The best issues of The Laurel seem to come together magically to reflect the essence of our beautiful mountain region. It’s always a pleasure to sit with an issue in the last days of production, to see how the sundry stories have painted a picture of our part of the world. While we are working on an issue, it’s easy to see the blocks and not the quilt, the rooms and not the house. Or, if I do see the whole, I’m never quite prepared for how vibrant the art, how insightful the words of those we talk to, how exciting the month—that as we’re working lies distant—will promise to be.
Gina Malone, Editor
I always particularly enjoy our April issues, for they highlight some of the most satisfying elements of everyday life—art, music, poetry, springtime, environmentalism, gardening.
In our Spring Home & Garden section, find antiques and vintage finds, indoor and outdoor plants, mindful landscaping and even, as spring and Easter celebrations draw near, fresh eggs from local farms.
Our Cover Artist Christy Vonderlack has a fervor for color and she’s happy to share. “I can still be heard through my paintings and their unapologetic use of color and often maximalist detail,” she says. “I definitely don’t like bland.”
Bland, April is not. This issue filled with the colors of azaleas, quilt blocks and pottery.
And, of course, it’s Earth Month, which grew out of Earth Day, and, for some of us, has become Earth Year because shouldn’t we always be mindful of our Mother? For starters, check out the exhibition Inspired by Nature at Flow Gallery in Marshall. And while you’re there, take a peek at the newly rebuilt Madison County Arts Council, a real community triumph after the flood’s devastation. In Sylva, there’s Greening Up the Mountains, a truly green celebration of the return of nature’s greenness. Also, check out the latest gorgeous winged beauty, this one in Weaverville, on the Asheville Butterfly Trail.
“Come with me into the woods where spring is/advancing, as it does, no matter what,/not being singular or particular, but one/of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.” (Mary Oliver, from Dog Songs: Poems)
Happy Spring!
