Following is 1992 video (requires browser-embedded mp4/m4v player) of Tish Wilson giving 10-minute tour of Tedi's works at 521 Spring Valley Road, Atlanta, GA, 30318
Back around 1991, as Tedi was nearing the end of her life, Bruce and Kathy visited her in Atlanta and while there they met a young lady (40-ish?) named Tish Wilson who was helping Tedi with her art work (by that time Tedi was becoming increasingly disabled as a result of her skin cancer). Tish had been recommended to Tedi by Bernice Bass, the owner of Norman's (women's clothing store) in Buckhead, and Tish and Tedi had hit it off quite well. As we recall, Tish had been taking classes part-time at Georgia State, had a boyfriend named Dan, and possibly a daughter in her young teens from an earlier relationship (memory may be failing here!). We had lunch with Tish and Dan at a little outdoor restaurant on Peachtree Road just South of Collier Road, after which we went back and toured Tedi's sculpture garden at her home at 521 Spring Valley Road, NW. Later on we sold the Honda Civic wagon (we had bought for Tedi several years earlier) to Dan (Tedi said he was badly in need of a car, and Tedi could no longer drive herself!). That turned out to be a big mistake, as the intent was to help Tish out, but, instead, Tish and Dan split up soon afterwards, with his taking the car with him!!! Major bummer ...
Later on, in the late Spring of 1992, we returned to Atlanta in order to make two trips in a 25-foot Budget Truck in order to transport as much as we could of Tedi's art work to our home in Skylonda. On the second of these trips, our son Kevin (who had just turned 15) accompanied us to help with the manual labor (and even a bit of driving!). During that trip Kevin also had the opportunity to meet Tish and remembers her well as an attractive young lady with lots of light red hair (funny what young folks remember!).
Following is a letter from Tish Wilson to Bruce/Kathy Craig dated 10/14/1991
Following is a letter from Tish Wilson to Bruce/Kathy Craig dated 10/11/1993
Following is exchange of e-mails between Tish Wilson and Bruce/Kathy Craig circa 2018 ...
On Aug 12, 2018, at 6:05 PM, Bruce and Kathy Craig
Howdy, howdy,
For some time now we have been noodling around trying to figure out how to distribute the 1992 video of the 10-minute walking tour Tish Wilson gave of the art works in Carley Craig's yard at 521 Spring Valley Road, NW in Atlanta, Georgia. Tish was a wonderful young lady recommended to Carley by Bernice Bass (the owner/manager of Norman's in Buckhead at that time) and was of great help to Carley during the early 1990s. Our first thought was to send out DVD copies -- however (in addition to the work involved!), newer computers don't always come equipped with DVD players. Also, for various reasons it didn't seem appropriate to circulate it on an open medium like YouTube. In the end, we decided to compress the video and embed it into a related web page we had set up a while back. By clicking on the following related link -- http://skylondaworks.com/family/history/jt_craig/tedi/ted_tishwilson.htm -- the video appears immediately at the top of the page and should be viewable using the normal video play controls shown there. It's in an m4v/mp4 type of format, and we've tested it in Windows using Explorer and FireFox. We have no way of testing it on Apple computers (who can afford a trillion dollars?), nor have we tried any other of the multiplicity of browsers available for Windows (in general, browsers -- including Explorer and Firefox -- may require an mp4-style plug-in to be installed if not already present by default). A reasonable Internet connection is also required to view the content, although anyone who is able to view normal YouTube material should have no problem.
For complaints or comments, please contact our agent at 404-355-6058 no later than 12/31/1992...
Cheers, Bruce and Kathy
On Sep 9, 2018 at 7:48 AM, Tish Wilson
Hey!
It has taken forever, it seems, to get back to you. I have psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia which have never flared at the same time until over the last month. It wipes me out mentally and physically. However, when it lessens, I am up and running - with management!
Carley taught me that by example. I also became certified by Stanford to teach chronic illness management and have to practice what I preach!
