The weekly Clarksville Parks and Recreation Deparment Recreation Report provides Clarksvillians with a glimpse at the activities and events that are available from the Parks and Recreation Department for them to enjoy together as a family. This weeks highlights include:

• Halloween events
• Safety Day
• Heritage Park Bark Park grand opening
• Jammin’ in the Alley
• Downtown Market

Bring your pets out to the opening of the city's newest Bark Park at Heritage Park on October 10th at 1:00pm

Halloween

September is coming to an end and candy and costumes line the aisles of local stores. That can only mean one thing: Halloween is right around the corner.

This fall, Parks and Recreation is offering a two fun filled Halloween events for kids.

The Kleeman Haunted Mansion takes place October 24 at the Kleeman Community Center. Come tour the “haunted mansion” that is sure to give you a few fun frights!

New this year is the Fright on Franklin event where kids can trick-or-treat safely with their parents on Franklin Street. Be sure to start working on your costume now to win the best costume contest. Fright on Franklin takes place October 31.

Stay tuned for more spooky details about these two exciting events.

Safety Day

Local car dealer Jenkins and Wynne and Clarksville Parks and Recreation are joining forces to host Safety Saturday on October 17. Kids and parents can learn about ways to be safe at home, in the car and at school while having fun at the event.

Local safety professionals will be on site with emergency vehicles for the kids to explore. Other fun activities include a coloring contest, a visit from the Chick-fil-A Cow, the Shoney Bear and more. The first sixty children at the event will also receive a special prize courtesy of Jenkins and Wynne.

Safety Saturday is from 9 until noon, and admission is free. It is a great way for kids and parents to learn about safety.

Bark Park Grand Opening

Bark Park

We hope you plan to join us this upcoming Saturday for the Heritage Park Bark Park Grand Opening Celebration. Dogs, owners and dog lovers are sure to have fun at this event that officially kicks off the opening of the new park.

Some of the fun includes fly ball demonstrations, agility demonstrations, doggie costume contest, a dog-owner look-alike contest, door prizes and dog related booths.

Bring your dog for a day of fun and a preview of the new park. The event takes place from 1-3p.m. on October 10 at the new Bark Park which is right past the skate park in Heritage Park.

Last Jammin’ in the Alley of the season

Don’t miss this year’s last Jammin’ in the Alley on October 16. This month’s concert will conclude the concert series that began in May. The featured artist at the Friday night show is Blues News. Blues News is a group of local musicians who love playing the soulful sounds of blues music. The fall weather should serve as the perfect back drop to this month’s performance.

The concert begins at 7p.m. on Strawberry Alley. Chairs will be provided along with outdoor dining from the Strawberry Alley restaurants Edwards, Brunie’s and the Front Page Deli. Grab your friends, kids and family and join us for some Jammin’ in the Alley.

Don’t forget to check out our online Fall and Winter Recreation Guide at www.cityofclarksville.com. The guide includes information on events and activities for the entire family. You can also pick up a copy of the guide at any of the Parks and Recreation events or at our office located at 102 Public Square.

Downtown Market

The Downtown Market on Saturday will feature an abundance of fresh veggies, homemade pies, fresh bread, arts, handmade crafts, baked goods and much more.

You can also find the perfect pumpkin and beautiful mums at the market.  Be sure to make the Downtown Market one of your stops on Saturday morning.

For more information on the Downtown Market, check out www.clarksvilledowntownmarket.com.

Niki Crowe the manager of the New Downtown Market invites you to come and pay them a visit!

At 4p.m. the horses will take their places on Strawberry Alley followed by visits to the downtown eateries to deliver beer to the restaurateurs.  After distributing product to the restaurants, the Clydesdales will remain hitched to the wagon on Strawberry Alley until 7p.m. for spectators to visit and take pictures with.

The Budweiser Clydesdales at the Paris, TN Worlds Biggest Fish Fry in 2008

Along with the Budweiser Clydesdales’ visit, the well known local band The Beagles will provide live entertainment for the patrons on Strawberry Alley at 6:30p.m.

The Beagles

The visit to Clarksville is one of the 300 visits made annually around the United States by the five traveling hitches of Budweiser Clydesdale horses.  Each horse stands at approximately six feet tall at the shoulder and weighs an average of 2000 pounds.  The horses are friendly and enjoy meeting millions of people each year.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A few streets in the downtown area will be closed on August 13 in preparation for the Clydesdales and concert.  Strawberry Alley will be closed to through traffic in front of City Hall starting at 1 p.m. on the day of the event.  US Bank’s drive-through and City Hall parking lots will be accessible.  Also, the south end of Public Square and Franklin Street from the First Street intersection to Public Square will be closed to through traffic beginning at 1p.m.

For more information on this event, contact the City of Clarksville Parks and Recreation office at 645-7476.

Nicole Kelly

You guys? This is hard.

I haven’t spent any significant amounts of time here since high school, my old friends have scattered to various parts of the country for one reason or another, and so I really feel as if I’m starting over in a new city. In the short time that I’ve been back I’ve managed to find two jobs and procure myself this column, but I’m still trying to figure out how 20-somethings new to the area meet people and get involved in the community.

And oh, it pains me to admit it, but meeting people in Clarksville has so far proved surprisingly harder than I thought it would. And I just don’t understand it.

