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Summerville Journal Scene • March 21, 2012
Take home a piece of old Charleston The Journal Scene
F
rom teacher to marine biologist to a r t i s t . That’s been Amanda McLenon’s path, and despite the twists and turns, it all leads back to her grandfather. McLenon will be coming to the Flowertown Festival this year to formally introduce her latest creations, Charleston Piazza Doors. Like all her art, the doors are derived from recycled and “upcycled” materials. In this case, she uses wood, generally flooring or walls, from old Charleston homes that are being torn down or reno-
vated. She maintains the existing paint and adds antique hardware that she finds at estate sales, antique stores and occasionally from the homes themselves. “It’s very rare that some of these houses come down and they’re even removing the hardware,” she said. The piazza doors follow McLenon’s foray into painting, which she has done as murals or on antique window sashes. McLenon first picked up a brush three years ago. Before that she had been a teacher and had earned a master’s degree in education, then came to Charleston to study marine biology. She decided to create a painting as a gift and it came out better than she expected, she said. Other people started asking about her paintings and before she knew it, she was a full-fledged artist. “It was really cool to discover a talent
I didn’t know I had,” she said. McLenon said her piazza doors creation harkens back to her childhood and her grandfather. A “true tinkerer,” he would go to the flea market every Saturday to buy treasures and then reconstruct items like white-walled bicycles. McLenon became a collector like her grandfather and had an “epiphany” one day that led to the piazza doors. McLenon regularly shows her work at events like the Charleston Farmers Market and at locations like the Charleston Preservation Society and the Charleston Angler shops. She’ll be at the Flowertown Festival with the piazza doors as well as her paintings. Prices for the piazza doors start at $28. Her booth will be CP8, in the middle of the park to the left of the tennis courts.
Provided
Charleston Piazza Doors are created by Amanda McLenon.
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BY LESLIE CANTU