Oh, what a walk back in time it was to watch the video! I have a MacBook Air using OS High Sierra and it worked fine!
I had not thought of anything but Carley and my daughter in relation to Atlanta for years. It was my daughter who was attending GA State. I had taken a course where I had met Dan who Carley tried to warn me about and oh, how I wish I had listened to her! He led a double life and proved to be the worst mistake I ever made. In fact, after I stopped dating after him and love being single - especially with my health challenges. I am so sorry about the car!
I will be meeting Julie soon so she can take Carley’s sculpture and the copper panel. I felt they should be a part of Carley's family. My daughter and husband could end up almost anywhere in the world after their kids leave home and I would hate for it to be “lost” among strangers!
Yes, I told Julie about Carley’s call to me at Oxford Books the week before she died. She was at the CS Hospice Care in Florida. She confided that she realized that she “had chosen the wrong religion.” She was very weak and asked if I could come visit. I told her that I could be there by the weekend. A man from the center called me before I left Atlanta to tell me not to come down because she had passed. I struggled with whether to tell you about our last conversation or not. She wanted to continue her artwork and I think she realized that she could have continued if she had just sought treatment. It broke my heart for her. From what Julie has said, her Mom appreciated knowing about this. It made me wish I had said something to you two in Atlanta.
Ah, a message just arrived from you! “Great minds run in great circles!” LOL
My son-in-law is a Stanford grad and one or both of their children may end up there. If they do, I will be traveling West at least for their graduations - but that is years away! My granddaughter is a Senior and plans to go to the U of VA for now, not willing to move so far away from home yet. My grandson will definitely go to Stanford. He is 14 and already taking college courses. He will be attending the NC School of Math and Science for 10-12 grades, a state-sponsored accelerated college-prep boarding school. I would love to visit Carley’s sculptures and you if possible - but that is a dream for now!
Again, it was wonderful to hear from you! Thank you so much for allowing me to keep these “pieces of Carley” with me! She will aways be the source of much inspiration for me. What I would give to visit her!
Take good care- Tish
On Sep 16, 2018, at 3:46 PM, Bruce and Kathy Craig wrote
Hi, Tish,
Many thanks for your detailed note. It's good to hear that things are going well for you in general. We ourselves have also not gotten any younger since we last saw you in 1992 -- Kathy having just turned 73 and Bruce 80! It's something called "chronic old age" ...
As far as Tedi's final take on CS goes, it must have been very sad for her to realize that the religion she had followed so reverentially throughout her life was really just an empty shell. What she considered to be a religious belief was really no more than a careful, healthy approach to life -- she was blessed with natural good health, ate appropriately, did not drink or smoke, and exercised faithfully, thereby avoiding many of the cataclysmic illnesses that lurk waiting for those of us who abuse our "human vessel." The real problem was her insistence on having other members of her family follow in her footsteps when dealing with medical problems -- something that certainly led to a great deal of conflict between her and myself, who was never remotely a believer and who fought with her constantly over a period of many decades! My sister Kim (Julie Keaten-Reed's mother) was considerably more compliant than I (much sweeter, perhaps) and over a period of many decades bounced in and out of CS several times, always I think with considerable feelings of guilt! I always skirted the issue when talking to Kim, and she wasn't able to help Tedi very much during her last days because of massive family problems of her own. She seems to be doing quite well right now with a partner of a number of years standing, but she definitely has had her ups and downs. She was blown away by what you told her about Tedi's last days, but in the end it may have given her a feeling of relief about her perceived lack of faith in CS. Life goes on ...
