rebecca is living her dream. she bought a place in the country, complete with woods, winding creek, garden space, and old tin-roofed shacks. one is now her ‘ idea shack’, where she draws and paints and soaks up the beauty. here we give a taste of that it’s like to live ‘ in the country’.

POKEBERRY SUMMER

i had grand garden plans this spring. roses, sunflowers and dahlias everywhere. the house would be full of lavish bouquets all summer. i left a few pokeberries to sprout up here and there for southern charm.
by midsummer the pokeberries had branched and grown till they shaded everything else out. attempts at pruning merely encouraged more growth. soon they were pressing against the studio windows and I found myself immersed in pokeberry beauty.
i studied, drew, painted, and took pictures of them, and finally ended up making tons of plates and bowls decorated with pokeberries and goldfinches.
although my flower dreams were dashed, the pokeberries turned out to be a blessing!

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it is hard to get more rural than hale county, alabama. well-known, thanks to the 1941 book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men as well as the photographs of William Christenberry hale county is also known for being the home of rural studio

founded in 1993, rural studio is a branch of the architecture program of auburn university, one that was founded to give its students working knowledge of the design-build process, but also one that would serve the needs of the surrounding community.

a group of us r.wooders visited rural studio 13+years ago and we helped build the foundation of the bath house shown above (the brick and metal building- i drove the bobcat that held the mixed concrete, hee hee). back then the super shed was just framework; the concept of liveable student housing ‘pods’ just an idea, an aspiration. now multiple ‘pods’ reside underneath and the shed creates a large covered area for communing. when we visited back then, we were lucky enough to spend time with the late samuel mockbee, one of the founders of the program and it’s enigmatic, inspiring leader. utilizing salvaged and recycled materials before it was cool, sambo- as he was known- empowered his students by not only giving them the responsibility of designing structures, but also by allowing them to actually build them. in doing so, the students’ ideas of architecture were physically manifested before their own eyes, by their own hands. they had to work through the problems their designs created, but they also saw firsthand the beauty of a successful, completed concept. but more so, their projects had the additional benefit of helping real people- either by providing needed shelter for a family or just a place for the community at large to gather.

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when john and carolyn malone’s cabin made its first appearance on their spread just south of high shoals, it was a pile of logs on a flat-bed truck. now, thirty years later, it forms the heart of a light-filled complex of cabins and farm buildings transformed by john’s beautifully proportioned window panes and by carolyn’s dexterous use of humble textiles, utilitarian objects, and simple furnishings that reflect the owners’ deep connection to their home, and to the world beyond their sturdy walls.

this place proves that comfort doesn’t have to be derived from central heat and a.c., or from room-sized walk-in closets. it’s derived from implementing your vision, from living how you love.

the house looks like it’s been here forever.

the kitchen wing was added later. john decorates his chinking with a fringe of stones. a guest-room bedpost peeks out from the handmade window above.

guests awake to the scent of a crackling fire and coffee brewing in the kitchen below.

delicate green tendrils soften the conical light fixtures and industrial edge of the kitchen’s suspended shelf system, both designed and implemented by john, of course.

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Here we share inspiring southern spaces, old and new. Places where artists create, and where southerners spend their time. You have an armchair view.

st. eom’s pasaquan

a few months ago we ventured down to buena vista, georgia to visit st. eom’s pasaquan.
eddie martin, later known as st. eom, spent 30 years transforming this 4 acre piece of rural land into a spiritual fantasy, called pasaquan. the remarkable piece of art consists of several buildings and concrete structures, each sculpted and colorfully painted in st. eom’s patterns.

in 1986, st eom passed, but today his creative and spiritual vision breathes throughout pasaquan.

enjoy the details and click here to visit the pasaquan site.

one of the many totems greets you upon the entrance to the main house.

the use of pressed tin is a constant theme throughout the compound. each piece was cut and arranged by hand to make the often intricate designs for the ceilings, floors, and trim.

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we like to surround ourselves around seasonal beauty. we are lucky enough to have a mild climate where something is always blooming. we have chosen a few friends to make some arrangements, enjoy these fall blooms!

susan woodard is a floral designer and artist living in new orleans. after spending several years in new york, she got back to her ‘southern roots’ and opened up a shop called susan woodard floral design. she designed a fall arrangement with with kumquats, meyer lemons, key limes, golden rain tree pods, hibiscus, hidden ginger, coleus, american beautyberry, sumac, and ornamental pepper.

lucy allen is a lifelong flower arranger. she designed a fall tableau featuring: bittersweet, gourds, dahlias, mahonia, and glass gourds.

