art

Yes, We "Pe-Can"! /  by Jerry Johnson

Living in south Alabama has certainly had its perks—one being the warm/hot climate that allows for an abundance of foliage. Fortunately, among the Yellow Pines and the invasive Kudzu, you will find lots of hardwood trees, including the pecan tree.

According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, Alabama is one of 15 states that produces pecans commercially and has approximately 22,000 acres planted with pecan orchards in 39 counties, mostly in Baldwin and Mobile counties. Between 1998 and 2007, Alabama growers produced about 59 million pounds of pecans. Alabama ranks eighth in pecan production in the United States and produces an average of about 6.8 million pounds of nuts a year. The United States produces an average of 220 million pounds per year. I know what you're thinking, "That's nuts!" right?

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So, What is the Joyous Exchange? /  by Jerry Johnson

Since late 2012, my colleague Diane Orlofsky and I have collaborated on a wonderful project known as "A Joyous Exchange". It began as a conversation about how I might assist her in illustrating a collection of essays that she had written. Ultimately, Diane's essays ("meditations") and my visual interpretations ("illuminations") would conjoin into a collection for both exhibition and print.

In 2017 I was honored to receive a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts to progress towards completing a body of work related to our co-creative process and to create an accompanying book or catalog…

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