When I got here about three weeks ago, fresh from 2 weeks in my most recent home of New York City and nine months of gallivanting around Latin America, I had high hopes for a summer—the first in about 5 years—spent in my surrogate home town, the place where I went to middle and high school, the place I swore I’d never live in again.

No offense.

It’s just that I like cities. Big cities. I like art and music and literature and feminist activism and multiculturalism. For these reasons, I like New York. I like Barcelona. I like Oaxaca and Mexico City—all cities where I have lived or spent much time in since graduating from Northeast in 2003 and heading north of the Mason-Dixon/south of the border.

After nine months with no job I was very very broke. For two weeks I slept on the couch of a friend in Brooklyn, but, just after my cash flow dropped into the teens, I was forced to reassess my choice of residence. I charged a plane ticket to Nashville and came home.

I can admit that small cities have their perks too. A small city is…conquerable. Whereas in New York I will never be able to eat in every restaurant, will certainly never visit every museum, and will only ever manage to be friends or acquainted with a tiny microcosm of the city’s inhabitants, all of those things are more or less doable here in Clarksville. A small city is accessible.

So I thought when I arrived, and shortly thereafter when I expressed my interest in writing this column. I thought, this is a college town. This is a transient town. This is—as my parents keep insisting—a growing and developing and evolving town. But so far I’ve just been baffled by the lack of youthful activity.

On my first night out on my first weekend back I drove down to Franklin Street, where I used to like to hang out when I was underage, and where some students from APSU were holding an art show.

It was warm out, though not yet uncomfortably hot. It was so quiet—the sounds of acoustic guitar and voices were released onto the street and reigned in again when the doors of the Blackhorse and the Front Page opened and closed. There was the scent of something sweet and floral in the air. Magnolias, I thought to myself, having no idea what I was talking about (magnolias just seem southern to me). It was nice. I was excited to be back. I was ready to conquer yet another city.

And then nothing happened.

The bars were more empty than not. “What’s the nightlife like around here?” I asked a lot of people, all of whom exhibited the familiar pleasant willingness to talk to strangers that I missed in New York, and the same attitude of apologetic resignation (Shrug. “This is pretty much it.”) that I hadn’t.

I made a friend—a recent Army recruit who grew up in Long Island, New York and has only been here a month—who was equally baffled. “There’s a university right down the road!” I cried in disbelief. “Where IS everyone?”

And I’ve more or less been asking that question ever since, as I search for coffee shops to write in and events to go to and continue to fail to have meaningful encounters with anyone my age.

But you know what? I like a challenge.

My first week here I used the usual mediums—Facebook, Craigslist, Google, asking around—to find out where to go and what to do. With aforementioned results. So I just spent my second Saturday night—it was rainy and cold and I was frustrated and lonely—back on the computer.

With renewed resolve I recalculated my plan for re-creating a life—a social one, let’s hope—that doesn’t rely on the apparently flailing bar scene. I joined a 20-somethings meet up group, I found somewhere to volunteer, I resolved to start a pick up kick ball league (they’re big in New York).

I’m determined to make the most of this summer. Meanwhile, I’m taking suggestions.

Oh, I made it downtown. I’d planned to write about this event, take pictures of it.

But all the sloping curb cuts in the world won’t help if you can’t park your car due to the glaring absence of designated handicapped parking spaces. So through the window of the car I looked at the crowd gathered inside DAC, a bit wistfully I might add, and went back home. Sans art. Sans conversation that I would otherwise have enjoyed. Sans story and photos they might have appreciated.

As appealing as Clarksville’s Franklin Street and downtown area can be, it is not user friendly if you have mobility problems. All the talk in the world about needing more parking or the construction of a new parking garage is great, if you are able to walk from said areas to your final destination. I can’t. Neither can a lot of other people.

I love to buy cards at HodgePodge, select jewelry at what my granddaughters call “the rock store,” snap up clothes or accessories from Rogates, dine at the Black Horse or the Front Page Deli, and attend the Roxy. And then there is ArtWalk.

My daughter is fully disabled and not always able to walk about town. I have what I hope will be a shorter term issue with mobility, and can’t always walk about, which has resulted in my acquisition of a new “temporary” placard that may likely be renewed for another six months (hopefully not made permanent). Sometimes it is all I can do to walk from one park bench to the next as I work my way between downtown shops. I don’t like my current status, and I “work around it” as often as possible: sometimes I am successful, sometimes not.

My entire family is “handicap aware” or “mobility aware” and we all know too well that there are NO designated handicapped parking spaces in the Franklin Street shopping district. The spaces at City Hall are too far for me to use if I want to be on Franklin Street, if I want to be in that downtown district of choice. Strawberry Alley has several designated spots that, when any event happens there, are cordoned off since events and seating land on top of said spots, rendering them off limits to the very people who need them the most.

Despite it’s apparently lawsuit-inspired graded curbing and crosswalks, the city has not yet figured out that before you can use said easy access curb cuts, you have to be able to get to them, to park near them.

Ergo, when it comes to parking access, downtown Clarksville is not just unwelcoming but still downright unfriendly, if not hostile, to those with handicaps of long or short term duration who need to park near their destination. Apparently Americans With Disabilities are still not welcomed there.

