Sandpiper Gallery: The Heart of the Arts on Sullivan’s Island

  

Jim Darlington marsh scene

                While vacationing from Raleigh, Julie Dare Cooke and her husband peered through a window with a “for rent” sign on a Sullivan’s Island storefront.  The space was full of paraphernalia left behind by Mr. Gruber who’d had a variety store there for years: hulking photo finishing equipment, boxes of assorted mismatched furniture parts, wines that had lost their labels floating in Hurricane Hugo floodwaters, nests of wild animals.  “I brought a tape measure.  I didn’t know I needed a shotgun!” their contractor joked.  The roof was even missing. But somehow they had vision and Julie’s motivation to escape the cubicle where she’d worked as a process engineer for 15 years. Over the next 6 months they took the space down to the studs. “We needed 14 dump trucks to clear it out.”  When Sandpiper Gallery opened in 2001, it displayed the work of ten local artists including Jim Darlington who remains among the gallery’s most collected painters.      

Beth McLean Beach Scene

            Julie’s passion for the project is unabated.  “Art is a soulful thing,” she told me as she pointed out the myriad of subtle colors in a marsh scene by Leslie Pratt Thomas as an example of what Paul Klee meant when he said:  “Art does not reproduce the visible; rather it makes visible.” These days the gallery represents over 80 full time painters, jewelers and sculptors that Julie discovered at shows, through art magazines and from the many inquires she receives.  They’re from the Southeast to as far away as Italy. Although Lowcountry landscapes inspire many of the creations, the subjects are wide ranging:  Kris Manning’s stirring Osceola series, Robin Cooper’s whimsical collages of dogs, Pete Rock’s stunning tables with Gullah basket tops by Adeline Mazack, Sarah Sander’s beautifully crafted Goat Island Treasure Boxes and mobiles by

Leslie Pratt Thomas Beach scene

Stephen Kishel.  The jewelry is particularly well curated with standouts including Karen Hakim’s cloisonné and Emily Cook’s fused glass pendants that include sand from area beaches.  “I don’t want people to come in and think they can’t afford anything or touch anything,” Julie explained.  It’s typical for a vacationer to become captivated by a piece on an after dinner stroll and buy it days later on-line when they can’t forget it.  Designers too, rely on Sandpiper Gallery for sourcing the best art in the area.   Collectors appreciate Julie’s messages when their favorite artists release a new piece.  In 2012 Sandpiper Gallery moved to a larger space near Home Team BBQ.  Each night the large windows are alit with colorful pieces. Sometimes Julie passes by on her way to her cottage near Fort Moultrie and she smiles at the passersby stopping to look.   “It’s really fun to drive by at night and see people pointing to the art.”

Karen Hakim

Peter Rock with Adeline Mazack,

         It took a singular vision and a huge leap of faith to look at that dilapidated storefront and imagine an art gallery. This fall, the gallery will celebrate its 20^th anniversary on Sullivan’s Island. It has become the island’s heart of the arts.  Islanders flock to the frequent artist receptions where artistic collaborations are born, artists are discovered and careers are made. “I could not have asked for a more supportive and artful community!” Julie said appreciatively. 

If you go:  2201 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island https://sandpipergallery.net/

Farm, Circus and Merriment at Bee Haven

 

                Deena Frooman is a juggler.  That’s not just a metaphor.  She’s actually a world-class juggler who’s travelled the world to learn from the best. She turned her passion into Good Clean Fun, a company that brings crowd-pleasing activities to corporate events and festivals.  Ingeniously, she’s also developed a curriculum for school residencies, the STEAM Circus, using hands-on activities to demonstrate the physics of Newton’s laws.  Now she’s juggling yet another venture at her rural Wadmalaw property “Bee Haven” turning it into a destination for family play experiences.

                When my granddaughters Lana and Emilia and I arrived for a visit, Deena was busy packing up 140 kits that included juggling balls, spinning plates and other props for a school program but she took a break to show us around the property. “When families come, the dads always want to tour my tiny house first.” We did too.  It’s a work of art. The resourceful use of space includes a loft bedroom and a miniature bathroom with an reclaimed airplane sink and walls lined with Deena’s kitschy tin lunchbox collection.  Through the windows you can see the thriving garden and, in the distance, the bee hives.  But my grand daughters were eager to meet the animals. And the Nigerian Dwarf Goat siblings Dandylion (“he is pure rascal”) and Carolina Jessamine (“named for South Carolina’s vining flower…sweet and mellow.”) were excited to show us their tricks.  They can “high five”, dance, scamper up and down the teeter-totter, and come like dogs.  Deena said, “I learned how to train them on YouTube,” where she’s learned most all that she knows about farming.  She discovered that the goats needed rain water because the local water had too much iron in it and she learned the clicker method of positive reinforcement that she’s using to train her chickens and the super-cute bunny named Tisha.  Who knew you could train chickens!?         

         Once I was able to coax Emilia to put the cuddly bunny back into its cage, it was time for “Instant Art-ification”.  We took turns sitting on a crazy looking pedal powered spin art contraption made from a bicycle.  The girls put paper and paint into the cylinder mounted where the handlebars would normally be and pedaled until the paint splattered.  Instant art.  Meanwhile, we learned about centrifugal force and primary colors. We bumbled and laughed as we tried to spin plates on long sticks while learning about center of gravity.  We dipped expansive wands into buckets of homemade solution and blew humongous bubbles and we clapped for Deena’s stupendous juggling performance.  It was a day of old fashioned, unplugged family fun and the best nearby road trip we’d taken.  As we made our way home Emilia was already planning to have her next birthday party at Bee Haven.  Lana was dreaming of living on a farm and we all agreed with another recent visitor who said “Bee Haven is two acres of WOW.”

If You Go:

http://goodcleanfunfamilyplay.com/  Bee Haven in 30 minutes from Charleston.  For private visits, group tours and birthday parties.