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Down Bohicket Road: An Artist's Journey
Down Bohicket Road: An Artist's Journey | Mary Whyte
5 posts | 2 read | 4 to read
Artist Mary Whyte's Down Bohicket Road includes two decades worth of watercolors--depicting a select group of Gullah women of Johns Island, South Carolina, and their stories. In 1991, following Whyte's recovery from a year of treatment for cancer, she and her husband moved to a small sea island near Charleston, seeking a new home where they could reinvent themselves far removed from the hectic pace of Philadelphia. In this remote corner of the South, Whyte first met Alfreda LaBoard and her devoted group of seniors who gathered weekly to make quilts, study the Bible, and socialize in a small rural church on Bohicket Road. Descendants of lowcountry slaves, these longtime residents of the island influenced Whyte's life and art in astonishing and unexpected ways. Whyte soon began a series of watercolors depicting these women, honoring their lives and their dedication to family and faith. As her friendships with these women grew, their matriarch Alfreda LaBoard claimed Whyte as her "vanilla sister." Alfreda's World, a collection of Whyte's detailed watercolors and poignant recollections of the women at the senior center, was published a decade later, drawing attention and support from the community to the small church on Bohicket Road. Down Bohicket Road continues the story of Whyte's relationship with these extraordinary women, following the passing of Alfreda, against the backdrop of the ongoing commercial development of Johns Island. For Whyte, the heart of this community remains in the simple homes clustered along Bohicket Road, in the island's winding tidal creeks, and in a small church where eighteen hardscrabble women gather in fellowship each week. In her book Whyte illustrates that both watercolors and friendships can be the unpredictable results of an abundance of blessings. As shared through touching words and vibrant paintings, Down Bohicket Road celebrates a unique way of coastal life and a remarkable friendship that transcends all barriers--even death itself--in praise of the unifying power of art. All royalties from the sale of this book benefit the Hebron Saint Francis Senior Center on Johns Island.
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Adventures-of-a-French-Reader
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Pickpick

The paintings presented in this book are breathtaking. Mary Whyte manages to paint perfectly portraits, still life, nature, light, everything! I really enjoyed the written part as well, it's so interesting to get to know what inspired an artist, and in this case to get to know the community who welcomed the artist with open arms.

Kimzey I recognized Bohicket Road because I have family on John‘s Island. Happy to know about this book! 4y
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Betty
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Pickpick

I can't stop gushing about this book. I read it because of what a friend wrote. His review: "This woman can write almost as well as she paints. She writes about she and her husband leaving Philadelphia exhausted after her cancer treatment.
They found refuge on Johns Island just outside of Charleston where she expected to paint seascapes and little blonde girls among the dunes.
more in comments..

Betty "Instead, she wandered into a local church one evening where a small group of Gullah grandmothers was meeting to eat, pray, and quilt. They saw a white girl who needed to have some meat put on her bones, so they hugged
her and fed her heartily and basically adopted her, ultimately calling her
their "vanilla sister." She had grown up in a frankly and openly prejudiced
household and of course never ....
(edited) 6y
Betty ...of course never expected to find salvation with a bunch of old black grandmothers in South Carolina. This book is about how that happened. And it has the most extraordinarily beautiful watercolors of these women, their families, and their doings." (edited) 6y
Tamra Sounds & looks wonderful! 6y
cathysaid Gorgeous! 6y
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Betty
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Too late to enter #vacationbooty however this book was my favorite of 2017. The watercolor painting is "black eyed Susan." I'm off to return book to the library and request more by and about Mary Whyte.

cathysaid Gorgeous paintings 💕 6y
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Betty
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Painting: Angel. "Angels are most generally thought to have gossamer wings and white robes. I have sometimes wondered if the angels that are truly among us might look something more like this." #angelic #seasonsreadings2017

SuperPunkNinja I love this! ❤❤❤ 6y
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Betty
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#CrushingonGiveaway I'd choose these two books--one has art and the other language.

Cinfhen I might be #crushingOn your choice 💖💖💖good luck & thanks for playing 7y
ValerieAndBooks The second book looks really interesting to me! I wonder if he discusses ASL? 7y
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