It may sound odd, but historically CS was a religion which came into being and which found fertile ground in the aftermath of the Civil War -- a conflict that led to ghastly suffering because of the large-bore ammunition in use at that time, which tended to pulverize bones rather than simply cause healable wounding. As a result of this the principal surgical procedure performed during the Civil War was amputation -- an estimated 50,000 amputations were performed in the course of the war. My father's grandfather was a Civil War veteran who remained disabled for the rest of his life after having suffered what should have been a minor wound. A religion like CS, with its promise of non-medical healing, found ripe and fertile ground for its message at that time. Eventually the advent of Sulfa drugs and Penicillin in the 1940s began to weaken support for faith-based religions such as CS, and with the later advent of precision surgical techniques CS found itself with a smaller and smaller base of believers -- it is now in the process of simply disappearing. San Francisco, which at one time had over a dozen churches, now has only one or two (hard to count, because the CS organization doesn't keep very accurate statistics). Ah, well, end of rant for now -- come back any time for more!
Glad to hear that the video works on Apple computers. There is no reason it shouldn't, but I've said that before and been badly burned. We were early Apple enthusiasts, having bought one of the Apple II 48K+ computers back in the early 1980s, and we even used the old "fat Macs" for a while, but when Windows 3.0 showed up on PCs in the early 1990s the price differential lured us away forever! We recently upgraded our computer complement with three brand new Dell Windows-based systems for well under the price of a single Apple computer ...
As far as Tedi's last days in Florida go, Kim and I had hatched a plan to fly down there, rent a small van, and drive her back out here where she could spend some quiet time recovering from her fall. Just as we were about to set out on the venture we received a call from the hospital telling us that Tedi was gone. It was a real shock, but it was one of a string of rather bizarre incidents involving her transition from Atlanta to the CS facility in Florida (I don't even remember exactly where it was located any more!). The CS lady from Atlanta who accompanied her down there (her name was Lynn) was a volunteer from a different church in Atlanta than the one Tedi attended. She was a somewhat out-of-the-box type of person who had recently re-married someone with whom she had been in a third-person relationship stemming from her local tennis club circle! Tedi seemed to like her, and we sort of went along with it, although the whole thing sounded very outré. Later on, after Tedi was gone and we were trying to figure out how to get back to Atlanta to deal with the house and sculpture, we received a call from the next-door neighbor (Leon Silver, if you remember him!) saying that Lynn and her new husband were over in the house looking around (Lynn still had a key). We called the house number and left a message on the answering machine (which they could easily hear) saying that the neighbor had reported intruders, that we had called the police, and that they would be arriving within two or three minutes. Mr. Silver reported that the lights suddenly went out, they came running out of the house, jumped in their car, and drove off back up the alley at high speed! To our great relief, we never saw or heard from them again. I think that Tedi, with her sometimes offbeat sense of humor, would actually have found the whole affair highly amusing ...
Should you ever have a sudden impulse to hop on a plane and come to San Francisco, you would be more than welcome to stay with us and look around the area for a few days. We live directly behind Stanford up in the hills at about 1500' -- halfway between the Bay and the ocean and directly in a grove of second-growth Redwoods (the first-growth was all logged off about a hundred years ago!). We are surrounded by thousands of acres of protected open space -- something that has happened since we first moved up here back in 1969 and which we feel very fortunate to be a part of! We have two small guest bedrooms and a loft (although only one bathroom!) -- enough to accommodate several people who are accustomed to a rural setting. Just keep in mind that we won't be here forever, so don't put it off for too long ...
Cheers, as always, Bruce and Kathy 650-851-0174 127 Skylonda Drive Woodside, CA, 94062
On Sep 20, 2018, at 6:49 AM, Tish Wilson
Hi, Bruce -
Your email jostled my memory. Carley had talked with me about her journey with CS before the Hospice call - not often and not for long. What I understood was that she was not questioning her faith at all, but she was questioning CS. (I remember wondering if she felt safe discussing it with me since I walked away from the religion business upon graduation from high school. I had had all I could take of the effects of religion in Mississippi!) She had told me that she knew her faith was strong and questioned why then did her skin not heal. Of course as her condition worsened, she questioned it more, but she did not dwell on it when artwork was in front of her! There would be times when she would go lie down after telling me what she wanted to accomplish, too. I remember thinking that she loved knowing that her art was still “moving” - being in process even though she was lying down. Carley has been with me and has been my inspiration as I have dealt with fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis, learning that an illness is only a part of us, not the definition of who we are.
