Calm Before the Storm
24×24 inches
Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas
©2016 Lucinda Howe
NFS
The South Carolina Park Service offers an Artist in Residence program at some of the state parks. Last fall I applied and was accepted for a stay at Barnwell State Park in the rural area between Aiken and Orangeburg. The deal is that I would receive the use of a cabin for a week in exchange for an original piece of art inspired by my stay. After contacting Eddie Richburg, the Park Manager, I scheduled my visit for October 2016, a time when the park would have low attendance and lovely autumn weather.
I forgot to consider hurricane season.
When I arrived at the park on Monday, October 3rd, it was a warm sunny day. My cabin was a dodecagon, divided into 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and living area. I explored the park and painted a small piece on Tuesday. My sister came and spent her time writing while I was painting. We were glad to have satellite TV service because we were watching the approach of Hurricane Matthew.
Thursday was a beautiful sunny autumn day. There was a lot of yellow beginning to show among the green leaves. I painted the piece above by a small lake, trying to capture the glow of the translucent back-lit leaves. After I varnished and framed this piece at home, it’s on its way to become part of the park’s collection of art.
As Matthew came closer, I bought gas and gathered no-cook food, but I wasn’t worried. My sister was smart and decided to leave the park and head back to North Carolina on Friday. The park rangers told me they expected only wind and rain and that the park’s cabins and campgrounds were full of people who had evacuated from the coast.
On Friday night the storm was quite an experience. I heard several things hit the roof and roll off. I could see the tall trees swaying by the security light. I saw some car lights and activity around neighboring cabin #3 around 3:30 am. The power went off around 4 am and it was DARK in the words without any lights. The next morning I couldn’t do much without power and decided to pack up and leave. The park manager came by and said there were three trees down on top of cabin #3!! He and the rangers rescued the guests and gave them cots to sleep on in the laundry facility. Fortunately no one was hurt. The rangers also had to cut several trees off the roads to get around the park in the morning. I drove home and found minimal damage in Columbia although I saw a lot of power lines down along the way. I was glad to be home!
After I told my husband my story, he said he was sorry I had that BAD experience. I said, wait… it was a GOOD experience. I had a good visit with my sister, made three paintings, and survived a hurricane without getting squashed by a tree. The park manager and rangers were taking care of things. What’s bad about that? I guess it’s all in your perspective.
Anyway, I enjoyed my residency and look forward to applying for a stay in a different park sometime in the future. I appreciate the park service’s program that encourages artists to experience and celebrate South Carolina’s natural resources. If my experience hasn’t scared you off, and if you’re an artist who would be interested in applying for a residency, check out this link. The application for 2017 is due October 31st, so apply now!