Re-enter, revisit, reconnect: A pathway back for Beaufort County visual arts

Our country has survived some precarious, parlous and perilous times. And no one is positively certain that there will not be some troubling challenges, even dire days in our future.

But happily, at this particular time, all of us who have missed the companionship of friends and family, and have suffered the painfulness of isolation, have begun to see, to sense and further enjoy signs of hope, and possibility.

What’s more, we now realize that those early signs might have suggested the very beginning of a return to something that resembles the lives we so enjoyed in a very recent past.

The good news just gets better. Especially for all of us with a passion for the cultural arts, especially the visual arts, who have been substituting up-close and personal visual experiences with virtual options.

We all are so looking forward to a promised glance at the real thing. Not a replacement. A full on, up-close view to every corner of a painting ... the brush strokes, the applications, the depth of color, the negative space ... then the shadows we find in a view to a sculpture, or the detail we see in a series of impossible-to-imagine fishnet knottings, or sketches in pen and ink, and gouache, or jewelry and ceramics ... and our list continues.

We remember those halcyon days. No need for virtual gallery tours, when we stepped into a gallery, we were immediately surrounded by the works of art and enjoyed just being there, often with friends. There was no need for Zooming, links, and varieties of social media and keeping proper spacing.

To celebrate Gov. Henry McMaster’s call for South Carolina businesses to return to normal, everyone is invited to join in the festivities at Habersham Marketplace’s Third Friday event, on June 19 from 4 to 8 p.m.

That evening will come with a list of the gracious, and safely planned events, and further, an opportunity to share and enjoy the evening’s experiences among carefully distanced friends as you gather at the Marketplace.

(Social distancing will be in place. Masks are encouraged and frequent sanitization of the galleries is conducted. A specified number of gallery visitors will be admitted to the galleries at any one time.)

That important evening will offer everyone the unique opportunity to visit the Habersham Discovery Trail, a highly regarded, community-backed project, and further, to celebrate the unveiling of a new birdhouse that is an exact replica of the Habersham Community’s Firehouse, to honor first responders.

Robert Howell, project leader and owner of Mystic Osprey Gallery in Habersham, pointed out that when they set out to create the Discovery Trail — blazed by 11 birdhouses — they had no idea that their first responders tribute would be what it is today, given the way life has changed, and the roles with which they have been challenged throughout the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The one-mile Discovery Trail is a safe, easily walked course on roads and sidewalks marked with a series of beautifully constructed birdhouses to guide visitors through Habersham’s Marketplace and into its New Urbanism landscape. The trail will give guests a taste of its neighborhoods, and amenities ... and plenty of time to visit the shops and galleries.

“We have a Discovery Trail poster on the LCD Kiosk on the green adjacent to 10 Market Restaurant,” said Howell. “Our visitors can point their iPhone camera or QR code and get a guide for their phone. The guide includes waypoints, the opportunity to download Cornell Labs Merlin Bird ID app, links to South Carolina birds via season, and some history about the ground on which Habersham sits.

For information: Robert Howell at Robert@MysticOsprey.com.

Mystic Osprey Gallery

Robert Howell’s Mystic Osprey Gallery is all about his abiding love of nature, along with his appreciation of artwork that references and celebrates elements found in a natural setting.

He further is intrigued with the common ground he discovers between the natural image, the artist, the medium and himself, ultimately.

“It’s a kind of narrative,” he says.

And I, now more comfortable in his choice of words, agree with him implicitly. The narrative involves all of the listed players. Obviously!

We touched on the details of his brilliant, newish gallery in Habersham in northern Beaufort County, when we Zoomed recently as he graciously offered an updated virtual tour of his space in its phenomenal location.

Beautifully situated, impressively arranged and magnificently filled with light, we realized through Zooming, linking, Facebooking and websiting that the Mystic Osprey Gallery was the ideal setting for the collection of the work he loves, collects and presents.

I so enjoyed the details of the 12 artists whom he represents. He would say, “with whom I share a narrative,” and I would understand.

On your visit to the Habersham location, you will admire the work of his artists associates who cover the natural landscape and waterfront with images of wildlife, elements found at water’s edge and images of our uniquely stunning settings throughout the Lowcountry.

Every piece is original, and in oil, watercolor, sculpture, even traditional fish net knotting. Amazing. There are works in pen and ink and gouache, and ceramics and jewelry, too. He has a most impressive collection of natural images offered in natural formats.

I sense the excitement of this “pathway to reentry” and realize that it is Howell at Habersham who is fully at the forefront of the beginning of a new beginning.

He shared with me his vision and later the details of Mystic Osprey’s entrance to the gallery’s new plans and intriguing ancillary opportunities.

Robert Howell and his wife are nature lovers and curators, really. They see carefully selected artwork as a way to present and celebrate images of natural settings, created by the artists who share their delights.

“It takes just moments to bridge the gap created by a visitor to our gallery and our artists,” said Howell.

“At the heart of it all, I want to communicate with our appreciator and bring out the commonality we feel about the artwork that I know exists.”