Oh, I found your “rant” interesting and informative! I can see how CS would have made sense to some. Funny how beliefs are passed from generation to generation. I find it much like whispering a sentence to a line of people and after they pass the whisper down the line, the original statement is changed multiple times before reaching the last person.
I think the CS Center in FL was in Tampa or in that area…I think! I vaguely remember looking at a map in planning to go to her. The name of the Center may have had “sun” or “sunshine” in the name. Maybe! It has been a while.
Leon Silver! Yes! I do remember him! He called me after you left with the sculpture. He asked me if I could come over and help him with something. I drove over and he took me to a corner of the house to show me one of his camellia bushes. It took him a while to ask me what he needed to know. He had won First Place in the annual Atlanta Camellia Society show. His camellias were beautiful, perfect! He was the only male in the exclusive Atlanta club and the gentrified ladies were begging him to please share his secret to growing perfect camellias! He finally told me that his method was unconventional: he would go outside and urinate on them at night. The flowers were beautiful because of the additional acid in the soil. He was too embarrassed to tell them and was looking for a way to tell them without upsetting “Southern sensibilities.” I am sure he would have been asking Carley if she were there! I think she helped him with feedback on many of his ideas/questions. I could tell that she “tolerated" him! Sweetly.
Your place sounds beautiful and special. I wish I could see it and Carley’s sculpture there! If I travel West, I will definitely get in touch! However, now that psoriatic arthritis has begun to manifest more and with the management of fibromyalgia, I doubt if I will be able to tolerate travel. After this last flare, I am hoping to be able to drive to visit friends in Raleigh by the first of December. It use to be a 4.5 hr drive for me; it now takes 6-7 hours because I have to stop and walk often. We can dream though!
If the highway department will show up to remove a huge rotten tree that fell across my road as the hurricane winds blew through last week, I will be able to drive down to I-85 and meet Julie with the sculpture Monday. We have yet to firm it all up. It makes me feel better knowing that Carley’s sculptures will be with someone in her family! They really mean a lot to Julie and it seems natural that they end up with her since Carley use to often remark that Julie was the only one she saw who would enjoy making art. How pleased Carley would be to see Julie today!
Take good care - Tish
Following is exchange of e-mails between Julie Keaten-Reed and Kim Craig circa 2018 ...
On May 22, 2018, at 8:03 PM, Kim Craig wrote to Julie Keaten-Reed (after having spoken to each other on the phone that morning):
What you told me this morning was a complete shocking surprise. Would you email a description of that conversation about Tedi and CS. So I can put it in her file. I can not remember Bernice's nieces or ??? names or even knowing them let alone the fact Bruce gave her one of her metal sculptures. Where does she live etc. and how she got a hold of you too. Tedi was so disappointed at me when I left CS 2 different times and at least now I know she could understand my point of view. I know now she really doesn't disapprove of my doing what I have to do to address skin cancer on my face and the fact that I went thru one surgery on it too. I certainly don't want to happen to me what you described of happened to her. That info would be much appreciated. Lots of love, Mom
On May 23, 2018, at 1:36 PM, Julie Keaten-Reed wrote to Kim Craig:
hi mom, i’m happy to write this down for you. first of all, i’m sorry that my memory isn’t so perfect that i can re-create the conversation exactly, but i’ll be able to get the gist of things.
tish wilson contacted me be email a few years ago. i think she just found me by doing a google search. she said she had been tedi’s artist assistant in the final part of tedi’s creative life. tish said she had a sculpture of tedi’s that she had enjoyed very much over the years, but now she felt like she wanted to offer it back to a family member. i said i would be honored to receive it. the only snag was that she now lives in a remote part of the north carolina mountains. it wouldn’t be easy for us to get there with our complicated travel schedule. it took until this spring for russ and i to coordinate a visit there. we had our large van and we thought we might be able to fit the sculpture in it. turns out we were wrong, but more on that later.
