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Road Trip All Who Wander

One of my favorite sayings….. All who wander are not lost.

I’ve written about this before but I’ll do it again. I love to see what is around the next corner, I love studying a map, and there is always something else I want to see. So on my way home from Hart Square (see previous posts   Hart Square and Hart Square Part Two) I wandered into Lincolnton, NC.

Along the downtown streets I saw several of these pots. How cool is that!!?? It was from a  project called Pots on Parade celebrating the fold art tradition of pottery in North Carolina.

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I then ran across this Kerr Mill, in Sloan Park, an 1823 grist mill that houses a museum of Early Americana. Open 1 pm until 7 pm Saturday and Sunday. By appointment Monday, Thursday, and Friday.

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There is my turtle shell in the background!

There was a nice gentleman there taking photos too and he suggested I go see this church.

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And my last stop was in Spencer, I was too late to tour the NC Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC but still got to see the Depot.all20

North Carolina is a beautiful and diverse state, I’ve lived here since 1989 and wander every chance I get but there is still more to see!

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Hart Square 2018 Volume Two

Here is a video I shot about Hart Square and the Cotton Gin.

 

Inside the cotton gin.

This is how they baled the cotton.

Underneath the cotton gin.

Rug Hooking.

Cutting, carding, and spinning flax to make linen.

Leather working.

Steaming and bending wood.

There were 4 or 5 groups in different areas playing.

Grinding apples.

I LOVED watching this little girl clog and seeing the expressions on her face.

Grist mill.

This mud covered fire box for the still made a hotter fire so moonshine making more efficient and it created less smoke so they were less likely to be detected!

Chair caning.

Lady making lace.

Carving toys.

As I was getting ready to leave they took the top off the kiln.

What a great experience!  Here is a link to the website. 

There is a beautiful coffee table book you can purchase.

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Road Trip Hart Square

On my way west I stopped to shoot a few scenes.

Not really evident in my photos but the light was amazing. Why is the light different this time of the year and why does it matter?

The sun is lower in the sky and so the shadows are longer and darker even in the middle of the day creating a very dramatic affect.

The cotton will be all picked soon, glad I got a few photos.
My friend Jack, who I haven’t seen in several years, at the paint out in Hillsborough.

I have been to Winston Salem many times and always like to stop on Trade Street to check out the galleries. One of my favorites is The Other Half Gallery, owned by potter Ron Propst and his wife Tamara.

I was going to go to Old Salem to take a few photos but Tamara suggested I go to Bethabara, I’d never been. It is the first Moravian settlement in North Carolina, founded in 1753 (New Bern was founded in 1710). It is just a few miles from Old Salem.

There are a lot of ruins there, underground portion of the foundations of the homes. They were excavated in the early 1960s.

The Bethabara community contained over 75 major buildings during its first 20 years.

The restored 1788 Gemeinhaus is the only remaining German 18th century church with attached living quarters.
A quick stop at Reynolda House shopping area.
 I love stone fences and buildings!

Back to Hart Square…..

I had never heard of Hart Square but when friends said they were going I said I’ll go too.

It seems a Doctor Bob Hart has purchased and moved over 100 log buildings –   to a 200-acre field/woods near Hickory. There’s a tavern, tobacco barn, Doctor’s office, post office, School, moonshine still,  cotton gin, church, general store, and a print shop (plus 90 more buildings!).

And once a year, every fourth Saturday in October, Hart invites about 200 artisans and craftsmen he knows to Hart Square. He sells 3,000 tickets, as a fundraiser for the local Historical Society, and I was told to call the day they go on sale because the often sell out the first day.

So I got to watch the people work at ginning cotton, making brooms, spinning flax and throwing pots.

It was really wonderful! I’ve got LOTS of photos so this will take several posts!

The huge kiln being fired, they started it at 3:30 that morning.
North Carolina Face Jug.
The other end of the kiln.
Bookmaker
I’m always curious where grindstones are from since we grew up not far from Grindstone City in Michigan, the stone there was found nowhere else in the US and created the finest textured grindstones . The industry lasted for 100 years. I own a grindstone from there!
Carving dough bowls.
A grindstone collection!
In different areas they were making molasses, apple butter, boiled peanuts, and a host of other food items.
Tin smiths.
Dr Hart had 3 lakes dug.
The Propst House!
The ferry to the Fish House island, of course I had to ride it, powered by hand.
The smokehouse.
Shelling corn.
A cooper, making wagon wheels.
Boiled peanuts.
I’ve been blogging since 2008, for the first 9 years it was as owner of Carolina Creations so wrote not only about my work and travels but about other artists and events at Carolina Creations, if you are interested in those posts please click on this link.