The Lemon Tree Gallery in Cape Charles, Virginia selected me as their featured for the summer. I have a selection of new work and older classics on exhibit at the gallery until September. If you live on the ESVA or are visiting, stop by the gallery to see the work of local artists that they feature.
Watts Island, Virginia
Watts Island is a small sliver of land about six miles southeast of Tangier Island in Accomac County, Virginia. The island was inhabited by working families and utilized for farming and as a home base for harvesting seafood from the mid 1600's until the early 1900's.
When the island was sold in 1908 by one of the original owning families - the Parkers - a man from New Jersey, who became known as the 'Hermit of Watts Island' came to live on the island. Charles Hardenberg was a Princeton educated lawyer who moved to the remote island to escape life in the city which had taken a toll on his health. Rumor has it that Hardenberg's family and friends made a bet that he couldn't last 10-years on the island. But after living on Watt's for 10-years he made a brief trip to the mainland and then went back offshore to live the 'island life'. Charles weathered the 1933 storms and lived out his last years on the island before passing in 1937. He had spent nearly 30 years living on the island alone on what he called "my little eden."
Land records and census data show that Watts Island and Little Watts Island once covered hundreds of acres of land. Little Watts, and the lighthouse which once stood on the island are now completely gone. Watts Island continues to wash away into Pocomoke Sound with wave action from every direction slowly eating away at the ephemeral shorelines.
Large trees in the water on the southwestern shoreline of Watts Island.
May 2019 full moon rising over downed trees on the southern end of Watts Island.
Low tide reveals stumps of fallen trees on the northwestern shoreline of Watts Island.
Deltaville Maritime Museum Lecture - July 28, 2019
On Sunday, July 28, at 2pm, I will be presenting as part of the Turner Lecture Series at the Deltaville Maritime Museum. I will share stories and photographs from'Working the Water' and new work from my forthcoming book 'Island Life'
For more information on the event and the museum:
www.deltavillemuseum.com
TANGIER ISLAND PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP - JUNE 14 TO JUNE 16, 2019
I finished my month long series of photography workshops on Smith and Tangier with this group of four photographers last weekend. We had a great time photographing the islands wildlife, landscapes and seafood industry and tried to leave the beaches cleaner than we found them. I am extremely thankful for the generosity and hospitality of the islanders in helping make these workshops possible! I am already looking forward to next year's trips.