on wednesday, may 16, russ and i finally made it to tish’s house, a lovely cabin up a very quiet valley north of boone, north carolina. the sculpture was originally called “being dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th century.” it was one of those pieces i call line drawings in steel. it was steel square bar, about 6’ by 2’ x 3’. tish and tedi had decided to hang the sculpture from it’s knees upside down in a tree branch. tedi re-named the piece “it’s a crazy upside down world.” its is very kinetic, similar to “the conductor”. and it didn’t fit in our van. we are going to have to arrange another way of getting it to florida.
now for the jaw-dropping revelations that came out of our afternoon conversation. tish explained that she had met tedi through bernice and some other mutual friends. i don’t remember the exact connection, but it wasn’t that tish was a niece of bernice’s. i’m sorry if i wasn’t clear about that. when they first met, tedi was wearing a surgical mask and was completely and tightly covered up. tish said that bernice requested this as she couldn’t take the sight and smell of tedi’s open sores. such things didn’t bother tish and by the second or third meeting, tedi wasn’t wearing her mask and tish could see the seriousness of her condition. all of the soft tissue of tedi’s nose was gone, eaten away. she also had large gaping wounds on her chest, the side of her abdomen and on one of her legs. the nose was constantly dripping and caused a lot of pain. her eyesight wasn’t very good. one of tish’s responsibilities was to be tedi’s hands and eyes. they even went to the scrap metal place together, tedi staying outside while tish went in to scout for materials. tedi told her, “you know what i am interested in.”
during their time together tedi told tish that her greatest regret in life was that she had followed the teachings of christian science. (my jaw dropped on hearing this.) tedi said that by missing out on proper medical care, her creative life had been cut short. she still wanted to work, to make things, but couldn’t because of her condition, and she was in this condition because of christian science. i was so surprised, stunned even, that i neglected to ask more about it.
i was also pretty stunned about hearing her state of health, the extreme pain and discomfort she must have been in. i’m still processing this. based on that all-too-brief conversation, i’d say tedi would absolutely support your actions in taking care of your skin cancer. i can even imagine she would be angry at you if you did not. what courage she had. to admit you're wrong about small things is difficult enough, but to admit you’re wrong about something so comprehensive as a way of life? again, what courage to face yourself and your decisions…
it’s a lot to take in, i know. i’m so glad you are taking care of yourself and your health.
love julie
On May 23, 2018, at 1:36 PM, Julie Keaten-Reed wrote to Kim Craig:
hi mom and bruce, i was waiting to hear back from tish whether she would mind if i shared this with you all. seems she’s good with it!
tish wilson
1020 kirby branch road
zionville, nc
828-434-3195
wrenwillow@icloud.com
here is the most recent thread of emails. there is another, earlier thread that i will forward too. love, julie
Following is exchange of e-mails between Julie Keaten-Reed and Tish Wilson circa 2015-2018 ...
On July 26, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Tish Wilson wrote to Julie Keaten-Reed:
Hi- My name is Tish Wilson. I assisted Carly in her Atlanta studio and sculpture garden for a while in the '90's.
I was speaking with a young artist yesterday about Carly and directed her to the internet to view the sculpture garden photos. I just looked for them myself, but I cannot find them and assume that they have been taken down. I was hoping the artist could view the kinetic energy of Carly's work.
I have 2 pieces of Carly's work which Julie's parents gave to me when they moved Carley's sculpture from Atlanta to California. Since I am in my late 60's the thought occurred to me that maybe Julie would like to have them - or not. My own daughter or my goddaughter will value them, of course, but I remember how much Carly spoke of Julie, recognizing her talent at an early age. I thought I should offer Carly's work to Julie as I consider who would value them the most. One is a copper panel and the other is a rebar sculpture which Carly named "Kicking and Screaming Into the 20th Century" if positioned on the ground, and "It's a Crazy Upside Down World," if hanging by the knees from a tree branch.
