17 minute read
EDITOR’S COLUMN
A GREAT ESCAPE
Art can take us where we need to be
My brother was in town for a weekend in which we would work to edit and otherwise prepare his manuscript — about the cultureflattening, homogenizing effects of technology and social media — for submitting to publishers.
After a work session, we repaired along with my wife to a favorite sushi restaurant. There, Mark asked our waitress if she or any of her coworkers spoke Chinese.
The waitress did not — as I recall, she was a speaker of Khmer — but she presently brought to our table a woman, Emily, who did. Here, then, was an opportunity for Mark to practice his conversational Chinese. Emily, meanwhile, appeared delighted to encounter a Caucasian American who spoke her native language.
Mark works for the health information systems division of a multinational conglomerate, the 3M Company, which is headquartered in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, where he and I grew up. His role has necessitated travel to China, including visits to Wuhan, from time to time, and Mark is teaching himself Chinese.
He repeatedly put his hands together and nodded deferentially, I thought, as if to say, “Sorry, I’m doing the best I can,” as he and Emily engaged in small talk. Wuhan was in the news. For the first time, American broadcast media were reporting the appearance of an unfamiliar respiratory virus there. Collectively, the four of us (in English) expressed relief that the outbreak was confined to the other side of the world.
“The new pathogen was … thought to be only modestly contagious, like its cousin the SARS virus,” reporter at large Lawrence Wright wrote in The New Yorker in January of this year. “This assumption was wrong. The virus in Wuhan turned out to be far more infectious, and it spread largely by asymptomatic transmission. ‘That whole idea that you were going to diagnose cases based on symptoms, isolate them and contact-trace around them was not going to work,’ (Robert) Redfield (director of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta) told me. ‘You’re going to be missing 50 percent of the cases. We didn’t appreciate that until late February.’”
The first of three critical mistakes, in Wright’s view, had been made in the U.S. The others would be the bungled rollout of testing and a failure to embrace mask mandates.
So it was that the U.S. became the world leader in COVID-19 cases. So it was that our lives were undecorated, events were cancelled, traditions interrupted, businesses disrupted. Our lives were as stripped galleries.
But art has gone on, demonstrating its irrepressibility at kitchen tables, at garage workbenches, in studios and in the open air. We have discovered anew the value of creation and expression as antidotes to destruction and depression. Not long ago, I delighted in building with my grandson Rivers, age 6, a bird feeder as a gift for a friend. Three hearts were warmed by the experience.
I was heartened to read Marina Brown’s story in this edition of Tallahassee Magazine about the commitment to the arts on the parts of Kathleen Spehar and Amanda Karioth Thompson at Tallahassee’s Council on Culture & Arts (COCA). I was inspired by my own conversations with Michele Arwood and Darlene Crosby Taylor at the Center for the Arts in Thomasville for a story about the public art emphasis there.
These days, I pause a little longer each morning to admire the four pieces of art in my office: a mug embossed with sun, sea and surfer and crafted by Brenda Stokes of Holley Hill Pottery in Santa Rosa County; a photograph by David Moynahan of Wakulla Springs of a writhing pod of giant tadpoles, their heads nearly the size of tennis balls, taken at Econfina Creek; a painting by Pennsylvania artist Mark Susinno of an angry pike diving into a submerged tree and fighting to dislodge an Eppinger Dardevle lure; and a sculpted grouper-like fish head, purchased at an art fair in Chautauqua, New York.
Art does not flit away like birds at a person’s approach but invites close inspection and presents a slightly different look every time it’s viewed. It’s a great escape.
Take care,
STEVE BORNHOFT
sbornhoft@rowlandpublishing.com
To all the HealthCare Heroes,
We see you.
You have faced a frightening virus for more than a year, and we know it hasn’t been easy.
You were there at the beginning, when we knew little about COVID-19, and you’re still there, working through exhaustion to take care of our community.
You’ve saved many lives, and you’ve held many hands. We all owe you a debt we can never repay.
You probably don’t consider yourselves heroes, but we do.
We see your grit. We see your determination. We see your self-sacrifice, and we are so grateful.
We see you, and we will not forget.
Visit TMH.ORG/Hero to learn how you can provide encouragement and support to healthcare heroes.
TALLAHASSEEMAGAZINE.COM
DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE Plans for Temple are Taking Shape
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that a new temple will be developed at 2440 Papillion Way in Tallahassee on a 4.9-acre site located across from the church’s meetinghouse on Thomasville Road. Read more by visiting TallahasseeMagazine.com/ plans-for-temple-are-taking-shape.
