Rain, Rain, Come and Play!

Day one of my stay as the Artist in Residence at Smoky Mountain National Park was just a clean-up and move-in day. I got settled in my new digs, managed to make myself a quick dinner, and spent the evening studying maps and reading the logs left by the previous Resident Artists. Time for bed, and I realize what a city slicker I have become. Instead of the parking lot lights, the neighbors muffled voices, and the passing trains, there is total silence and complete darkness. So of course I had to turn on the radio for a while before I could sleep! I am sure within days I will get very used to it, and I will stop listening for bears to scratch at my door! Here are my new digs for the next month:

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Day two was fog and intermittent pouring rain – in other words perfect! The tourists were not around and the colors were perfect for photography. In the morning I took a right on the main drive and explored one end of the park until it was time to meet the coordinator for a tour of Gatlinburg and introductions to Arrowmont. Thanks to Sheridan, I now I know where to get groceries, where the library is, who has good food and service, and where all the artists and craftsman are located. Most of them have left downtown Gatlinburg to Ripleys’ Believe it or Not, and the Olde Tyme photo and T-shirt shops, and moved out a couple of miles… so now I know where to go explore their studios and shops.

Next we went to The Arrowmont Arts and Crafts School. I can only say this: I now have a whole new definition of heaven. Tomorrow I will go back to move into my studio, so I will tell (and show) you more then, but now, let’s get back to the rain and fog.

In the afternoon, I took a left on the main road and headed up the mountain. It was even more beautiful. Everything was glistening from the mist and rain, and lush greens were accented by the oncoming oranges, reds and yellows….But enough words…just wander with me through these pictures. Hope you enjoy them, but wish you could feel the mist on your face, hear the rushing water pass by and smell the wet earth and pines, too. These first two are my ‘favs’ of the day, a gallery of others follows. Click on any to see full and larger.

The first photo (left) is an image I heard long before I saw it. Within the fog, a crow was calling both loudly and incessantly.  I searched to see what had him so upset, and finally saw a hawk perched in the top of this tree. The hawk unsuccessfully dived at the unimpressed hawk for several minutes, and finally left.

It took me a moment before I understood what I was seeing before shooting this photo (above). I had turned into a shortcut through a meadow, and suddenly was present with an image that looked for all that is true, like an ocean shore and an island in the distance. In reality, it was ground fog and an emerging mountain top, seen past the meadow, but what a sight.

Here is a slide show of some more!