I must tell you that I had chill bumps as I viewed Julie's work online. I see Carly's influence and know that she would be impressed and proud while thrilled for Julie! It is wonderful work and I am so happy for Julie's care of her own talent and success!
I live in the mountains of North Carolina now. Should Julie ever have a show within a day's drive, including Atlanta, I would love to view her work in person! I tried to sign up for your mailing list, but the verification code is not accepted. My snail mail address is 1020 Kirby Branch Road; Zionville, NC 28698.
"Ta-Ta" Tish
On Jul 26, 2015, at 8:00 PM, Julie Keaten-Reed wrote to Tish Wilson: hi tish, how wonderful to hear from you! i’m so proud to be carley’s granddaughter, she was and still is an inspiration to me. i believe you met bruce and kathy craig, my uncle and aunt. carley had 2 children: my mother, kim, who now lives in oregon, and bruce, who lives in the bay area of california, they are still close. bruce and his wife kathy were the ones that came to atlanta to settle her affairs when she passed away. i have some vague memory of bruce telling us about that time and maybe mentioning you. i believe he also tried to donate some of my grandmother’s work to the high museum in atlanta, but whether that was successful or not i can’t remember.
i’m a big fan of her sculpture and would be very pleased to acquire more at some point, but ONLY if i could offer some sort of compensation. together we could probably figure out a value for the pieces. she was such a remarkable artist and her accomplishments overwhelm and intimidate me sometimes :-). you mentioned the kinetic quality of carley’s sculpture, and i think she’d be pleased. from what i remember she was very interested in motion and energy and it seemed to me that when she achieved that in a piece, she was pretty tickled with it. for me, i’m particularly impressed with how she could get welded steel to resemble a sketchy line drawing!
i myself didn’t venture down the path of artist until i was 35, several years after she passed away. i regret that she never knew how much of an influence she had both on my sense of aesthetics and as a role model — in terms of being able to be an artist as a way of life. she wasn’t a really warm and fuzzy sort of grandmother and i was kind of a bratty stubborn sort of grandchild, so our relationship wasn’t typical. and yet, i have a profound and humbling respect for her as an artist and as a person. actually, i was surprised to hear that she mentioned me, wow.
my husband and i live in central florida now and travel quite a lot, selling my work at art fairs. in fact we often come to atlanta for the dogwood festival or sometimes the atlanta arts festival in the fall. unfortunately neither of those worked out with our schedule this year. oh, i just looked at zionville on a map and realized it’s nowhere close to atlanta! i don’t see any other cities nearby that we do shows at, but i’m thinking that since we do drive all over, we could probably arrange a detour on one of our trips to come see you, provided you wouldn’t mind visitors. i’d love to meet you in person and hear some of your memories.
thank you so much for your email, i look forward to keeping in touch! julie Keaten-Reed
PS. thank you for letting us know about the website issue
On July 27, 2015, at 8:12 PM, Tish Wilson wrote to Julie Keaten-Reed: Hi, Julie -- Good to hear from you! I had forgotten Bruce and Kathy's names! Getting older and time passed is my excuse, but I have always gotten names mixed up. I was mistaken thinking you were their daughter rather than your Mom's! Yes, when Bruce and Kathy were there to pack, Bruce had me go to each sculpture on the property and tell them about each one as he filmed. I was so happy that they also had a similar landscape and room to place the pieces. Julie, the sculpture is yours. Bruce wanted me to pick out a piece to keep and he also wanted me to keep the last piece (the copper panel) that Carly and I worked on together. I had become her eyes and hands. We connected in so many ways, yes. Carly has been a part of me since the first day I met her. I know she would be thrilled to know that after me, the sculpture finds a home with you. There is no way I would take a penny for it simply because it is priceless to both of us. The effort she made to continue making art has been an inspiration for me at various times in my life. I would consider only giving the pieces to you, as a tribute to Carly.