Saturday was the perfect day for the annual Frolic on Franklin, a celebration of local arts and artisans. Partly sunny skies and a cooling breeze drifted over Franklin Street as vendors set up their tents and sidewalk displays for the event, which featured demonstrations of painting, wood-turning, and other crafts.

The sidewalk in front of the Roxy Regional Theater became an impromptu stage, with ample seating under a canopy for those who chose to watch dancers, or listen to vocalists and musicians who offered non-stop entertainment.  The days activities were capped by the Gala Opening of the 2008-09 Roxy Season and the initial production, The Robber Bridegroom.

Though crowds of browsers seemed evident throughout the day, a number of merchants noted that both attendance and purchasing was down from last year, with some speculating that economic factors including high gas prices across the region  continue to impact retail and discretionary sales. Nonetheless, those who attended seemed happy with a day spent at an old-fashioned “Main Street” fair.

Photos by Bill Larson

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The Frolic on Franklin: A Celebration of the Arts, a portion of the festival, is free and open to the public. The artists will display and sell their work, including art, jewelry, wood crafts, pottery and more. In addition, a minimum of five demonstrations including pottery, wood working/turning, a letterpress and painting, will be showcased, offering parents and children alike the opportunity to watch and learn. Interactive opportunities for the children will be made through activities such as sidewalk chalk and face painting.

This event was conceived by the Downtown Clarksville Association (DCA) members to bring arts to the streets on the same day The Roxy Regional Theatre hosts its annual Gala.

This event was initiated in order to draw attention to the numerous talented artists in the community.  Through the generous donations of DCA sponsors, the organization is able to provide tents, support and advertising for the event. Volunteers have been busy planning this event for the past year and will be present the day of the event to make sure all runs smoothly—from setting up tents, to providing the artists with breaks and assisting with preparations for the final “leg of our event” the Annual Gala for The Roxy Regional Theatre. The Gala brings hundreds of people from all over the region to the Roxy to enjoy an evening of fine food, art and, of course, theatre. The Roxy has been producing theatre in Downtown Clarksville for 25 years.

The Gala, the Roxy’s largest annual fund raiser, begins at 6 PM with outdoor dining (catered by The Bound’ry in Nashville), followed by an auction of art donated by regional artists.  The entertainment for the evening will be The Robber Bridegroom, a musical which combines a bluegrass score with a planter’s daughter, a rascally robber of the woods, an evil stepmother and a hostile talking head-in-a-trunk for an evening of pure delight and uproarious laughter.

Performances during the daytime will be by Northeast High School Choir, West Creek Middle School Choir, bluegrass by Stuart Bonnington, Acro Dance and Robert Jordan, vocalist, as well as one-act plays by the Roxy School of the Arts.  There will also be activities for the children—face painting and sidewalk art

Frolic on Franklin: A Celebration of the Arts is supported by the generous donations of our sponsors. Through their contributions, DCA is able to offer this event with no charge to the displaying artists or the public. The phrase “struggling artist” is well-known and oft used, which led DCA to make it as easy as possible for participating artists to have every opportunity to make a profit instead of gambling on booth expense and the hopes of an interested audience.

As Historic Downtown Clarksville continues to regain strength as a viable business, shopping and dining district, we hope to increase the number of festivals and activities for the families of Clarksville and the surrounding area. The DCA is firmly committed to the concept of combining the arts with the revitalization of the downtown area and is “proud to be part of the revitalization of this important part of Clarksville history”. The public is invited to come and experience all we have to offer.

The Brewer's Festival on Franklin Street

Two separate weekend events provided Clarksvillians with the opportunity to support a local charity group and also indulge in a street festival of beer tasting. Local Moose Lodge # 89 Masonic Lodge held its annual fish fry fundraiser Saturday afternoon and a weekend Brewers Festival tag-teamed the weekend to the benefit of the community.

Volunteers prepare fish dinners

The Moose Lodge  Fish Fry supports the Lodge’s college scholarship program fund. With a goal of raising $2,000, fish dinners were served with efficiency and prompt speed. The dining hall of the Lodge was the eat-in site for those not wanting take-out service. Several customers came to pick up boxed orders as this writer observed the proceedings.

Rob Gouch, Lodge treasurer, oversaw the day’s food servers team as supporters flowed in to show their support and dine with family friends and Lodge fellows. Golden fish fillets, coleslaw, hush puppies and fries were the components of the dinners.

Leaving the fish fry, this writer made for the Franklin Street Brewers’ Fest. The closed-off one block stretch of Franklin Street, from North 2nd Street to Public Square, was the scene of this annual beer fest. Live entertainment was provided by a rotating slate of music acts including Austin Hartley-Leonard.

Franklin Street merchants opened their doors to the flowing crowd which made this a well attended event. Along with the storefront businesses, the Roxy Theater and Downtown Artists Co-op, micro-breweries and major brand breweries and food vendors set up pedestrian tasting stations to provided patrons with ample samples of a diverse selection of beers, ales, lagers and stouts and gourmet cuisine to accompany.

Among the various vendors was Red Brick of Atlanta Brewing company; Magic Hat Brewing Company offering Circus Boy – The Hefewiezen; New Belgium Brewing offered Mothership Wit, a wheat beer, Fat Tire, an Amber Ale, 1554 – Enlightened Black Ale. New Belgium is a “green company,” an environmentally friendly company utilizing green processes to grow their ingredients, harvest their waters and brew their product line.

