I recently had the privilege of hanging out with Quinten Boyles, who is an old time country singer residing in Wytheville, Va. His story is heart breaking , but one of resilience and finding strength in the many friends he has made alone the way with his gentle spirit and beautiful Mountain voice.  He grew up in a house similar to the one where we did his portrait, with very little but faith , good meals and a roof over his head he taught himself to play guitar and remembers sitting under the tree on hot summer days with his family and picking the old great gospel tunes together. I think you will enjoy reading his story and I'm looking forward to getting it down on paper.


Today I was reading some post on facebook and came across this amazing Blog by the writer Silas House, he talks about the controversial article in the New York Times about the coal mining community, mountain top removal and chemical spills. He gives a fair in depth discussion and its well worth the time !

By the way, this beautiful tree resides at the back of St Johns church in Wytheville, Va. you never know where beauty will strike! I took this during a concert there by Willard Gayheart and Scott Freeman. What a blessing that was !

Trying to get as many interviews and Portraits done as I can while the weather is nice ! After such a brutal winter I feel a bit urgent to take these warm months and be as productive as I can! Of course I am also juggling trying to keep my photography business going , looking to relocate soon and staying in touch with friends and my sweet daughter, who is in Texas this summer on an internship .
Its amazing also , how much time needs to be spent on social media sites such as facebook and blogs to keep the info coming, keep the interest level up and hopefully instill some true interest in this ongoing book project dream!
My most recent interview was with Betty Vornbrock (you can see her portrait on that page) She lives in Hillsville , Va on a beautiful tree farm with her hubby "Billy" and I really enjoyed our time together. we both grew up in the 60s and so it was fun to talk about that era and the freedom we enjoyed. Though 'Freedom' is  relative term , being female, we shared some hitch hiking experiences and how , back in the day, it was not considered such a crazy idea to hold out a thumb and hop a ride with a stranger.
Betty shared some wonderful adventures and I love her memories of her Mother and how she , an artist herself , encouraged her children to play, sing , dream and create ! Betty believes  , this influence was vital in the making of her musical journey and her ability to pursue her dream , as an artist-musician without any guilt or distraction .  Hats off to artist Mothers who encourage dreaming and the pursuit of it!!

Jayne Henderson contacted me recently about making my parlor guitar ! I sent her a message last july about getting on her waiting list and didn't hear back so just assumed she was too busy. 
But she answered my message a few days ago saying she was ready to start! I was so excited ! so I called her and we chatted for a long time about making the guitar , but also about my book project and we got on the subject about how the females in a male musicians family are so often overlooked. I did not know that Jayne's Mom is also a musician and used to travel for 14 years playing with her Dad, Wayne Henderson. I had often wondered if her mom lived in the area and is they were in touch, but of course, did not think it was my business to ask. So, it was wonderful to find that Jayne and her mom , Carol, are indeed very close. Jayne said it was really her mom who encouraged her to be creative , to draw and paint and read books at the table and it was her Mom who raised her . 
The more we discussed her Mothers influence the more  certain and determined I am to include interviews with the Wife's, Mom's and daughters , because they are essential in putting the pieces together and seeing the huge, yet, largely unnoticed contribution they have made , not to just the fabric of our music but the way we live and love and dream! Thank you Jayne for reminding me of this importance ! It IS the reason I titled my book the way I did.
I will be going to visit Jayne soon and discussing the specs on my 'Baby Jayne' guitar ! I can't wait !  I will be sure and document with pictures and more blog postings!

That's a long story! And that is precisely why I decided to make it a book! I started thinking about how much music influences all of our lives and how much we appreciate and understand that even more as we get older.
For instance, as I noted on the first page, I recall vividly the day I first heard my grandmother singing at the clothesline and how she did so with such reckless abandon! I think she was singing to the heavens and not really caring much about how it sounded to anyone , just singing for the joy of it and maybe praising God for breath & life and that beautiful blue sky sunny day! 
The songs that I recall her singing the most often were "In the Pines" and "The Old Rugged Cross" , so I always relate those songs back to her when I hear them played . This is the magic of music, how it marks our memory just like a book mark or a high lighter and zaps you right back to that time and space ! Not only do you recall who you were with,  but the exact location, including the sights and smells and emotion of that moment! If that is not magic and mystery and beauty abound, well I don't know what is!

to be continued ...