Yes, Carly told me that you were not "ready" to explore your art, but she also told me that she saw talent that would not leave you alone. How I wish she could see the energy in your work! When she use to participate in the warmups at the Atlanta Ballet, then draw, she told me to "always draw movement from the inside out." I see that in your work. It must be a very special gene that she shared with you! And yes, she spoke of you now and then....always hoping that you would explore your art!
No, Carly wasn't all warm and fuzzy, but her strength and enthusiasm for art seemed more important. Of course, I was around her after she became ill. She wore a mask when others were around, but took it off around me. I never really noticed the cancer I guess because I was in awe of her -daily! That she trusted me was an honor. She warned me about a guy I had started dating, telling me that he was draining my spirit and energy, and as it turned out, she was right!
To this day, I do not understand why I did not listen to her! The days I spent with her passed too quickly. My time with her were some of the richest hours of my life. After a long phone conversation about what she was learning in hospice, I was arranging to get off work ( I had 2 jobs) to travel to Florida to be with her, but she died before the weekend. I have felt Carly's presence ever since. Always positive. Always strengthening. Always inspiring.
I live in a cabin half way up a mountain at the end of a deadend, dirt road which is 12 miles northwest of Boone. Zionville is the postal name of the area; there is no town. It is very out of the way, but anytime you have the time to visit you and your husband are welcomed, of course! It is best to make sure I will be here. My phone number is 828.297.1623...a landline.
It was good to hear from you, too, Julie. Carly would be pleased that we connected.
And as Carly would say: " Ta-Ta! " Tish tw
On Feb 14, 2018, at 1:46 PM, Julie Keaten-Reed wrote to Tish Wilson: Hi Tish, I know it’s been a while since our last correspondence. But rest assured what you wrote in your letters has come to mind often! Russ and I finally have an opportunity to visit you and are hoping you’ll be available and still willing to see us. In the third week of May we will be driving from Bethesda, Maryland to Belleville, Illinois, which is a St. Louis suburb. Our friends have a cabin in Blowing Rock, and we were planning on staying there for a few nights, again hoping you’d be available. We would arrive either late Monday evening or more probably, Tuesday at some time. We would leave on Thursday morning to finish the drive to Belleville. So either Tuesday or Wednesday, May 15 or 16, are the days we’re looking at. Please think it over and let us know whether you have a chance to meet with us. With best wishes, Julie Keaten-Reed
On Feb 14, 2018, at 6:55 PM, Tish Wilson wrote to Julie Keaten-Reed: Hi, Julie - Of course! There is nothing to think over! I would love to meet and visit with you! I will keep both days open so you can be relaxed with your schedule. Let me know, too, if you would like Carley’s sculpture, if you have room for it. As Carley would say: "Tah-tah!" Tish
On Feb 15, 2018, at 5:59 AM, Tish Wilson wrote to Julie Keaten-Reed: Julie - No terms! It needs to be with you. Has nothing to do with $. Carley would be so pleased.
On May 14, 2018, at 9:33 PM, Julie Keaten-Reed wrote to Tish Wilson: Hi Tish, well we made it to blowing rock! We will be here until Thursday morning, when we have to leave for St. Louis. Russ and I would love to come see you either tomorrow or Wednesday. Do you have a time that works best for you? Please let me know as our schedule is completely flexible. I’m very much looking forward to seeing and talking with you. Julie
On May 15, 2018, at 8:26 AM, Tish Wilson wrote to Julie Keaten-Reed: Hi, Julie! Welcome to the NC Mtns! I am looking forward to meeting you, too. Would tomorrow afternoon work well for you? Any time is fine. Do you use GPS or do you need directions? Once you find 1020 Kirby Branch Road, Zionville, my place is easy to find since it is the last house on the road. The road is dirt. The house and barn are dark brown and they have green roofs. The front yard is all gravel. If you drive a larger vehicle, it may be best to go to the end of the road (just past my place) and turn around and then back down into my driveway. My cell# is: 828-434-3195 (text only because of my hearing + bad cell service here). Have a great day today! Tish
On May 15, 2018, at 8:35 AM, Julie Keaten-Reed wrote to Tish Wilson: Sounds great! We have do have gps. Shall we plan on 1 pm? We can give you a text when we’re close. And yes the mountains are beautiful. We are just now enjoying coffee on our friends deck and looking out over the trees listening to the birds ??
