August in Eureka Springs, Arkansas is a time when nature truly thrives. The dense woodlands surrounding town are lush and green, with the last vestiges of summer flowers blooming in gardens and atop hillsides. Our Lake Leatherwood Loop and the popular Basin Spring Park offer opportunities for both locals and visitors to immerse themselves in the serenity of the Ozarks.
As the evenings start to cool down, the clear skies of Eureka Springs provide perfect conditions for stargazing. The Perseid meteor shower, peaking in early August, draws both amateur astronomers and curious onlookers to quiet spots like Inspiration Point and Thorncrown Chapel, where the night sky puts on a spectacular show.
ART
Art is the lifeblood of Eureka Springs. The streets here are alive here with the vibrant colors of murals, galleries, and the works of local artists. The Eureka Springs Art Walk & Expedition is a must-attend event for art lovers, offering an intimate glimpse into the creative processes of our town's artists.
Happening Here and Now
At Brews, 2 Pine Street in Eureka, local Artists have come together to create a new installation called Out of the Box.
On Friday, August 16, 2024, my partner Jeff and I took some time to visit and experience this installation at Brews and it was impressive and inspiring.
Quite an array of work is being featured. Go check it out - it's happening NOW!
Please allow me some creative license for a moment as I do my very best to express my take on this experience at Brews for it is my hope that this inspires you to stop over and experience this for yourself.
Art is immersive to me. Otherworldly at times. When I am in front of a piece of art, any art, I often take a moment to simply marvel at the very creation that it is. I do this first and foremost because before I can dive deeper, I want to take it in, see it for what it is, and respect it because this moment is a glimpse into another person's mind, soul and life experience.
The artist is giving you a window into their world, and this is when the deeper dive becomes exhilarating. Well, for me, it certainly does.
When I am casting my gaze on artwork, I allow it to conjure up my emotions. I don't resist. I simply just gaze, inhale, emote, exhale, bask in the experience of being in the presence of it at this very moment in time.
This may sound woo woo, but it's actually "oh wow" especially as you do it more and more often and get really good at it.
Take this first piece by local artist Christopher Box -- incidentally, Christopher is the owner, creator, artist and curator of his own shop and art gallery in downtown Eureka Springs called The Heart Division. www.theheartdivision.com Be sure to check out his store for some very unique products and heart-filled artwork.
In his own words, this is what Christopher says about being an artist:
"Being an artist runs in my family. The need to create and express myself is a part of me as my sense of humor. It’s always a little off and maybe more than a little bit off color. But at the heart of it, what I create is meant to inspire and spark conversation."
When I viewed his "out of the box" submission at Brews, it struck me in ways I wasn't expecting. This is the magic of art. It moves with you through life, as you move through life.
Here's what I mean ...
... if I was viewing this piece by Christopher at, say, age 7, I'd most certainly have an entirely different perspective on the whole experience. Seven-year-old me might think something pretty simplistic like: Oh, that poor octopus lost his heart deep in the ocean and can't get it back because it's floated too far away.
Now, at age 54, my more mature perspective on life has an impact on my wants, needs, expectations and emotions. My life experience has more color in it. My personal canvas has more acrylic than it did when I was a seven-year-old boy.
All this said, last evening, my mind raced as I set my gaze upon this work. Here's what 54-year-old me experienced looking at this very same piece of art by Christopher Box: I very quickly related to the octopus as if he were me. My mind started talking to me intimately saying, "love is everywhere, even in dark places and if you simply open your eyes, you will see it floating right in front of you at any given moment in time. All you have to do is simply choose to reach out, take hold and cherish it. God has given you so many options to do so. Just stop, focus on love (not fear) and reach out to it. Take hold. Allow it to become a part of you."
Thank you, Christopher Box for your inspirational, heart-filled work. I am not entirely sure what you, the artist, wanted to convey with this piece, but I know this - your art speaks. It speaks to me. Thank you.
Other local artists featured in the Out of the Box installation include: Zeek Taylor, Nancy Brooks, and Becky Epp, all of whom took the Out of the Box theme in different directions bringing to life a story all their own.
It was Shira's, Alice in Eurekaland, that moved me to tears.
In this work, Shira delivered so much in such a delightful way. Her detailed depiction of Eureka's staircase mural is stunning. This mural is often referred to by locals as the Cash and Boardman Mural because two submissions from Kyla Boardman and Kennedy Cash from the Eureka Springs High School Art Club were selected as the artwork. Muralist Doug Myerscough designed the mural by combining the winning works of the two young artists. This video is a light-hearted story of how it all came together. This video is another fun one to watch.