Yuengling Brewery, America’s oldest brewery, also manned a tasting booth. Their offerings included Black Tan, Traditional Larger, Light Larger and Porter. Local favorite, ‘The Black Horse Pub’ had a tasting station. Brewmasters Kevin Dimmock and Steve McKendree were quite pleased with the crowd turn out. They have developed their craft over a combined 15 years at The Blackhorse. The selections here were Barnstormer Red, an amber ale that is their most popular microbrew, and Belgian White, a wheat ale. Steve explained that the Barnstormer Red is a Caramel Malt in the English style, full-bodied, brewed with Hallertau hops.

Patrons enjoying crawfish dinners, gourmet pizzas and stuffed tortillas as they strolled and sat at various bistro tables. Families, young and not so young filled the space, enjoying the food, the beverages and the music. Franklin Street’s main business hub was well populated long into the evening. The vibe was friendly, relaxing and easy.

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In "King of Spades" (17 X 23, 2008), Lewis’s most recent work embodies her aesthetics and ideals as an artist that anyone can have their portrait done, and shows her flare for detail while capturing the innermost essence of her subject, a trait she shares with regional portrait artist, Billy Price Carroll. Featured here is Ryle.

Though Monet said, “My life is useless,” artist Judy Lewis disagrees with this statement, though she can see how Monet may have felt this way. “It is a tough life to live struggling to make a living as an artist because you feel such desire and passion. If you look at art history, many artists lacked the customer base to feel appreciated during their lives,” according to Lewis, a native Clarksvillian.

Lewis, a devoted mother, has one daughter, Keegan, from a previous marriage and has lived in Clarksville for the majority of her life. In addition, Lewis has done work in Texas, and recently returned from Gettysburg, PA.  Lewis has been steadily producing art work sometime after, Art Cantu, a Christian minister from south Texas, witnessed to her, and sparked a hope in her that she could achieve her dreams. At this point in her career,  Lewis has done over 300 exhibit-worthy pieces, and continues to produce more art every day, not counting numerous drawings.

Of late, Lewis has delved into painting oils and acrylics with a style and color technique as unique and original as her drawings. The painting, Phoenix Rising on Angel’s Wings, captures the colors of a young girl and her gallant horse, Angel, as they properly go riding across a verdant field. Her vivid brush strokes in Christmas Carriages on Franklin Street capture the light and color of night lights downtown during a Christmas extravaganza.

Starting out, Lewis did drawings, and Christian poster art, and was always drawing more. Ms. Lewis got five commissions for her work from having her art work in a downtown window in Schumer’s. The client later told her, “You’re the best kept secret in this town.” As we sit in a local restaurant, Lewis unveils her life as a regional artist in the following interview.

At what point did you first realize you were an artist?

“I always thought I was since I was a kid—first grade—all I wanted to do when I was a kid was color. My friend would get mad at me and say, ‘all you ever do is color.’”

“But it goes earlier than that. In my grandmother’s Bible there were real, detailed paintings in between each book of the Bible, and woodcuts in the appendixes. I was around four or five at the time. I remember while I was redrawing them, the thought came to me–maybe I want to be an artist? At that moment something inside me said that I wanted to be an artist. Growing up, I got in trouble in school a lot for drawing in class.”

Could you tell us some more about your work?

“I mostly do portraiture. I do love to do portraits of people. Norman Rockwell was a storyteller, but feel that I can capture a feeling like the innocence of childhood. Say I had twenty studies of a child’s portrait but there was only one that captured my heart. That’s when I know it’s going to be a good portrait, and my goal is to pay tribute to that person the best I possibly can.”

"Portrait of Abraham Lincoln" ( 17 X 23, 2006) by Judy Lewis was done in Gettysburg, PA., site of Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address, during his dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery.

One of my favorite pieces that you’ve done is the portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Is that the case with this historical piece too?

“Yes, I wanted to portray Abraham Lincoln as best I can. I loved going to the Smithsonian and seeing the presidential portraits, but Lincoln was the first one I wanted to draw. Also, because I was in Gettysburg, it was right to do him and I’m glad I did.”

What about doing portraits of historical figures and celebrities?

“I’d like to do Joan of Arc’s portrait! I’d also like to do Wilma Rudolph, Frank Sutton, Sgt. Carter from Gomer Pyle, [because] he’s from Clarksville—anyone from Clarksville who was well known, or celebrities.”

Why Joan of Arc?

“Because she’s an interesting character in history. You don’t see a lot of portraits of great women, since it’s been a men’s world.”

Which five artists would you like to be stranded with on a deserted island? You know—the art world’s version of Lost?

“Van Gogh, Renoir, Norman Rockwell, da Vinci, and Michelangelo. I’ve read a lot of van Gogh—his life was depressing but interesting. Other artists I like are Sargent. Rockwell is number one for me. The art world didn’t consider him [because] he was more of an illustrator but an illustrator is still an artist. And I like Norman Rockwell’s portraiture. He did Eisenhower’s portrait and Nixon’s portrait—they were in the Smithsonian. Norman Rockwell is a major influence.”

Have you found it difficult having a realistic drawing style in a contemporary art world?

