Hillbilly Shack Interpretations
A single photo inspired a special feature of the latest show of the Muddy Creek Artists Guild a self-described “roving band of intrepid artists.”
Guild photographer Jennifer Fletcher of Harwood had her camera in the right place at the right time.
The lonesome locally named Hillbilly Shack perches on pilings in the marsh plains of the Eastern Shore. After a day of clamming, Fletcher saw a storm in the distance across the flat land. “I looked over my shoulder and saw the dark storm rolling towards this little house,” said Fletcher, “and I had to capture that moment.”
Her photo, in turn, inspired Muddy Creek painter Steve Schulman of Shady Side. “I was fascinated by the oddity of that sort of drama captured in one photo,” he said.
What if we get together to paint our interpretations of the Hillbilly Shack photo, he suggested. A dozen signed up for to the group painting session, eager to capture the isolated shack’s beauty in their own way.
“The photo was both simple and intense, two things that appeal a lot to me as a painter,” says Lora Collins, of Churchton, vice president of the Artists Guild.
After the group critique of many shacks, the artists decided to share their project.
“This first-time collaborative project is an opportunity for people who aren’t artists to learn a more about how a community of artists think and how we work — and about how of us is different,” said Collins.
The Guild’s 10th annual spring show and sale features each shack rendition. On opening night, Friday April 20, the artists join the show to tell you about how each one saw something different. There’ll also be live entertainment, wine and food.
Three-dozen Muddy Creek artists, plus student artists, show and sell work ranging from jewelry and textiles to woodworking and pottery over two weekends, April 20 to 22 and 27 to 29, F 11am-7pm, Sa 10am-7pm, Su noon-5pm.
South River Colony Main Street, Edgewater, free: www.muddycreekartistsguild.org.