Author: Marina Brown

A League Of Their Own

The quote, “Creativity takes courage,” comes from Henri Matisse, the French artist known for breaking artistic rules into his 80s. And courage is what it took for the Artists’ League of the Big Bend, formerly just The Artists’ League, to…

Beauty is Pain

Ouch.” For some, the chosen profession of body piercing specialist Zarah Schieve may evoke just such a reaction. For others, her art form is simply one of creativity and self-expression. For many, what begins as an “ouch” later becomes a…

A Braw Day at Maclay

T’was a bonnie day, it was! A spring morning near the lake—with the birds chirpin’ and the pipes pipin’. And the pretty tartans a-flappin’ in the breeze! Oh sorry, Tallahasseeans, for the brogue and the burr. But April 6—known in…

Girl Power Aglow in Gold

Isabella Al-Sharif is an exotic name Tallahassee is getting used to. In just under a year as the programming coordinator and curator of LeMoyne Arts in downtown Tallahassee, she has selected art for a half dozen exhibitions. In addition, Al-Sharif…

Welcoming Words

To get to know poet and Professor James Kimbrell, it may be best to think of an analogy: Picture him as a multicolored quilt made up of educational patches, literary squares, pieces of sadness, and of great joy, love of…

High Marks in Fashion

The art gallery’s ambience seemed turned on “low” as polite viewers wandered by paintings along the walls. They wore mostly grays and browns, were decorous and pleasant, and very possibly a little bored. Then the door opened … and Jane…

The Essence of Blues

This is Tallahassee … not New Orleans. This is Tallahassee … not an ancient dive in the Mississippi Delta. Nor a blusey joint on the old Chitlin’ Circuit.  But if you close your eyes and feel the rhythmic pound deep…

Experiments in Magic

Sitting beneath a sprawling live oak, the figures of artist Beth Appleton and her husband, David Harbaugh, shimmer in the afternoon shadows. They seem a tableau made of many colors, different pieces that merge into form—much like the images that…

When Living And Art Come Together

There’s always a certain anticipation when Dan Taylor is spied from behind at one of the art exhibitions, symphony performances, community volunteer galas … or simply walking in the park. And why is that? It is probably because you’re guessing:…

The Gold Dust Streets

Setting the Stage In 1824, Tallahassee, the halfway point between Pensacola and Jacksonville, must have seemed the perfect place to set up a new capital city. Still a territory, Florida wouldn’t become a state until 21 years later. Yet planters…

Deep-fried Americana

A few oversized yard birds sat sizzling in hot oil as neighbors Frank Douglas and David Chapman strummed their guitars under the moonlight. Suddenly, the picturesque Washington Street block party fell silent. Douglas and Chapman paused their serenade, stared at…