Page 50 - Summer 2021

s| ARTSPEAK Nature is the
foundation of art
By La Ruchala Murphy
One of the benefits for me growing up in a rural town in the south was our community connection to nature and agriculture. Most of my neighbors grew vegetables in their backyard, owned a few chickens, horses, cows, goats, and pigs. Some grew the most beautiful flowers near their front porches.
There were plenty of persimmon, peach, pecan and apple trees. Honeysuckles and blackberries grew in the abandoned fields. And the county’s farmers market was the Saturday hangout for families to share and sell products that were cultivated throughout the year.
My greatest memories include the school field trip to a county farm to learn more about planting and harvesting crops, raising animals, sheering sheep and the many products we use every day that came from the earth.
The farm visits were always a couple weeks before the county’s agriculture fair in the fall. The fair featured carnival and horse rides, prizes for the best bake goods and handmade items. The fair also included a student art show and highlighted projects done by the 4-H horticulture enthusiasts and science clubs.
I was involved in the student art show but was not hands-on in the farming, gardening or animals. However, I admired and am still amazed by the beauty found in nature.
I am fascinated in how the rings in
the trees look similar to our
fingerprints, how honeycombs look
symmetrical and how flowers and the
sky have these brilliant colors that
artists and photographers try to
duplicate. But it’s never the same as seeing the colors in person.
To get that sense of home, I visited Margo Candelario, co- founder of Young Female Farmers in Bishop. Candelario began painting professionally in 1995 when she showed her work along with artist Brenda Singletary at the Black Arts Festival in Atlanta.
From left, Trae Candelario, Margo Candelario and Clarice Scott are involved in a family agribusiness called Young Female Farmers. They have a large garden and several horses at their North High Shoals home.
Known for her mixed media and chalk pastel pieces, she is an award-winning artist who has had her works shown in New York City, exhibited at several universities in Georgia and hosted private showings in California and Maui, Hawaii.
Young Female Farmers is a family-owned business that has a passion for “healthy food, creating healthier environments, growing pesticide free vegetables, baking preservative free and
Young Female Farmers started in 2006 and is built on the principles of healthy living, respect for the environment, sustainability, education and entrepreneurship.
sLa Ruchala Murphy is the executive director of the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville, Ga. PAgE 48 | OcONEE ThE MAgAzINE | SUMMER 2021
cooking from scratch.”
Candelario described nature as the
foundation to everything.
The first thing that she does every
morning is take a deep breath of the fresh air. She notices the birds chirping outside her window and the rabbits and geese in the yard. As a visual artist, she also sees the beauty in nature like the bright red feathers on a cardinal. The green colors of plants are a source of inspiration too.
To Candelario, nature is the foundation for her voice, whether it is through paintings, textiles or poetry.
The same is true in farming. Candelario believes that plants and herbs assist with community needs and
combat our physical ailments. Not only do plants and herbs taste good, but they are also good for the body.
Visiting the Calendario family reminded me of my childhood. If you want to create those kinds of memories too, the Oconee Welcome Center has a list of farms and agribusinesses to visit in the county. You won’t regret it. And if you’re an artist, maybe the great outdoors can be a muse.
Courtesy Margo Candelario
Michael Prochaska