Mrs. Teabody Says It Really Does Take a Village

Good Morning from a moist and muggy Meadow Grounds Mountain where the fish are jumpin' (in the aquarium) and the cotton is  high (on the bed). If anyone had ANY shred of doubt about Summer being  firmly ensconced, you simply must be housebound and not among those individuals who climbed a flight of stairs to a very warm "Second Story" to revel in the presentation of the artwork of eight of the best local artists as well as  the folk art finding its way onto the sides of local barns and other buildings through the efforts of the Fulton County Barn Quilt Trail. Opening weekend with over 200 visitors  during the artists' reception Friday night and  well over one hundred more on the weekend was evidence enough that folks want art in their lives, that they DO value the creative process. Like any undertaking of this magnitude, it takes a village of people and Thanks are due so here goes: Antietam Ironworks is owned by Kathleen Gunnell and her family. Without her open mind and the creative bend of son James, there would have been no "Second Story." Both were behind the project and helpful and supportive throughout. There could be no better hosts.

At some point someone calculated that the space is roughly five THOUSAND square feet, all of it covered in dust and much of it the repository of what happens when birds get  trapped inside buildings. It wanted scraping and vacuuming and sweeping and scrubbing. It wanted washing and  wiping and polishing. Kathy Kendall knows lots about cleaning up and generously loaned buckets and mops. It took lots of mops and brooms and cloths and water carried up a flight of stairs and dirty water carried back down. By people. THESE people: the long-suffering Mr. Teabody, Tom Duffey, David Henry and John Himes. First window washer  and bucket carrier was A'leese Dickerson. Further scrubbing and polishing came from Donna House. Dee Henry and Linda Mosemann scrubbed away the dust on the stairway. Now the space wanted hardware removal from ceiling and walls (Mr. Teabody). It wanted venting from long  boarded-over openings (Mr. Teabody). Two weeks before the show, the same gentlemen who cleaned the space arrived to carry  display rack upon display rack loaned by the Fulton County Art Club  to the second story. These were arranged so that each artist had his or her own "room".  Matt and Robin Wakefield and sons Elliot and Jasper arrived with a stash containing rugs and wooden tables and chairs and helped with their comfortable arrangement. It is their lovely red oriental rug that dominates and anchors the space. Mrs. Teabody added ten potted palms in shiny black containers. By this time everyone had become aware that the wonderful light that floods in through huge windows was not going to be enough for  visitors to see the artwork. One hundred feet of construction grade work lights were ordered and Mr. Teabody spent hours and countless trips up and down ladders to hang them in the most advantageous way. At long last just a few days before the opening reception, the artists arrived to display their paintings and sculpture and create their own individual galleries. Dee Henry and Tom Duffey moved in a room divider  loaned by Central Fulton School District. Each display space is as unique as the artists themselves. Very special touches:  a bottle, a plant, some racks, area rugs, a chair and all this as the setting for beautiful work. All of it sigh-worthy.

All through this process Mr. Teabody was busy at home at his desk at his computer and printer churning out the 16-page program listing all the artists bios and their catalog of artworks. If you have never collated a 16-page program hand folding and stapling, then you have no idea the work involved. Matt Wakefield printed oversized artists bios. Tom Duffey framed them with mat board. Wonderful touch.

On Wednesday LouAnn Cunningham arrived with her friends Josh and Kyley and went to work on the canopy that was to define the food tent. The space was expanded, lace curtain rehung, canopy artfully tacked to look like a cross between a sideways sail and a magical tent. Tables were moved and draped. Lots of trips up and down ladders. Lots of  filled-to-the-top tub carrying up a flight of stairs. Lots of wire. At last it was beautiful. The food story was Scheherazade's  Canopy and it was lovely. Mr. Teabody dragged his  beloved digital piano and all its accoutrement upstairs and put it into place. The barn quilt folks arrived to display their massive as well as dainty squares of art adding dramatic color to their corner.

On Friday morning the excitement was tangible. Ken Keebaugh's hand-lettered signs were placed outside the building as were the "Art Show" signs from the Art Club. Tom Duffey schlepped two coolers full of ice donated by Central Fulton School District. Dave Hoover arrived with dozens of beautiful and delicious cornflake cookies made by Jan Hoover. Sylvia Smith delivered delectable lemon tarts, teatime tassies and brownie bites. A'leese Dickerson brought  miniature wonders of sweetness. Robin Wakefield added her ethereal sugar cookies and brought along Kirby Knepper and some of his gorgeous hydrangeas.All this went on as Christi Willingham and Juliana Bennett organized and arranged the drinks bar and LouAnn Cunningham and helper Hunter Buterbaugh arranged incredibly delicious food. No duds in the food tent. It was marvelous. It was art, too. The McQuade brothers arrived to take their places along the stairway.

 The artists arrived and executed some last minute touches. A few minutes before opening, A'leese Dickerson sat down at the piano and began to play. She played for two hours beautifully and from memory adding a wonderful atmosphere to the evening. The first guest popped up the stairs. Smiles. Hugs. Enthusiasm. Warmth in a dozen different ways. Folks trailed in. Appreciative folks. Kind folks. Curious folks. Hungry folks. All ages. All walks of life. All open-minded and ready to embrace the magic that was unfolding. And it WAS magical.  Food was inhaled. Tea was sipped. No paper plates. No paper napkins. No plastic forks. Visitors raved about the artwork. They fondled the sculpture. "Where am I?" they asked with incredulity. Visitors took time to comment on  printed squares provided by the Wakefields. Mrs. Teabody and the artists loved reading the comments and this is Mrs. Teabody's favorite: "We Needed this." Indeed!

"The Second Story" continues on weekends. Maybe even longer?