“No, I just do what I do and I’m not concerned with what the art world says about a particular style. You don’t see hordes of people going to see movies they don’t understand—they go to movies that touch their hearts—I think art is so loved. That’s why Norman Rockwell is so beloved—he did work people could understand. To me, art is art if it shows emotion—I think that’s good art—great art. I like Jackson Pollock—his work was well balanced and beautiful. Georges Seurat’s pointillism—I love it. In fact, when I was a kid when I saw A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte— I said, ‘I love it!’ There’s something about umbrellas—the parasols and it was brilliant outdoor lighting.”

How do any of these people influence your work and why?

“Renoir—Luncheon of the Boating Party—influenced me because I like his romantic themes, his impressionism, his boating party, and people with feeling. I think I want to achieve something like Renoir, except in a Norman Rockwell fashion. [Laughs] I also have been influenced by Chuck Close’s big portraits—he’s a contemporary influence, and Daniel Green.”

Is creativity innate? What are your beliefs on this?

“I think we’re all born with it, because we’re made in God’s image and he’s the creator. I think we all like to draw when we’re kids—I don’t know any kid that doesn’t like to draw, but when they grow up—adult—they think it’s stupid. I think we can create far beyond what we think we can actually create. We don’t realize the depth of our own creativity—we’re limited by how much we think we can create. A lot of times I felt like Don Quixote chasing rainbows and windmills and [thinking] it’s not going to happen, or is this really real? Chasing something after the wind— it was right after that Art ministered to me in Texas and I became a Christian that my art took off. He asked me, ‘What do you want to do in your life?’ ‘To be an artist,’ I said. Something sparked. He gave me a glimmer—just a glimmer of hope that with God all things are possible and it was all I needed to start drawing again. If you live your whole life without being an artist when you’re supposed to be, you’re going to regret it. Ten years ago I thought I’ll be better than I am today and it gave me hope.”

Where do you see yourself then in ten years from now?

“I’ll be better ten years down the road than I am now. I like to challenge myself.”

Training

“I’m self-taught. We’re all self-taught in a way. Even with someone training you—you have to compose the piece and do the work yourself. I read a lot of books and practiced hard. I drew a lot. I have 300 final pieces. But that doesn’t account for every practice drawing by any stretch. If you count them, oh, who knows? It’s very difficult to draw for pleasure and try to sell [it] versus doing commissions since I’m used to doing commissions. Although, I think they’re marketable, I do some pieces for me.”

What are the best and worst parts of being a full time working artist?

“The best part is being your own boss, and doing what you’re free to do, and you’re happy. The worst part is if I’m able to survive or not. I hate the term starving artist. I feel like it’s the only profession where people expect them to be starving—you don’t hear of a homebuilder being a starving homebuilder, or a doctor, [etc.]. Donating work is great—if you have pieces lying around—I’ve given to auctions in the past. I also feel it’s the only profession where people expect you to do work for free—people don’t realize that talent is work that you need to be paid for.”

“Early on, when I saw it as a hobby, I kept practicing, and practicing thinking one day I’d be good enough and in those times I would often give work away. In the past. I’ve had to do work on weekends as a single mom, and when I was working other forty-hour-a-week-jobs. The myth of the starving artist is so strong, and it needs to be broken. Getting people to pay what you need is difficult because of the starving artist myth. It’s not cool to be a starving artist these days–you have to be able to make a decent living, even though you love fulfilling your passion but now I have to look at it as a business.”

"Working Hands" ( 16 X 19.375, 1995) displays Lewis’s knowledge of art history in doing work after Albrect Dürer and Dürer’s influence on her life and work.

Tell me why Working Hands is one of the most beloved pieces you’ve done?

Ms. Lewis shows me a picture after Albrect Dürer of his Praying Hands, that she has entitled, Working hands and tells me how Dürer’s story inspired her to draw this piece and to write his story over the art. “Albrect Dürer had an older friend –another struggling artist who roomed with him.”

“Albrect Dürer did these praying hands in a woodcut as a tribute to his roommate’s hands. Albrect Dürer’s older roommate spent his life scrubbing floors in a restaurant to support Dürer and got a job until Dürer made enough money to support them both with his woodcuts that finally sold years later. Dürer told his roommate he could go do his art now, but both his hands were so shot—his roommate couldn’t hold a paint brush anymore due to the pain. One night Dürer saw his roommate praying when he came home, and Dürer said he’d paint those hands to show that toil and work for others—the sacrifice his roommate made for him. God honored Albrect Dürer and the man who toiled for him.”

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?

“Be committed to the piece. Give yourself time and patience, and try not to get discouraged. Just keep doing it, because you’re going to be further reaching your goal just pressing on. It takes a lifetime and you can’t do it with just a few pieces. When you get forty or fifty pieces in a room—that’s when you can tell an artist’s quality and workman style. And seeing your work in a collection—seeing my work in a collection gave me, for the first time, an appreciation of my work. Usually, you’re just so focused on one piece. It’s the feeling and emotion that’s there in the room. Get to that point, and feel [it].”

What are your hobbies or life outside of art?

“There’s nothing much outside of art, spirituality, and God. But, I like to read about quantum physics—atoms popping in and out—where do they go when they pop out, and pop back in? If you break matter down, you’ve got nothing—where does matter start? It all comes down to spirituality. I think there’s a spiritual lesson in everything. God is literally in the details.”

