A new show called “Water Ways” opens in the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council gallery at 118 Cotton St. in West Monroe Monday, June 2. The opening reception is scheduled Thursday, June 5, 5 – 9 p.m. in conjunction with Downtown Gallery Crawl.
Acknowledging that Louisiana is a state of waters in many forms, the Arts Council called for artworks that “explore how our lives, personally and/or regionally are shaped or influenced by water… literally and figuratively.”
Have you ever tried cast net fishing? Place the loop at the end of the rope around your wrist, gather the rope in short loops hanging from the same hand, grasp the net at its center with weighted skirt hanging down. Hold out the edge of the skirt with your other hand. Now, turn from your hip and throw! Better, find a Cajun fisherman to teach you! The Gulf of Mexico yields its nutritious wealth to the skilled danseuse du filet.
Cathédrale de Cyprès is accessible only by the waters of Black Bayou Lake. You get there by slipping your kayak between closely spaced cypress and tupelo trees. Inside is a clearing, a place of cool shade, gently rippled water, tender green cypress leaves against blue sky. When you get there, listen to the red-wings trill, lean back, rest, reflect.
These are my two contributions to “Water Ways.” I’m sorry to say, I will not be at the opening reception. I leave at noon that day to go to Arkansas to count butterflies for two days. &:-) But I hope you will be sure to see this show. It will be up in the gallery at 118 Cotton St., West Monroe, until July 3.
BTW, friends, I am trying to build my blog’s following because it will help me find a publisher for the book I’m working on. If you would share this on your social media, I would be ever so grateful.
Edge & Essence 
I’ve wondered many times how your book is progressing. Have you posted an excerpt at all – perhaps when I’ve been absent from WordPress? I think you’d intended to, but I’ve taken several long breaks and may’ve missed such a posting.
LikeLike
Ms. Liz, how sweet of you to inquire! Yes, I did manage to post one chapter. Here’s a link directly to it: https://edge-essence.com/2024/03/18/a-chapter-of-a-book-maybe/. It’s been a very busy spring but I did have a phone conversation with a publisher who gave me a link to their proposal form for the appropriate editor. I have worked on it a bit, but my spring has been quite demanding. The priest I work with was in a bad ATV accident and suffered multiple broken bones. He is back on the job pretty much full time now but days like today, when it poured rain, he suffered a lot of pain getting through the service. So… I’ve had a lot of extra responsibilities, not to mention May and June are two of the loveliest months, weatherwise, in Louisiana, so staying indoors and working on a book is hard! Anyway, I’d love to see your response to the chapter posted above.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dear Bette, it’s magic, full of heart and wonder. I love it. Longing to read what you’ve done on Louisiana now! Are you still keen to hear from readers of the excerpt? I’ve tried copying your post to a blank draft in my WP and it works.. only a minor amount of clean-up would be necessary (just adjusting some spacing). Would you like me to share it with my readers for feedback? No pressure if you’re not keen – I was just experimenting to see if I could copy it over. So… IF you’d like me to share, would you like to write a little intro about the scope of the book? I could position that right up top. It would actually be good timing given I’ve just been sharing a little bit about whales in my recent posts, particularly the lovely mural! Anyway, up to you, I’m just keen to help any way I can 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ms. Liz, sorry to be slow to respond. I am currently with my grandbabies for a couple of days! I would love it if you would share it. I think all you need to say by way of intro is that the book is of collection of short chapters sharing my experiences with encountering the natural world with my camera. Feedback welcome. And thank you so much for yours!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Awesome!
LikeLike