On May 15, 2018, at 8:36 AM, Tish Wilson wrote to Julie Keaten-Reed: Ah, enjoy the air! 1pm is good. Looking forward to it!
On May 26, 2018, at 12:58 PM, Julie Keaten-Reed wrote to Tish Wilson: Hi Tish, Thank you again for your hospitality! We enjoyed our short stay in the mountains and meeting and talking with you. I shared what you had told us with my mom, Kim, regarding Christian Science and I believe it’s brought her a great deal of peace. Bruce has become something of an archivist and has just included a section about you in his records on Carley (Tedi) ??! I was wondering, may I share our correspondence with him? Also, I think he’d love to get back in touch with you. Let me know what you think. All the best, Julie Ps. We’re still working on a plan for “kicking and screaming”...
On May 28, 2018, at 7:26 AM, Tish Wilson wrote to Julie Keaten-Reed: Hi, Julie - It was good to meet both of you and visit, yes! Go glad your Mom gained peace in regard to the CS information. (I was not sure if it would be a good thing to share or not.) Yes, of course, you are welcomed to share our correspondence and my contact information with Bruce. “Kicking and screaming” will be here for you… whenever! (The kids came up yesterday and I told my daughter about you and our visit.) No rush at all. I have enjoyed looking at your art work so much! Your visit was a creative boost for me! Did you say that you used primer on the gaterboard? With a little gesso and sand mixed in? And regular indoor household paint? Do you “seal” or finish it with anything? I just may reorganize my basement so I can play with your idea, too! I am still mesmerized with the idea of sculpture and painting on the same “canvas” whether it be on canvas, waterboard or plywood!
Have a great - and profitable - summer. I look forward to seeing you again whenever that happens! Take good care - Tish
On May 28, 2018, at 3:14 PM, Julie Keaten-Reed wrote to Tish Wilson: Re: visit to north carolina
yay and thanks!
i just sent a picture from my phone of the primer and powdered plaster of paris i use. i generally add a half cup of the plaster to a gallon of primer, mixing it with a hardware version of an egg beater. i like to leave it a bit granulated as that adds the texture i like. we have also used sand, but i found it to be a little harder to mix in and then it adds quite a bit of weight to the piece. as i said, one of the reasons we love the infinity board is because it weighs so little. sand is definitely worth experimenting with, tho. the other product that was really good was golden’s absorbent ground. quite expensive, but creates a really beautiful painting surface. it’s almost like working on paper with all of the plusses and minuses.
regarding the primer/plaster mixture — it thickens up significantly over time so if you don’t use it all at first, expect that it will be a different animal the next time you get to it :-)
the primer/plaster mixture works best with acrylic paints. if you want to use watercolor, golden’s is the better product. i’ve even blended the goldens with the 1-2-3, which created my favorite surface to work on. it’s not my usual tho, as i have to plan in advance and order the goldens from dick blick. the other stuff can be picked up at home depot!
when we finish the paintings, we spray them with liquitex matte acrylic varnish. we use an air compressor and spray gun, doing it outside. if you only work with acrylic paints, you could brush or roll the varnish on, or skip that step entirely. because of all of the travel and outdoor shows, we try to make the paintings as resilient as possible. we have to contend with children’s sticky fingers, rain and mud splatter, dust, pollen, the occasional shoe scuff… the varnish makes it easier to clean.
liquitex makes a matte and a gloss acrylic varnish. we’ve used both. the gloss is really pretty, but if you don’t get a perfectly even coat, it’s easy to see the thick and thin areas. the matte is much more forgiving.
i’m happy to answer any other questions you may have as they arise. just about everything i know has been a result of trial and error, or around here we call it “research and development” :-)
best, julie