Of her early works, Lewis said that Jaime and Baby Lucy was one of her first portraits. Dormitory Window was one of Lewis’s first pieces drawn at APSU of two college students looking out a Sevier Hall window. In 1984-85 she had the prints shrink-wrapped and placed in the APSU bookstore. Local street scenes that Lewis has vividly rendered include Owen’s Barber Shop, The Roxy, Ely Feed Co. and Uneeda Biscuits.

"Portrait of Alexis" (17 X 17, 1996) shows a young girl and her pet dog sitting on the steps as she enjoys reading her book.

A volunteer, Lewis is a member of the Downtown Artist’s Co-op, which helps promote the arts in the community. Of her current exhibit at Hodgepodge, Lewis said, “Paige King has been very, very helpful in helping me show my work since I’ve returned to Clarksville.” Lewis has portraits in homes that range from factory workers’ homes to mansions of high stature, and covers a vast client range and all income levels. Subject matter in Lewis’s works ranges from pets, animals, children, people, and famous figures to street scenes, and landscapes.

When asked about her portrait and art work commissions, Lewis said, “I want people to understand I can do a portrait of anyone—as individual in character as the subjects themselves. By that I mean not just a stately business man or woman, but portraits of teenagers, or young adults. Portraits always last forever, and the older they get, the better. Photographs fade and the clothes seem dated by time. Unlike photographs, portraits have a timeless presence and they get handed down from one generation after another. People have hunted me down to do portraits. I can try to meet anybody’s price range.”

If inquiring about a commission, call Judy Lewis for an appointment at (717)-357-7526 to visit her at her studio on Excel Rd., off Madison St. Lewis is open to inquiries for a wide variety of other subjects in various media.

After speaking with Ms. Lewis, I felt like I was just beginning to scratch the surface of a deep pool. Judy Lewis’s current work can be seen in Rogate’s Boutique and in her two person show with Reisa Peters at Hodgepodge through the 3^rd of September. Lewis will also have a booth at the Frolic on Franklin Street event in downtown Clarksville on September 20th.

Current Exhibits:

Rogate’s Boutique

Phone : (931) 645-3526

115 Franklin St
Clarksville, TN 37040

Hodgepodge

Phone : (931) 647-0444

Upstairs Gallery; Thru Sept. 3^rd

125 Franklin St
Clarksville, TN 37040

]]> http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/28/through-the-looking-glass%e2%80%94an-introduction-into-the-world-of-artist-judy-lewis/feed/ 0 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/23/legion-street-new-strawberry-alley-to-reopen-in-formal-ceremony/ http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/23/legion-street-new-strawberry-alley-to-reopen-in-formal-ceremony/#comments Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:00:52 +0000 Christine Anne Piesyk http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=7999 The City of Clarksville will host a grand-reopening of Legion Street and the new ‘Strawberry Alley’ on August 29th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The street will formally re-open less one of its new attractions: a unique $102,734 fountain. Lest you think the addition of the fountain has been discarded, think again: the custom made fountain will be installed in November.

This photo of the new "Strawberry Alley" only hints at the true glaring brightness of the new lightning on this reconstructed downtown street.

The $1.2 million price tag in the contract for the Legion Street/Strawberry Alley work included $75,000 for a fountain, $27,000 short of this one-of-a-kind fountain’s actual cost. The difference in the fountain cost plus installation expenses will be made up from a $250,000 “contigency line item” in the contract with Roy T. Goodwin. The original designated maximum price allocated for the fountain has fallen by the wayside.

The Purchasing Department received bids ranging from $38,000 to 138,000, but the rejected all of those bids, noting none of the proposed fountains were “unique” enough for Clarksville. The chosen multi-tiered Bronze and marble fountain and its statuary will “appeal to children.”

Over the last several months, Legion Street has been rebuilt, and now has wider bricked sidewalks, new landscaping, new street lighting and underground power lines the length of the street. The intent to refurbish the street is good; it fairs less well aesthetically.

The new lighting is the installation of double-lamp fixtures like the current lighting on Public Square. The double lamps line both sides of the street and are very closely spaced; to walk along the Strawberry Alley at night requires sunglasses to ease the glare. Planners used double lamp posts on both sides of the street when in fact a single lantern fixture on both sites would have sufficed. The clean line of Strawberry Alley is fragmented with the irregular placement of several of these lampposts, created a jarring, jumbled effect. Add to the mix an oversized vintage style clock that gets lost among the lamp posts.

Clarksville Online has learned that approximately ten of the new Strawberry Alley lamp posts that are “overkill” on that street may be moved to another street, but no discussion has been held on just who pays to correct that “error” in design judgment. May we assume that the “contigency” funds for this project, or an emergency “budget adjustment” will be used to correct this error in design?

The new look of the street itself is still mitigated by the deteriorating appearance of the existing buildings on this portion of the former Legion Street. Tangled wires, old electrical boxes, piping and older facades still line the street, which regardless of the new look is still a loading zone for businesses that, for customer service, open onto Franklin Street. Strawberry Alley is where many large trucks park to unload deliveries to local stores and restaurants.