CLICK HERE for more seasonal blooms after the jump!

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SALAD: hugh acheson of  five and ten

hugh acheson is the proprietor and chef of five and ten and is also involved with the national and gosford wine in athens, and the soon-to-open empire state south in atlanta. hugh also blogs here.

***and, did we mention that he is a thrice-james-beard-award-nominee  and was chosen by Mario Batali as one of the globe’s most auspicious talents in the newly released book  COCO (phaidon).

CLICK HERE for the salad recipe after the jump!
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DESSERT: mimi maumus and kristen bach of shovel and spoon

for the past year, mimi and kristen have been documenting their explorations through food. they will be launching a website in january 2010. mimi also spends much of her time with her catering company : home.made and kristen is one of the contributors for beautyeveryday.

if you have ever been driving through the northeast mountains of georgia, you may have visited one of the many orchards selling fried pies. while on a recent trip to the mountains, we were inspired to make these pumpkin fried pies. we used a fresh mountain pumpkin, local sorghum, and pecans from our own tree.

CLICK HERE for the dessert (and a delicious fresh cranberry relish recipe!) recipe after the jump!

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MAIN ENTREE: Edward Russell & Matt Palmerlee of farm 255

farm 255 is located in the heart of downtown athens, but it feels like you are sitting down for a family meal-out on the farm. while many restaurants focus on using local and sustainable practices, these folks also are also tilling the fields and sowing the seeds. just outside of athens, they also own full moon farms, where they raise their hormone free animals and grow organic vegetables that you find on their daily menu. they clearly demonstrate the farm to table movement and directly involve the community in the education of seasonal change.

I visited edward and matt last week at farm 255 and they shared this comforting fall vegetable tart. CLICK HERE for the full recipe (including 2 more recipes!) after the jump!

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the arresting beauty of the south constantly inspires us. whether it is the color of a dirt road, peeled paint on a side of a building, a leaf falling from a tree, beauty lives and breathes everywhere. the southern air will forever inspire us to share the radiance of the south

this week, we are thankful to have the opportunity to share some of our inspirations with you. we hope you will visit us over at beautyeveryday to get your daily dose of beauty.

beautyeveryday is blog brought to you by: R.Wood Studio Ceramics. It’s main contributors are: rinne allen, kristen bach, and rebecca wood. rebecca wood is the creative drive behind r.wood studio and rinne and kristen have worked creatively for rebecca for many years.

garden to table

living in the south, we are immersed in a strong and rich food culture. with a growing season that spans the entire year, we are lucky enough to use fresh and local ingredients, everyday. here we like to share old and new southern recipes, chefs, growers, and all things related to the seasonal food of the south.

we have chosen 6 local chefs to share a southern and seasonal inspired recipe with us. sit down and enjoy this four-course meal while sipping on a southern fall drink.

DRINK: Chris Luken of the National

the national’ is a quaint and cozy restaurant and bar in downtown athens, ga. using fresh and regional ingredients, they serve up some great food. located next door to our art house theater, it makes a perfect date night!

autumn mojito

this is the national’s take on the classic southern summer drink, the mojito. this variation is filled with southern soul and is made entirely from ingredients produced and grown below the mason-dixon line.

over ice

juice half a lime (florida)

2 oz pritchards’s rum (tennesse)

1/4 oz. minted steen’s cane syrup* (louisiana)

top with blenheim’s milder (green cap) ginger ale (south carolina)

*steen’s cane syrup, fresh and/or dried mint and a little bit of water to thin the mixture out. Put over low heat and let the mint steep for about a half an hour.

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Thank you Grace for letting me spend the week here! For my last post I
decided to make an ABC birthday card with a PDF you can download and
make yourself.

We have a birthday tradition in our family we’ve been doing since we
were kids. We go around the dinner table and each person takes a letter
of the alphabet, and we say something nice about the birthday girl/boy.
A is for Artistic! B is for the Beautiful! We go around and around the
table until we get to Z (which can be a difficult letter, you have to
get creative). You can mention a favorite memory, or something that
reminds you of that person, but it has to involve your letter.

My family is now scattered across the country. So I thought this ABC
card might be a nice way to keep our tradition going, even when we’re
apart for birthdays. Coming up with 26 things on your own can be tough,
so I only recommend making this card for people you know quite well!

To get started: Download the PDF which includes
all 26 letters. For each card you’ll need seven sheets of cardstock.
Print your cards on a color printer. Cut each page into 4 cards by
following the trim marks. Write one special trait or memory for each
letter. Wrap with ribbon and mail to the birthday boy/girl in a sturdy
envelope. It’s almost as good as being there in person.