looking for a local coffee shop, but you are unsure about walking into a church building.  It's okay.  You're not going to be attacked by any Christians trying to convert you.  If you bring up any churchy-type topic, I imagine  you will be engaged, as I was. (I asked questions that brought up church and I shared that I was a pastor.) The main thing you need to know about this coffee shop is that you will be served coffee.  Good coffee.  It definitely gives new meaning to the term "church coffee".

We had good conversations with the barista Cade and another guy, Kinzer, who was telling us about the Chattanooga Coffee Crawl, a meetup group, and a blog he is starting about coffee with videos and podcasts.  It was fun.  And the coffee?  Riley had the cold brew and I had a latte.  Both were excellent.

We headed back over to my parents' house and got to visit some more with the family before heading back home.

It turned out to be a great day of adventure.

Blessings on your journey,

Debra