The availability of handicapped parking spaces on Legion Street and Strawberry Alley also remains a question. At present, disabled patrons of Franklin and Legion Streets and Strawberry Alley have no designated parking except on the river side of City Hall. Handicapped placards can be used in any parking space, but without a designated space or two, most disabled drivers remain hard pressed to park to close to restaurants and stores they wish to use.

Composite photos of the Strawberry Alley project are just that: composite: the lighting fixtures and forthcoming fountain are not revealed, and one of the parked vehicles is shown angled the wrong way on what is now a now one way street. While a photo-shopped design plan for the street shows attractive refurbished architecture and signage, how that will achieved and at what cost to individual business owners is unclear. For a number of Franklin Street businesses, Strawberry Alley is their back door, their service entrance, their loading zone, not a user-friendly customer entrance.

Before I receive comments on what may seem to be my perpetual criticism of downtown projects, let me state (1) that I have studied urban planning and sustainable eco-friendly development for years.; (2) I have served on three “Future Search” commissions (the first for an APSU sized state college, the second for a private college, and the third for a major northeastern city) to determine their direction and strategic planning; and (3) I just plain love downtown districts and Main Street developments. A vibrant downtown is key issue in urban development. That said, I also expect to know the whole package at the beginning, ALL of the details, not just a selected few, not a piecemeal patch job of projects but an overall view.

Who is re-designing downtown? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see, for example, that there were far too many lamp posts on Strawberry Alley. What other errors, large or small, may emerge? In addressing a project like this Legion Street/Strawberry Alley makeover, the city and the developers need to address more than the kind of sidewalks they are installing; they need to address everything on the street, out loud and up front to the taxpayers and business people who are footing the bill.

Redevelopment can recharge old business, attract new business, spur tourism and bolster the economy, but it should not be parceled out piecemeal with the tax paying public footing a vague, undefined spend-as-we-go bill. Redevelopment requires a site specific plan including cost and impact statements that affect every resident, business and property owner in the specified district. That specificity comes with its “i’s” dotted and “t’s” crossed. No one has said what will happen to the backs of the buildings that now look more shoddy and unkempt than before the street upgrade. How much of a bill will be dumped on individual property owners to upgrade in this lagging economy? Can the city use grant funds to mitigate that impact?

The Clarksville City Council with Mayor Piper discussing CPRC claims of city administration misdeeds

It is hoped that when the re-opening is held, city officials will announced some type of “Main Street” grant to assist assist existing businesses with facade improvements and new signage on the backs of their buildings. It is also hoped that city officials at this opening will announce in painstaking detail exactly what business interests and development plans are underway and on the drawing boards to follow this $1.2 million dollar Strawberry Alley redo. Who gets to keep their buildings and businesses, and who will be bought out or “eminent domain’ed” in the interest of “redevelopment?” True above board, community friendly development has no problem in either making or disclosing the “complete” plan for any redevelopment area, including potential buyouts of existing property and the disclosure of what said properties would then be used for. Facts, in writing, can help dispel skepticism and quell mistrust.

As for Strawberry Alley, here’s the history: In the 1920’s in Downtown Clarksville, the area from Public Square to Second Street known as Strawberry Alley was widened and extended to Third Street as well as renamed Legion Street in honor of World War I veterans. Strawberry Alley had been so named in honor of Mrs. Lucinda Elder, wife of Clarksville’s first Mayor James Elder, because the street was constructed across her strawberry patch. The Clarksville City Council approved by a majority vote in August to rename the portion of the road from Public Square to Second Street as Strawberry Alley to preserve the past, and the portion from Second Street to Third Street to remain named Legion Street to continue honoring World War I veterans.

The Grand Re-Opening Celebration includes a ceremony commemorating the re-designations of Legion Street and Strawberry Alley. The official ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. and includes a wreath laying to commemorate the designation of Legion Street as a tribute to World War I veterans. The ceremony will also focus on the past, present, and future of both Legion Street and Strawberry Alley. The celebration includes live performances by Bump City, outdoor dining with area restaurants, balloons, face painting, chocolate dipped strawberries, and more. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 645-7444.

According to a new U.S. Census report, the Clarksville TN-KY Metropolitan Statistical Area is now the 10th-fastest growing MSA in the nation. Even though the national news may be depressing, our local economy is in good shape. Jimmy Settle, business editor for The Leaf Chronicle, says of the recent slow down in the residential market, “It’s a temporary condition, and should be perceived as more of a correction in the market, than a troubling decline. The truth is, the economy in northern Middle Tennessee is currently one of the nation’s best.”

The other truth is the residents in Clarksville are doing more than their share when it comes to helping the economic growth for surrounding cities and counties. The numbers are quite staggering! (More on those numbers later . . .)

The entire nation is feeling the pain at the gas pump. Gas prices are at an all time high and climbing higher. We’re all thinking about how to save gas, which will then make more money available for the necessary expenses and the extras; extras like dining out, shopping for clothes and home goods, entertainment, and more. Where will we be dropping those shopping and dining dollars?

Statistically, a great many of you will head to Nashville. You “think Nashville” for those extras. You head to the malls, the specialty shops, theatres, restaurants and even grocery stores! The fact is that every time you spend $100 in Nashville, you give that city $2.25 to use for their infrastructure, schools system, and other municipal expenses. (That’s the portion of their sales tax directly designated for Nashville.) $2.25 doesn’t sound like much, but we all know how little numbers quickly add up to big ones. Do you think Clarksville could use that $2.25? Do you think we could use better roads, sidewalks, schools, sewer lines?