Shira also paid respect to our beloved Humpty Dumpty, who was unfortunately a casualty of Covid-19, having a severe case of termite infestation. His all-wood egg-shaped torso was sliced, diced and hauled off the wall after years upon years of joy-mongering atop his prime perch on quirky Spring Street.
(Check out this post that I wrote about his demise as it was happening.)
Rumors still continue that another Humpty may be erected somewhere in town, but time will tell. Let's hope someone brings him back from the dead. He was absolutely loved by so many - visitors and locals alike.
Another reason Shira's piece moved me so, is the direct correlation to Eureka Springs and Alice in Wonderland. In this she features Alice, the cheshire cat as well as the white rabbit. In the center of town, one of my most beloved places to visit is Missy's White Rabbit Lounge. Sadly, Covid-19 may have sickened and killed our Humpty, but that quarantine period brough me and my partner Jeff closer to Missy and her husband John who own and operate Missy's White Rabbit Lounge.
This beloved music and cocktail venue is located in the center of the Cash and Boardman Mural (i.e. the original rainbow stairs) and this beloved couple, Missy and John, bring so much joy through the portal of Eurekaland that has become their delightful lounge since it first opened in September 2019.
Missy and I are the same age, and her husband John is the same age as my partner Jeff. The four of us have spent a lot of time together and it was the pandemic that brought us closer together.
We've taken road trips, flights, vacations to Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma together and we often spend Sundays together in some way - just as many close families tend to do. Missy and John have become our Eureka family.
Their lounge, Missy's White Rabbit Lounge, is our favorite watering hole in town because they're our favorite. Our friendship has become foundational to our Eurekaland. Shira's work reminded me of this, and it moved me deeply.
It's this foundation that Shira depicted so well, most likely unintentionally, because everyone's Eureka story is so very different. Shira had no idea her Alice in Eurekaland would conjure up so much for me personally, but it did and I'm ok with that.
Listen To Her is an awesome political piece that reminds us of the strength that lies in diversity of thought. Women have voices, too. Listen To Her brings awareness to the forefront of your mind. It reminds you to actively listen.
Lastly, there's Picket Fence.
This one tugged at all of the nostalgia tucked away inside of me - my family, my past, and my childhood.
When I think of a picket fence or see one, regardless of where I am in the world, I'm taken back to those early chapters of childhood and specifically to the home where I grew up. I think most people, when they think of a picket fence, or see one, get transported back to their childhood home. Weird but it does happen a lot for many.
In Booker's Picket Fence, I was transported back to Massachusetts where I was, once again, a seven-year-old boy. My mother, telling me to do my chores before she takes off to play bingo at our Catholic parish church.
The big-box tv blares MTV, which was the latest craze being so new on the scene and giving us something called "music videos" for the very first time in our lives. I was hooked on MTV.
In Booker's little picket-fenced in world, he captured my life in Massachusetts when I was a little boy. He brought me to that place again, when I remembered how excited Mom was to go to the bingo hall, and how excited I was to get to stay up past my established bedtime and watch MTV until Mom returns to tuck me in for the night.
Booker nailed it. Thanks, Booker.
Out of the Box is something to see, do and experience. Stop by Brews, grab a coffee or a beer and just slowly walk around and take in each piece. Individually they tell a story - art always does. Just go slow and let it all speak to you.
The most amazing part is that each story told to you will be different than each story that was told to me.
My Picket Fence is not the same as yours.
My Alice in Eurekaland is not the same as yours.
My I Will Follow You Into The Dark is not the same as yours.
...and, you know what, that's OK! This is what art does. This is what art is. Art brings us introspectively into our own life stories. It takes us internally through the forest of our own mind and helps us to find those blue dots on our personal life timeline and helps us to re-live those moments again. Art is nostalgic. Impactful. Insightful. Exceptional.
Art is in our life to give us life.
Art reminds us of the beauty in everything. The artist creates something from what they see, believe, know. They depict it in a way that is purposeful and powerful to them. They've created art through their own personal lens. What will always be amazing to me is that when I experience art, any art, I see it through my own personal lens. The artist never created my lens - I did. They don't know anything about my lens - I do.
My lens is mine and it always will be. Art will always be to me what art will always be to me.
It will always be different to me than it is to you.
The most intriguing thing to me about art is that artists create their work never knowing how it will move people because each person that experiences their work sees it through their own personal lens that the artist did not create. May art live on for many lifetimes. It is something that brings color to life and it makes us feel alive. It reminds us to bask in the moment. The present moment. Take it all in.
Art is powerful. Art is language. Art is Eureka Springs. Art is here and now. Go get you some art.❤️
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