Gina Malone, editor
The wistfulness of September has stolen upon us. English literature is filled with odes to autumn and they’re all tinged the least bit with melancholy. “Over my soul murmur your mute benediction,/While I gaze, O fields that rest after harvest…” wrote Sara Teasdale, and from the pen of the more contemporary writer (and North Carolinian, at that) Sharyn McCrumb come these words about September: “…but somehow you know that it is all about to end, as if summer was holding its breath, and when it let it out again, it would be autumn.” Amy Lowell wrote about an afternoon “the colour of water falling through sunlight.”
With time seeming to pass almost tangibly, it feels natural to mark moments and make memories before any more of the year slips away. In this issue, find a few suggestions for combining mellow days outdoors with the pleasures of art and food. In Weaverville, there’s Art in Autumn; in Hendersonville, Art on Main; and, in Black Mountain, Chalk the Walk. John C. Campbell Folk School holds its 48th annual Fall Festival in Brasstown, and at the WNC Ag Center, enjoy the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. Bounty & Soul and Organic Growers School each plan to celebrate farms and food during this harvest month.
Along with beautiful artwork on the cover and in these pages, Cover Artist Andreina Bates offers some wisdom about creativity. “I have learned that when you have an idea, you need to act on it,” she says. “Ideas almost have a life of their own, and if you are not ready to capture it, the idea will often find someone else that is ready.” A good reminder for all of us who search for the perfect time to create.
The time is now. Enjoy September and the autumn days to come!
Gina Malone can be reached at gina@thelaurelofasheville.com