Tennessee’s economic stability is reliant on sales tax. Without a state income tax, Tennessee depends on sales and property taxes for revenue needed to run the government engines. Other states, such a Florida, don’t have a state income tax either, but they’ve got a huge tourism industry. That’s why your local government is so concerned about “putting Clarksville on the map.” Tourist dollars are wonderful—they spend money, they return to their homes and their sales tax stays here.

Now back to the numbers. Are you aware we’re losing $40,297,000 in furniture, home furnishings, electronic and appliance sales? We’re losing $15,052,000 in restaurant sales. And, this one blows my mind, $72,285,000 in grocery sales! How do you get the ice cream home?

Now, as a local business owner, this all probably appears to be self-serving and to that I respond, “You’re darn straight!” I want you to shop at Hodgepodge, but I also want you to find unique clothing at Rogate’s Boutique and Posh; decorate your home with La Dolce Vita; eat a home cooked meal at Lovin’ Spoonful Café and get your caffeine fix at Blondie’s; feed your artistic interests at The Roxy Regional Theatre and The Customs House Museum; Seasons (the museum gift shop) has the most unique inventory of gift items in Clarksville. Okay enough of the gratuitous downtown plug, but you were expecting it. There are numerous independent retailers, restaurants and services, as well as the chains, right here in Clarksville.

There are more benefits to shopping local than the sales taxes. When you shop local businesses, especially independent retailers, they will do the same—their business does well, they hire local residents; many buy supplies and inventory locally; they pay their property taxes; they sponsor little league teams; they shop locally (they don’t have time to go anywhere else!). Without getting too far off topic, there are other benefits to shopping independent retailers, such as: personal service, unique inventory, and the sense of community. You’re greeted, more often than not, by the owner—they know your name, your likes, what you gave your wife for Christmas and what she’d like for her birthday. If there’s something you can only find in Nashville, why not ask your local business to start carrying it. I can guarantee you, they will at least look into it.

There are other trickle-down benefits to shopping local. One example, again it’ll be downtown (sorry, it’s what I know)—you shop at the local shops and eat at the restaurants, their business continues and grows, more people come and even want to live nearby, more residents means more tax dollars and a dense population demographic which many chains look for when deciding where to build. So if you want Wild Oats (or whichever grocery store your leaving Clarksville for), show them you’ll support it. You can write them, but they ultimately look at the local numbers. Further, we’ve become a big box store community—you know the one—that statistic discourages new retailers and grocers. If you want local options—shop the existing ones more frequently. You’ll be glad you did.

If you have to go to Nashville, at least buy your gas here.

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Editors Note: Author Paige Thomas King is the owner of Hodgepodge, a downtown shop catering to specialty items and antiques (and wonderfully unique greeting cards). She is a 43 year-old Army wife and mother of three who has had the opportunity to live her dream of becoming a boutique owner. We have been residents of the Dog Hill Historic District of Clarksville for six years. King opened her business in November, 2004 and it has grown from 1,000- to 3,000 sq. ft. during that time—including the purchase of the building she currently occupies and the recent acquisition of the former Neblett’s Framing Outlet. She has been active with the business and property owner’s committee of the DDP—aka the Downtown Clarksville Association—since its inception three years ago. She is “passionate about the revitalization of the downtown area and look forward to a time when all of the store fronts are filled with retailers and restaurants; including those currently occupied by lawyers—they can move the second floor!”

Middle Tennessee family wrongfully terminated

Mrs. Monroe [not her real name], was already having difficulty when she lost her job and was supporting her family on unemployment insurance. Then she was notified the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) was terminating her family’s Medicaid benefits, the family’s only source of medical care. She called the Legal Aid Society office in Nashville. Attorney Russ Overby researched the situation and found that DHS was relying on a rescinded policy that made it unreasonably difficult for families with unemployment benefits to qualify for Medicaid, even when their income was below the eligibility limit.

Overby wrote DHS and pointed out that its policy violated federal Medicaid law. DHS reviewed the law and their policy and agreed. It restored health benefits to Mrs. Monroe’s family. It also agreed to change its policy. Tennessee now treats unemployment insurance as any other source of income when it determines eligibility for both Medicaid and Families First. As a result, hundreds of low-wage Tennessee workers now have a much fairer chance to critical health and income benefits for their families.

Clarksville Is Fortunate

This story illustrates just one example of the kind of assistance which the Legal Aid Society makes available to qualifying clients. Clarksville is fortunate to have an office conveniently located downtown at 120 Franklin Street. Attorney Pat Mock is the managing attorney of the Clarksville Office. In addition to Medicaid/Medicare access issues, assistance is also available in instances of housing discrimination- including renters rights protection, domestic and/or spousal abuse, elder guardianship, child support and abuse, wage garnishment, school fee waivers, to name a few. In addition to Montgomery County, the Clarksville Legal Aid Society Office also serves the Stewart, Robertson and Chetham County areas.

The Legal Aid Society is a non-profit organization and is not government-funded. The Clarksville Office is part of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and the Legal Services Corporation. Contact the Clarksville Legal Aid Society at 931-552-6656.