A Unique Gift Shop Comes to Town
Through all of the ups and downs of the past year, Ralph Esposito continues to look toward the future, even deciding on a new addition to the already unique gardening experience: a 2,400-squarefoot gift shop. Visit TallahasseeMagazine. com/home-garden-links to read more.
CHANGING YOUR SPOTS
The summer sun has the effect of accelerating pigment production and highlighting brown spots, but they are best treated in the fall and winter, when people naturally spend less time outdoors. Learn more at TallahasseeMagazine.com/beauty-links.
JEWELRY, A LASTING GIFT OF MEANING
Fine jewelry is the gift that keeps on giving all year long. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion, The Gem Collection has the perfect recommendation for you. Learn more at TallahasseeMagazine.com/ style-links.
TALLY TOP PET
Final Round Voting Which furry companion do you think should win the coveted distinction of 2020–21 Tally Top Pet? You can help decide by is Underway! TALLY TOP PET voting in the final round! The final two pets will duke it out from March 3–10. To vote for your favorite of the two, visit PHOTO CONTEST
TallahasseeMagazine.com/tally-top-pet. May the best pet win!
323THE
→ Quia Z. Atkinson, pictured standing in front of one of her large-scale pieces, began focusing on her artistic talents seven years ago and discovered an ability to bring people joy.
MAR/APR 2021
PROFILING THE PURSUITS, PASSIONS AND PERSONALITIES AMONG US
PERSONALITY
COLOR HER VIVID
Quia Atkinson’s creations light up faces ↓
by ROCHELLE KOFF
→ Atkinson’s garage serves as her creative space. Her works present varying levels of abstraction and often involve mixed media.
The pandemic has caused slowdowns and shutdowns for so many, particularly those in the arts, but Quia Z. Atkinson has bucked the trend.
“It was slow in March and April, but since then it’s been nonstop,” said Atkinson, a Tallahassee artist who specializes in three-dimensional, mixed media paintings and decor. “People are going crazy trying to renovate their homes and do stuff indoors because that’s where they are. They’re painting rooms and overhauling their spaces and that includes buying new art.”
But to her fans, Atkinson’s work means more than an addition to their homes. She conveys a spirit as dynamic as the vivid colors and sparkling gems that enliven her paintings.
“Her vibrancy, her positive outlook, her artwork itself — the colors and the way they explode off the canvas are what caught my attention,” said Jim Taylor, president and founder of Auto Data Direct in Tallahassee. “She’s such a positive person. Her kindness shows up on her canvases.”
Atkinson sold her first painting, titled “Blue Storm,” to Taylor in 2016. And when he was set to retire in September 2020, his employees asked her to create another picture for him. “Just a beautiful piece,” said Taylor.
“I love that I’m creating something that makes someone happy just by looking at it,” said Atkinson. “That’s the biggest gift, the biggest takeaway from what I do.”
She’s not one to ignore suggestions from her clients, either.
“My clients are such an inspiration,” Atkinson said. “I like to bring their ideas to life.”
Atkinson’s repertoire includes decorative items like coasters, cheese boards and luxury trays, priced from $60 to a few hundred, as well as paintings that vary in size from minis to large, three-piece installations, ranging from $150 to about $8,000.
Aside from her striking hues, Atkinson’s work is known for embellishments like gold leaf, crystals, gems and crushed glass.
“Once I found resin, it enabled me to knock it out of the park,” she said. “It added that luxurious look that I love for my work.”
Atkinson began focusing on her artistic abilities about seven years ago, reviving a love of art that first surfaced when she was a little girl.
“I liked to draw things, but I never thought I was talented enough to think of it as a career,” said Atkinson.
She started doing sketches of Disney characters as a child, one way she amused herself during travels with her parents, both U.S. Marines, and her two siblings.
“I went to 11 different schools from kindergarten to high school,” said Atkinson. “I lived in Pennsylvania three separate times, in three different cities. We’d move every year-and-a-half to three years.”
The family resided in several countries, from Rabat, Morocco, to Oslo, Norway, experiencing many cultures as well as life in varied U.S. locations, including Manhattan, Illinois, Virginia and Florida.
Her family faced trying times when her younger sister was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 9, while they were living in military housing in Pennsylvania. Atkinson was 13 at the time and her brother was 12.
“That pretty much turned everything upside down,” she said. “After surgery, my sister was paralyzed on her right side. She had to learn to write and walk again.”
