Mountain Muses
by Marge Fulton
Art Show at the Appalachian Artisan Center
Throughout July and August of 2010, I have my own show at the AAC in Hindman, KY. Also featured are several pieces from the Cordia Elementary Art students I recently tutored. Come by for a tasty meal in the cafe and take a peek at my show, dedicated to my mother. My book, The Holler is also for sale there along with twenty paintings and assorted items like handmade journals.
In my Celtic Costume at Conglomeration 2010
This Con was loaded with fun. The art alone was worth the trip and vendors had a myriad of books, costumes and sensational stuff. My book, The Holler , sold much better than I expected! Also at an Artists and Writers session an artist illustrated my story "The Chosen" and promises to post that along with the other creations. I did a hurried drawing of a spaceship commander being blown up. No magic touch there but it had Blue Meanies in it! From the belly dancers and costumed folks, to serious readings and games like "Undead Jeopardy", Conglom was out of this world!
Perry County Library Art Show
My artwork will be featured at our local library during the months of February and March 2010. Drop in to shake the winter blues. This exhibit is free and many of the pieces are for sale.
Let's Face It
For those looking for my artwork, most of these images are posted on my Facebook account. Find me there under Marge Barber Fulton.Sold my Mountaineer painting at ArtWalk!
Piece by Piece
Our local art group has been asked by the county tourism board to paint 20 wooden quilt blocks. This is my first one; a pattern called Kentucky Chain. Basically, it is an X and O pattern. I had a blast doing it. Today it rained so I couldn't seal this baby. Instead I started my next block in a pattern called Wandering Star. The new workbench came in handy too.
Note: This block was adopted by the Appalachian Artisan Center.
Book Talk
From a recent book review of All Roads Lead to Hazard
Many readers will notice right away that Fulton’s stories follow a pattern set by such writers as Sherwood Anderson, Thornton Wilder, and Kentucky’s own Bobbie Ann Mason, in that her characters are not among the rich and the famous but are, rather, from the middle and lower echelons of American society. In one story we have a newly retired school teacher, in another a healthcare “companion,” and in still another, the widow of strip mine worker.
With this, her first published work, Fulton demonstrates her writing skills in a variety of ways, one of which is her ability to make full use the simile. Her comparisons are creatively down to earth, and, therefore, add gusto to her tales. She compares a character’s slow movements to “a tax refund in the mail.” She describes the sky as being “as opaque as rinse water,” and an aged, dying woman as being “as tiny as a memory card.” On one character’s visit to the King Tut exhibit, she compares the Boy King and his eyes to the coldness of “cinders and soot,” and in describing a herd of emaciated elk at a strip mine site, she observes that “Each had the lines of a cave painting.”
This book is an exceptionally good “first effort” by an author with an enormous amount of promise. It is my feeling that we will hear a lot from and about Marge Fulton as she continues to spread her creative wings as a writer. (By the way, her visit to my classroom was both entertaining and enlightening, not only for my students but also for the members of the PC faculty and staff in attendance.)
Elgin Ward is an Appalachian, a college English professor, and a writer--in that order. He lives deep in the heart of the Mountain Dew rainforests of southeastern Kentucky.
A Recent Review
At times I’m given to wonder where all the fine regional writers have gone as America becomes obnoxiously homogeneous. Then, a book like All Roads Lead To Hazard comes to my attention. Marge Fulton captures her Appalachia with wit, empathy and élan. There is no attempt to play up the rusticism or to play down the encroachment of modernity. This collection of short stories captures the flow of a language which, while often contemporary, retains the nuance of grace and civility which we rightfully connect with the Southern and Border States. The characters are so well limned that they will quickly remind you of people you know. ( I want to know more about Lena Centers.) At first read, their language seemed a bit “off” until I recalled my times as a visitor. At second read, the dialogue was perfect and the subtle wit shone. At third read, I was catching up with old friends. Yes, I had to read All Roads Lead To Hazard three times. Ms. Fulton reopened my eyes and mind to the reality that talented regional writers still exist and that she’s a stellar example. ***************************************************** Roger A. Ochs C.C.BW Impecunious Poet Ribald Raconteur
Thanks Rog!