Her sister, who survived her illness, is “definitely my hero. When I think about complaining, I think about what she went through at 9 years old. I never ever remember her complaining or whining. She was a miracle child, and now she’s a miracle adult.”
↑ Works on display at Atkinson’s QZ Design Gallery serve to demonstrate her versatility as an artist and her positive outlook and vibrancy as a person.
↑ Atkinson’s spirited, fanciful creations range from small to grand in size. She says she finds inspiration in ideas furnished by her clients.
Atkinson and her family moved to Virginia when she was in high school. With a military scholarship, she attended Florida A&M University, where she earned a degree in health care management, and stayed in Tallahassee.
“I’ve lived here longer than any other city,” said Atkinson. “It’s home.”
When she went out into the job market, she put aside her artistic bent until she began renovating her house.
“I painted one canvas,” said Atkinson. “Then I could not stop painting. Painting became this thing I really loved to do. It was an outlet for me.”
After selling her first painting to Taylor in 2016, she launched QZ Design Gallery — the Z stands for Zhamer (pronounced Shamere). For now, the artist works in the home she shares with husband Morgan Atkinson, son James, 16, her daughter Camryn, 15, and step-daughter Olivia, 9.
Atkinson also teaches art classes in her home, though due to the pandemic, she’s reduced class size to one or two students at a time.
Aside from painting and family, she is also passionate about helping others. Atkinson donates art pieces to be auctioned for local fundraisers. And influenced by her parents’ efforts to help orphans in Morocco, she has become an ardent supporter of an orphanage in Jinja, Uganda.
“I’m a regular contributor of what they need — if the kids are out of shoes or beans or mosquito nets. I want to visit them one day and lay my eyes on every one.”
Closer to home, Atkinson said she has found her niche after years of searching.
“I’ve found what I love to do in regard to the media I use and the look I’m going for,” she said. “People now tell me they can recognize my work when they walk into a room. That feels really good.” TM
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Imagine being a bird, taking in the sights of Tallahassee — the tops of majestic oaks, the blue water of Lake Bradford, a settlement of buildings reminiscent of old Florida, the flash of a fox’s tail. While it might not be realistic to gain wings, the
Tallahassee Museum can grant you access to all of these sights and more, even from a heightened vantage point.
The Tallahassee Museum occupies 52 acres of scenic Tallahassee topography offering three tree-to-tree zipline adventure courses, wildlife exhibits, an aviary, historic buildings, a Jim Gary dinosaur collection, an active farm and more. The museum opened in 1957 honing in on the history, native wildlife and cultures that are unique to the Big Bend region.
Whether it’s your first time or 50th, if you’re in grade school, a grandparent or anyone in between, the Tallahassee
Museum specializes in creating experiences that cater to the endless wonders that nature and history present by providing educational opportunities for children, students, adults and seniors.
“The property is relaxing and restorative because you’re surrounded by nature, which helps you to slow down and take in the beauty of it all,” said Katherine Ashler, vice president of philanthropy at the Tallahassee Museum. “Our hope is that when visitors come, they find a new way to not only connect with nature and history, but also with those in their community. By providing our visitors with the knowledge of and appreciation for our natural environment and history, we hope they will be better equipped to address the challenges they face today and tomorrow.”
With social distancing and masks in tow, guests can enjoy fresh air, whether they’re walking the paths and boardwalks to view bears, wolves, deer and other Florida wildlife, or they’re taking to the trees on one of the three Tree to Tree Adventures zipline courses.
Two new wildlife additions in March 2021 include the three African civets — part of the guest animal program — and a newly constructed aviary that replaces and updates the one destroyed by Hurricane Michael. The animal action continues at the Big Bend farm, which has authentic 1880s farm buildings with a bevy of farm animals. The farm also allows a glimpse into rural industries, such as turpentining, blacksmithing, milling and syrup-making.
Continue with your journey to a bygone era by viewing Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, the Seaboard Airline Caboose, the Concord Schoolhouse and the Bellevue House, where Catherine Murat, George Washington’s grandniece, once lived.
“We can still keep the core essence of the history of this region, but we also need to keep innovating and reinterpreting stories as times and perspectives change,” said Ashler. “We need to tell the truth of the narrative and adapt.”
To accomplish continued education of Florida’s past and to enhance its present, guests can become members of the museum, which not only grants them special discounts, such as free admission, but also allows them to become partners in the success of this nonprofit museum. The Tallahassee Museum provides a bird’s eye view of the region’s history while encouraging continued education that will help us soar into the future.
